Emperor Alexander III

The main idea behind the exhibition design is the Emperor’s contradictory personality traits. Being often called a rugged Russian bear and known as a conformist and traditionalist, he was yet paradoxically progressive in his developments, such as railroads construction, boost of industry, establishing Russian museum and State Historical museum. He was also passionate about contemporary art, of which he was an avid collector. These paradoxes inspired the architectural concept of the exhibition. The classical surface, with the “salon-style” hanging and traditional decor, surrounds the concrete core, which symbolises Alexander III’s rule in its essence: industrial revolution, novelties in technology, his foreign policy guided by reasonableness and stability, which meant, prioritising diplomacy over wars. Thus, the first inner layer is defined by the ruler’s public conservatism, while the inner space is reminiscent of industry, army, and navy, along with the foreign policy success, and is decorated with concrete. High above is the Art, which shapes innovative vision of the world: this section of the exhibition is located at the mezzanine floor, which overlooks the Red Square and the entirety of the exposition.