Monument to Alexander II in Moscow. Alexander II Thanks to reforms in the military sphere, Russia received a powerful and well-equipped army. Under Alexander II, it was possible to return the lost position in the international arena: during the Balkan War of 1877-78, Turkey suffered a crushing defeat, the annexation of a number of strategically important territories ended the many years of the Caucasian War, and preparations began for the active promotion of Russian interests in Central Asia. The life of the emperor was tragically cut short on March 1, 1881 as a result of a terrorist act organized against him. The Cathedral of the Savior on Spilled Blood stands at the site of his murder in St. Petersburg. Monument to the Emperor The monument to Alexander II in Moscow was opened in 2005 in a park between Volkhonka Street, Vsekhsvyatsky Proezd and Prechistenskaya Embankment near the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Created at the initiative of the public with the direct participation of the Moscow Government. The authors of the monument are sculptor Alexander Rukavishnikov, architect Igor Voskresensky and artist Sergei Sharov. In the Moscow City Duma, the Commission on Monumental Art discussed several times on what place in the city the monument should be erected. Initially, it was planned to do this in the Alexander Garden, but it turned out to be impossible to install a sculpture more than six meters high on the territory of the Moscow Kremlin and in its environs. Then it was decided to erect the monument where it is now.