War Chamber

In 1911, Elena Andreevna Tretyakova, the widow of Sergey Mikhailovich Tretyakov, the brother of Pavel Mikhailovich, the founder of the Tretyakov Gallery, gifted Emperor Nicholas II a collection of visual materials and documents on the history of Russian wars, as well as military trophies. The Emperor ordered the creation of a museum based on this collection, for which the "State War Chamber" was built in Tsarskoye Selo. The building was funded by Tretyakova. The significance of the gift from this remarkable collector and the museum she created has taken on an entirely new meaning today.

For more than two decades, the imperial family lived in the Alexander Palace in Tsarskoye Selo. This inevitably elevated the status of the small town, practically turning it into the second capital of the state. Even before the start of World War I, on the Emperor’s initiative, large-scale construction of administrative and public buildings, churches, and barracks began here, forming an entire ensemble designed in the pseudo-Russian style. This style emerged at the turn of the century as a result of increased interest in medieval Russian history and as an attempt to combine the pragmatic values of the 20th century with the devout Holy Rus.

Part of this complex, and perhaps the main spiritual center after the cathedrals, was to be the State War Chamber, laid down in the presence of the Emperor on May 3, 1913. It was conceived as a pantheon of the Fatherland’s military glory — a museum for storing war trophies and historical documents illustrating Russia’s successes in wars against enemies from ancient times. In August 2014, the first museum in modern Russia dedicated to World War I was opened in the War Chamber building.

The complex’s center housed an inner courtyard intended for storing military-historical trophies.

With the outbreak of World War I, a decision was made to place the gallery of St. George’s Cavaliers in the State War Chamber and to display trophies brought from the front. Thus, gradually, the War Chamber turned into a museum of the Great War.

On June 24, 1915, in Petrograd, at the Admiralty Manege, an exhibition of World War I trophies was opened. The exhibition consisted of several sections. One of them was called the “Tretyakov Section (Collected for the Tsarskoye Selo Museum).” It included more than a hundred items: works of visual art and documents, photographs, and equipment items of German and Austrian soldiers.

A special part of the collection, donated by Tretyakova for the future museum and exhibited at the Admiralty, consisted of items picked up on the battlefields immediately after the fighting ended. These included maps, photographs, documents, books, items of German and Austrian ammunition and equipment, weapons, and even a Zeppelin shot down by Russian troops. According to a contemporary’s recollection, a downed German Albatros aircraft even stood near the gallery.

In 1915, the head of the Tsarskoye Selo Palace Administration, Prince Putyatin, in accordance with the Emperor’s will, requested materials for the museum from the troops. Painters created about 500 portraits of St. George’s Cavaliers on canvases measuring 39×30 cm based on photographs and descriptions from comrades. The new museum accepted portraits of soldiers and officers of the Russian Imperial Army who had earned three or four St. George crosses and a full set (from 1st to 4th class) of St. George medals. Especially valuable war trophies were delivered to Tsarskoye Selo for presentation to the Emperor himself. Many such trophies remained in Tsarskoye Selo for the War Chamber.

In February 1917, the entire complex of buildings was completed and the exhibition was created. The People’s Museum of the Great War of 1914–1917 opened its doors to visitors. Unfortunately, its operation was short-lived, and in 1918 the museum was closed. During the revolutionary upheavals, some exhibits were removed from Tsarskoye Selo, dispersed among state repositories, and some were destroyed.

In 2008, the War Chamber building was transferred to the State Museum-Reserve “Tsarskoye Selo” for the creation of a World War I museum.

Sources:

https://www.tzar.ru/objects/alexandrovskypark/newgarden/ratnayapalata

https://pushkin.spb.ru/encycl/town/ratnaya-palata.html