Mikhail Piotrovsky: The Hermitage is finishing the restoration of the shrine of Alexander Nevsky

The State Hermitage is finishing the restoration of the famous shrine of Alexander Nevsky, a unique Baroque memorial ensemble made of a tonne and a half of silver that was saved by the museum from being melted down in the Soviet era and grandly indicated for contemporaries their very entry into the Hermitage as a palace. No tour guide would omit this splendid exhibit.

The Russian Orthodox Church, preparing to mark the 800th anniversary of Alexander Nevsky, is raising the issue that the place for the shrine is where the saint’s relics are because it was originally intended for him as a gift and commemoration. The arguments over this long ago transmuted into negotiations, and the Hermitage began the scholarly and in part manufacturing work of producing a silver copy of the shrine. The Director of the State Hermitage, Mikhail Piotrovsky, told the Rossiyskaya gazeta about the progress of that work and the further fate of the tomb.

The main thing all the same is not collecting money, but the actual making of the shrine.

– The restoration of the silver adornment of the tomb of Alexander Nevsky is coming to an end. It was carried out using the calm Hermitage methods and required from us a lot of time, effort and money.

During the restoration, we took all the necessary casts of the shrine and after the restoration it will be possible to make a copy of it, but the museum can only do part of that. In order to produce a complete copy a lot of silver is needed. The Hermitage, by its charter, does not have the right to purchase silver and make anything from it. Besides, we do not have the procedures and technologies to produce silver objects of such large size.

The Hermitage has done all it could. The rest – the acquisition of the materials and the work of producing the large elements – has to be done by someone else.

The museum considers that a collection should be announced to fund the remaining part of the work to produce the copy. Perhaps the Alexander Nevsky Monastery will take that upon itself which would be very handsome. Or perhaps some foundation or other. And the price, it seems to me, need not be daunting, provided people who own highly professional workshops for producing silver articles take on the task…

Announcing crowdfunding is another possibility. Only the Hermitage cannot do that. We have precise rules about what we can raise money for and what we can’t. We have done all that is in our practical and legal power.

But the main thing going forward is not collecting the money, but the actual making of the shrine.

It seems to me that it can be done by establishments engaged in producing ecclesiastical items and church plate, connected with jewellery-making. There are a large number of Orthodox foundations and Orthodox production facilities that produce a range of attractive and precious articles.

The copy is simply a necessity today, because it will help to solve the issue of a worthy adornment of the shrine containing the relics of Saint Alexander Nevsky. And when it is complete, then, of course, the question will arise as to what should be given to the monastery – the original or the copy.

It would be strange for the Hermitage that saved the shrine from destruction, from being melted down in the Soviet era, to agree to keep only the copy for itself.

Naturally, we consider that the shrine, as a monument of the jeweller’s art, of Russian history and culture, should remain in the museum. And the copy, once made, can be passed over to the Church, so that it can adorn the relics of Saint Alexander Nevsky.

The silver adornment of the shrine is a museum object. Because it was made from the first Russian silver. Because it is a real cultural masterpiece of early Russian silversmithing. And precisely in that capacity it was saved by the staff of the Hermitage museum.

A question of historical justice arises here. The shrine would no longer exist if it had not been saved twice by the museum. And the saving of a great object is no joking matter. It was not easy to rescue it. The leading people in the museum risked their lives and freedom in doing so. And let’s not forget that the museum gave up part of its own stocks to save the shrine as a work of art. And in place of the shrine a large number of museum objects were destroyed. For that reason, we are certain that historical justice and artistic logic are on our side. And we consider that the shrine should remain in the Hermitage, since the museum saved and splendidly preserved it, thus preserving the memory of Alexander Nevsky as well – in Russia’s chief museum and palace.

That is my viewpoint, which is shared by many people within the Church. Especially, when it comes to the necessity of making a copy of the shrine. We can return to the question and continue the discussion when the shrine is made.

P.S. We hope the discussion will be continued. The Rossiyskaya Gazeta is prepared to make its pages available for the presentation of all points of view.

* This is an expanded version of the text published in the printed newspaper.