Explore the Reception of this artwork.
As well as the 1894 revelation, the statue of Alexander II also became a stage for large demonstration during the Russification of Finland starting from 1899. Helsinkians protested against the Russification attempts of Nicholas II by placing excessive amounts of flowers on the statue of the "good emperor" Alexander II. Alexander II was made into a popular emperor through posters, postcards and framed photographs of pictures of the statue.After Finland became fully independent, nationalist movements sought to erase traces of Russian influence in Helsinki. A column published in Uusi Suomi in summer 1918 demanded the removal of the statue of the Russian "conqueror hostile to our fatherland" and that it should be placed in a museum. These demands were not carried out.In January 1931 the Lapua Movement threatened to remove the monument to the Russian-era grand duke. This threat was connected to the Lapua Movement's goal to manipulate the presidential elections by inciting intense nationalism, but this was met with widespread resistance. The press parodied this by saying that it would be consistent to also remove the picture of king Gustaf III of Sweden from the Vaasa district court and the Per Brahe Statue, the Turku Castle and the Turku Cathedral from Turku as reminders of Swedish rule. In 1935 it was suggested that the statue of Alexander II should be removed from the Senate Square and replaced with a statue of Aleksis Kivi in front of the main building of the university and a statue of Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim in front of the Government Palace.The statue of Alexander II was in group 1 in the protection hierarchy made during the Winter War.In 1942 high-volume groups of the student body of the University of Helsinki demanded that the statue of Alexander II should be moved away from the Senate Square and replaced with a national statue of liberty.  The vandalised bust of Alexander I had previously been removed from the celebration hall of the university, where it had been replaced with a marble relief by Wäinö Aaltonen, later destroyed in the bombing of Helsinki in World War II in 1944. According to Erik Kruskopf "A lot of things were said in that conversation, including that we could perhaps accept a Russian in front of the church seeing as there are twelve Jews on its roof."
Erik Kruskopf Gustaf III of Sweden Per Brahe Statue Turku Castle bombing of Helsinki in World War II Aleksis Kivi Lapua Movement Wäinö Aaltonen Senate Square Vaasa Russification Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim Government Palace Alexander II Helsinki monument Russification of Finland Finland Turku Nicholas II Turku Cathedral Uusi Suomi Alexander I University of Helsinki Winter War