Monument to Yuri Dolgoruky – a sculptural monument to the founder of Moscow, the first Suzdal prince (later also the Grand Duke of Kyiv). Installed in 1954 on Tverskaya Square (from 1918 to 1993, it was called Sovetskaya), opposite the building of the Moscow City Hall (in the Soviet era – the building of the Moscow City Council) on Tverskaya street. Sculptors S. M. Orlov, A. P. Antropov, N. L. Shtamm, architectural design by V. S. Andreev.
The monument, which replaced the equestrian statue of General Skobelev, has become one of the symbols of the capital. Some legends have developed around him in Moscow’s urban folklore.
The grand opening of the monument took place on June 6, 1954. It was manufactured at the Mytishchi plant by E.F. Belashova by the bronze sculptor Gavriil Savinsky. It cost the city budget 5.5 million rubles.
Artistic Features
The images of the prince have not survived. Therefore, the authors of the sculpture have created a collective image of a Russian hero on a fighting horse dressed in martial armor. The rider stopped the horse and raised in the stirrups with an imperious gesture as if indicating the place for a new fortress. All elements of the martial attire are meticulously depicted. The round shield fixed to the left arm of the prince is decorated with an ancient heraldic sign of Moscow – St. George the Victorious.
The monument’s pedestal is decorated with an ornamental carving on the motifs of reliefs of the famous monument of ancient Russian architecture – the Cathedral of St George in Yuriev Polsky. The carvings depict a centaur, a Syrin bird, a basilisk, the Phoenix bird, griffins and the stylized images of a lion and a stag. Notably, along with folklore, images of Slavonic mythology in the relief are widely used antique motifs perceived by Old Russian masters through Byzantine art.
The tendencies of Soviet art of the late 1940s and early 1950s were manifested in the sculptural monument: a penchant for superficial lifelikeness, excessive attention to minor details, and a craving for embellishment.
Yuri I Vladimirovich was a Rurikid prince, commonly known as Yuri Dolgorukiy or the Long Arm. Noted for successfully curbing the privileges of the landowning boyar class in Rostov-Suzdal and his ambitious building program, Yuri transformed this principality into the independent power that would evolve into early modern Muscovy.
Yuri spent much of his life in internecine strife with the other Rurikid princes for suzerainty over the Kievan Rus, which had been held by his father (Vladimir Monomakh) and his elder brother before him. Although he twice managed to hold Kyiv (in September 1149 – April 1151, again in March 1155 – May 1157) and rule as Grand Prince of all Rus’, his autocratic rule and perceived foreigner status made him unpopular with the powerful Kievan boyars, leading to his presumed poisoning and the expulsion of his son (later Andrei Bogoliubsky of Vladimir-Suzdal) in 1157. His rule marked the effective end of the Rus’ as a unified entity until the Mongol invasions, with powerful provincial territories like Vladimir-Suzdal and Galicia-Volhynia now competing for the throne of Kyiv.
Nearest metro: Ohotny Ryad, Pushkinskaya, Chekhovskaya.
See more monuments in Moscow
