Monument to Catherine II in Yekaterinodar: the practice of monumental commemoration in the context of the historical culture of the Kuban Cossacks

The article analyzes the multi-stage process of developing and implementing the project of the monument to Catherine II in Yekaterinodar from the perspective of the concept of historical culture. The focus of the research is on the political attitudes laid down by the official authorities in the approved sculptural composition, and the ideas of the Kuban Cossacks about their past, seen by them in a monumental image. The paper examines the peculiarities of the ceremonies on the occasion of the laying (1896) and the opening (1907) of the monument. Special attention is paid to the historical context, which formed a unique socio-political and cultural climate during the creation of the Yekaterinodar monument. The degree of reliability of the presented scientific results is due to the source base, primarily materials from the funds of the State Archive of the Krasnodar Territory and the local newspaper "Kuban Regional Vedomosti".   The principles of scientific objectivity and historicism are at the heart of the development of this research area. The leading research methods include historical-genetic, historical-cultural and historical-systemic. The identity approach opens up new opportunities for interdisciplinary research. The novelty of the work is determined by the unexplored commemorative practices of the Kuban Cossacks from the perspective of the concept of historical culture. An analysis of archival documents and materials from the local press showed that the ceremonies on the occasion of the laying and opening of the monument to Catherine II combined elements traditional for pre–revolutionary celebrations – religious and military rituals. It is concluded that in the monument designed by M. O. Mikeshin and brought to life by B. V. Eduards, the Kuban Cossacks saw the idea of their continuity with the Cossacks and a demonstration of their rights to the lands between the Black and Azov Seas. The government, in the conditions of the revolutionary crisis of 1905-1907, pursued a specific political task – through the majestic image of the Empress to remind the Cossacks of their duty to faithfully serve the Throne.

historical culture, monumental commemoration, Kuban Cossacks, monument to Catherine II, Mikhail Mikeshin, Boris Eduards, interpreting the collective past, the ceremony of laying the monument, the opening ceremony of the monument, historical context