Monument to Platov (Novocherkassk)

The first monument to Matvey Ivanovich Platov was erected on the centenary of the birth of the chieftain, May 9, 1853, in the city of Novocherkassk , during the reign of Nicholas I. The monument was erected according to the project of the famous sculptor P.K. Klodt and architect A.I. Ivanov. He was assigned a place in the city center, in front of the Ataman Palace in the Ataman Square .

To create a monument to Platov in the Russian Empire, a collection of donations was announced. Famous sculptors took part in the creation of the monument, designed by architect A. I. Ivanov. The opening of the monument took place on May 9, 1853 in Novocherkassk. The opening was accompanied by the highest approved ceremonial. A solemn liturgy was held in the Ascension Cathedral of the city, then the Army Circle and guests went to the monument. As the procession approached Alexander Square, an artillery salute of 101 volleys was fired in honor of the general’s victories.

On Alexander Square, military regalia was handed down. Before the opening of the monument, three shots were fired from guns. The monument was unveiled. On the pedestal of the monument stood a sculpture of the ataman in full growth, in a general's uniform. A cloak is thrown over the uniform. In his left hand, Platov holds a feather, in his right hand - a naked saber. The inscription “To Ataman Count Platov for military exploits from 1770 to 1816 is engraved on the pedestal of the monument. Grateful Donets. " The monument was surrounded by a metal fence with labris on the pillars. Openwork metal fence was made at the newly opened iron foundries F.H. Fasler. Outside the fence, guns were installed.

The opening ceremony of the monument to Ataman Platov is reflected in the painting of the monument to Platov by the Swedish artist Karl Maser ^[1] .

70 years later, in 1923, by decree of the Council of People's Commissars of April 12, 1918 "On the removal of monuments erected in honor of the kings and their servants, on the development of projects of monuments of the Russian Socialist Revolution", the monument was demolished from the original pedestal and transferred to the Don Museum .

In 1925, a monument to V.I. Lenin was erected on an old spot on the same pedestal. The monument to Platov was gathering dust in museum collections for five, and in 1933 it was melted into bearings by the local A.A. Nikolsky factory.

On March 13, 1988, the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR issued permission to restore the monument in Novocherkassk. Moscow sculptor Alexander Tarasenko recreated the sculpture of the ataman with the maximum approximation to the original. The author of the project of the new monument to M. I. Platov was also the sculptor A. A. Sknarin ^[2] .

In 1993 there was a secondary open of the original version of the monument in the same place, on the same pedestal, but its appearance, however, is not completely authentic: there is not enough metal fence around it, guns of the patriotic war model are not installed at the corners of the fence 1812, the fountain in the center of the square was not restored in its original form ^[3] . The opening of the monument on May 16, 1993 was a major city holiday of the revival of the Don Cossacks.

• Monument to the ataman M.I. Platov