Six famous monuments of Russia containing historical errors in the field of stavrography

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Historical monuments and monuments, like lighthouses, illuminate important milestones in the history of the state, reminding people of significant dates and events. Sometimes, when creating sculptures, the authors make mistakes associated with a deliberate free interpretation or ordinary incompetence. Today we will consider several famous Russian monuments containing historical errors in the field of stavrography.

First of all, it should be clarified that this is an established historical discipline associated with the study of iconography and the history of Christianity. Of the cross as one of the fundamental religious symbols. Currently, in Russia there are many scientists, religious leaders and simply research collectors who are engaged in the development of stavrography, write educational articles on this topic and even publish catalog books.

We decided to consider from the point of view of stavrographic science some well-known Russian monuments dedicated to outstanding historical personalities and events, and found many interesting inconsistencies.

Monument to Citizen Minin and Prince Pozharsky in Moscow

As it turned out, mistakes in the creation of monuments occurred not only in our time. The monument to Citizen Minin and Prince Pozharsky, designed by architect Ivan Martos, was solemnly unveiled on Moscow's Red Square back in 1818. The monument, created with public money, was dedicated to the leaders of the Second People's Militia in 1612, as well as the end of the Time of Troubles and the expulsion of the Polish interventionists from Russia.

Minin has a pectoral cross on his chest, which appeared at least two hundred years later and could not have been with him during his lifetime.

It is known that when working on the sculptural composition, his sons posed for Martos. Perhaps the cross depicted on Minin's chest also belonged to the author's son, especially since the dating of the cross - the 19th century is quite suitable in terms of time.

However, this is not the only incident with Minin's cross, the upper crossbar of which for some reason is depicted inclined to the right. The reason for this is still unknown.

Monument to Ivan the Terrible in Oryol

The monument to Ivan Vasilyevich, recently unveiled in Orel, caused heated public debate even before the installation, despite this, the majority of Orel residents approved the installation of the sculpture. Without discussing the political and social issues associated with the figure of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, let us consider the monument from the point of view of stavrography, especially since the monument is decorated with two expressive crosses at once.

During the reign of Ivan the Terrible, the area of the Russian state almost doubled. Following the expansion of the country's borders, the borders of Christian influence also expanded. The cross in the raised right hand of the tsar depicts John Vasilyevich as the baptist of the new lands. Unfortunately, the creators of the monument reacted to the depiction of this symbol very freely, handing over to the tsar a cross dating from about 19-20 centuries. with a time difference of at least 300 years.

It is known that for all his contradictions, Ivan the Terrible was a very pious man. Probably for this reason, another pectoral cross hangs over the king's clothes. But the authors of the monument also missed the mark, depicting a common type of cross of the 17-18 centuries, referred to by collectors as the "steering wheel". This time the spread in time was 150-200 years.

Monument to Grand Duke John III in the Kaluga Region

In 2017, a monument to Grand Duke John III was opened on the territory of the museum complex in the Kaluga St. Tikhon Hermitage. Although for the official history he was for a long time in the shadow of his grandson Ivan the Terrible, in recent years there has been a reassessment of the importance of the deeds of John III, which led to the unification of scattered principalities and the rise of Muscovite Rus, which actually laid the foundation for the future development of a single strong state.

The authors of the monument adorned the figure of the Grand Duke with a beautiful pectoral cross, but … modern. In the 15th century, pectoral crosses looked different., and such massive crosses did not exist. Error in 500 years.

Monument to Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich in Belgorod

Modern Belgorod owes its appearance in many respects to the last of the Rurik dynasty, Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich, who at the end of the 16th century ordered the creation of a notch line from Russian fortresses on the path of the raids of the Crimean Tatars. In 2016, a monument was erected on the boulevard in the center of the city, depicting the sovereign, who sits on a throne with symbols of power in his hands and looks vigilantly into the distance.

The idea of the monument is beautiful and symbolic, but even here it was not without a stavrographic error. On the neck of Fyodor Ioannovich hangs a pectoral cross, which has no exact historical analogs. Probably this is the fruit of the author's imagination, possibly based on the motif of the modern crosses of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Monuments to Prince Vladimir in Smolensk and Moscow

In Russia, at least thirteen monuments to Prince Vladimir have been installed, and in the world there are about twenty of them, taking into account the prefabricated sculptural compositions. In most of them, questions of stavrography are interpreted quite freely, but today we will consider only two of them - in Smolensk and Moscow.

The fact is that on both monuments, Prince Vladimir, despite the difference in age, holds very similar crosses in his hand. It is known for certain that during the reign of Vladimir at the turn of the 10-11 centuries, the crosses looked different … The authors of both sculptures put crosses in the prince's hand, created based on the products of the 19-20 centuries.

The issue raised in the article can be treated in different ways. On the one hand, the discrepancies in the dating and visual images of the crosses, which are visually insignificant details of the monuments, do not in any way affect the general author's intention, and the overwhelming majority of citizens simply do not notice these discrepancies.

On the other hand, the Cross in Russia has always been an important symbol of the Faith, a very significant subject for a Russian person. The presence of a cross on each of the monuments is due to the semantic load that reveals the idea of the monument. The authors of the sculptures could well seek advice from a researcher at any available museum.

Read more materials on stavrography on Cultural Studies:

- Rare pectoral crosses of the 15th - 16th centuries. depicting Jesus Christ and selected saints; - Pectoral keeled crosses of the 15th - 16th centuries with the image of the Theotokos, Jesus Christ and selected saints; - Old Russian pectoral crosses of the XI-XIII centuries.