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All Latvia Riga Statue of Prince Mikhail Andreas Barclay de Tolly
Statue of Prince Mikhail Andreas Barclay de Tolly is permanently closed.

This entry remains in the Atlas as a record of its history, but it is no longer accessible to visitors.

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Statue of Prince Mikhail Andreas Barclay de Tolly

This controversial statue once honoured a Russian Field Marshall, before ultimately being dismantled in a push to remove symbols of Russian influence.

Riga, Latvia

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subha basu ray
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Statue of Prince Mikhail Andreas Barclay de Tolly   subha basu ray / Atlas Obscura User
Statue of Prince Mikhail Andreas Barclay de Tolly   subha basu ray / Atlas Obscura User
Statue of Prince Mikhail Andreas Barclay de Tolly   "Statue in Esplanade Park" by Fearless Fred is licensed under CC BY 2.0
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In the green expanses of Esplanade Park, stands a bronze statue that honors Prince Mikhail Barclay de Tolly, a brilliant military strategist and commander-in-chief of the Imperial Russian Army during the Napoleonic Wars.

The original statue, representing a life-sized Barclay de Tolly in uniform, was unveiled in 1913 to mark the 100-year anniversary of  Napoleon’s defeat during the Russian Campaign of 1812. The statue was melted for military use during World War I. A replica was installed on the original granite pedestal in 2002 on the initiative of businessman Jevgēņijs Gombergs.

Tolly was born into a noble Baltic German family, who traced their ancestry to the Clan Barclay of Scotland. During the 17th-century, Peter Barclay, a merchant from Towie, Aberdeenshire emigrated to the Baltic region. It's believed that the Livonian branch of the Barclays were his descendants. 

Following in his father’s footsteps, young Mikhail joined the Imperial Russian Army, steadily rising through the ranks until he was promoted to Field Marshall and Minister of War.

However, despite enjoying royal patronage, he had powerful enemies in St Petersburg. Looked upon as an “outsider” by some and criticized by others for his “scorched earth” policy during the War of 1812, he was relieved of his command. He was subsequently reinstated by Tsar Alexander I and led his army in victories against Napoleon, culminating in the capture of Paris.

Tolly died of ill health in 1818. A statue was dedicated to his memory in 1837, at the entrance of the famed Kazan Cathedral, St Petersburg, Russia. The monument was dismantled in 2024 in a push to remove symbols associated with Russian imperialism. The statue was returned to its donor, while the pedestal was relocated.

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The statue was removed around October 2024.Esplanade Park in Riga also has monuments commemorating renowned Latvian poet, dramatist, and politician Rainis, and the first commander in chief of the Latvian Army, Oskars Kalpaks.

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subha basu ray

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Simpluree, username12

  • Simpluree
  • username12

Published

January 29, 2021

Updated

January 2, 2025

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Sources
  • https://eng.lsm.lv/article/culture/history/17.10.2024-riga-to-dismantle-three-more-monuments.a572845/
  • https://eng.lsm.lv/article/culture/history/31.10.2024-barclay-de-tolly-monument-in-riga-dismantled.a574648/
  • https://eng.lsm.lv/article/culture/history/31.10.2024-barclay-de-tolly-monument-in-riga-dismantled.a574648/
Statue of Prince Mikhail Andreas Barclay de Tolly
Reimersa iela 1
Esplanade Park
Riga, LV-1050
Latvia
56.954608, 24.116363
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