Today I made my first foray into the General Staff building of the Hermitage museum complex. This beautiful Italian-built structure sits opposite the Winter Palace on Palace Square, and houses the museum’s impressionist collection, permanent exhibition on African art, and more. The impressionists include an early Picasso, adding to the prestigious names the Hermitage can boast. My purpose in visiting the General Staff, however, was not to gaze upon the museum’s numerous art exhibitions but rather to visit the old imperial ministries which were housed there and have been preserved. On permanent exhibition here is the Russian Empire’s Finance Ministry and its Foreign Ministry. The latter ministry is stunning, and a must-see for anyone who considers Russian history interesting. It is a display of the most stunning jewels, diplomatic gifts, military history, and even the clothing Peter the Great wore at the famed Battle of Poltava. Most importantly for my academic pursuits this term, the Foreign Ministry displays a considerable exhibition about the history of the emperor who founded it, Alexander I.
The items on display from Alexander’s rule are striking in many respects. Some from the Napoleonic Wars, such as commemorative coins to Russian battle flags, are priceless mementos of this monumental event in European history. Others, such as Alexander’s clocks and lavish diplomatic gifts he received, are an insight into how the emperor lived. A common theme running through Alexander’s rule is how he was portrayed to the public. The symbol Alexander is most associated with is that of an angel, which any biography on the emperor will indicate. If you’ve ever been to Petersburg and seen the Alexander Column on Palace Square, did you notice what sits atop it? An angel. The historical reasons for this symbolism and the purposes it served are topics beyond the scope of this blog post, but it is an interesting detail of his rule. I bring this up because, on a majority of the commemorative coins from battles or any other event, Alexander’s depiction is that of an angel. While I had read about this in books, it was riveting to see how pervasive this image was in real life. The angel is depicted not only on coins, but also on porcelain commemorating his move into Europe, candlestick holders in his Foreign Ministry are in the shape of angels, busts of Alexander depict him as such, and clocks with angels are scattered throughout the ministry. There is still much more which depicts this image!
The Foreign Ministry displays news illustrations from the emperor’s summit with Napoleon at Tilsit, and paintings depicting both leaders. As I moved through the Alexander portion of the Foreign Ministry, I was chronologically following the Napoleonic Wars. The mementos and history of Alexander on display here are, in my opinion, the most impressive exhibition of this emperor’s rule over Russia.
Elsewhere in the Foreign Ministry are fascinating exhibitions of how the military transformed and developed under each emperor, with original costumes and weapons on display. What I paid particular attention to, though, were the various portraits of each ruler conducting foreign affairs. In the General Staff, original portraits hang which depict Russia’s rulers in different costumes, meeting with European rulers, and engaging in the kind of work which is otherwise not prominently displayed. For example, I spent a good deal of time examining a portrait of an equestrian Emperor Alexander II leading an exercise with his Prussian counterpart Frederick III, in Berlin. The image of Alexander II was not one I had seen before, but I was particularly interested in seeing images of Russia’s emperors conducting these sorts of foreign affairs.