Russian Artillery in the Great War | Tsarskoe Selo State Museum and Heritage Site

01-08-2023

14-11-2023

Russian Artillery in the Great War exhibition at the Martial ChamberRussian Artillery in the Great War exhibition at the Martial Chamber Bombardier of the Life-Guards 1st Artillery Brigade. Bronze sculpture possibly by A.P. Safonov, Russia, early 20th c. Collection of K.V. Zhuromsky

Bombardier of the Life-Guards 1st Artillery Brigade. Bronze sculpture possibly by A.P. Safonov, Russia, early 20th c. Collection of K.V. ZhuromskyBombardier of the Life-Guards 1st Artillery Brigade. Bronze sculpture possibly by A.P. Safonov, Russia, early 20th c. Collection of K.V. Zhuromsky Colonel's shako of the Life-Guards 2nd Artillery Brigade's 1st Battery. Russia, 1909-14. Tsarskoe Selo Collection

Colonel's shako of the Life-Guards 2nd Artillery Brigade's 1st Battery. Russia, 1909-14. Tsarskoe Selo CollectionColonel's shako of the Life-Guards 2nd Artillery Brigade's 1st Battery. Russia, 1909-14. Tsarskoe Selo Collection Nicholas II's colonel uniform of the Life-Guards 2nd Artillery Brigade. St Petersburg, Russia, early 1910s. Tsarskoe Selo Collection

Nicholas II's colonel uniform of the Life-Guards 2nd Artillery Brigade. St Petersburg, Russia, early 1910s. Tsarskoe Selo CollectionNicholas II's colonel uniform of the Life-Guards 2nd Artillery Brigade. St Petersburg, Russia, early 1910s. Tsarskoe Selo Collection Nicholas II's colonel aide-de-camp epaulettes (with the monogram of his father, Alexander III) of the Life-Guards 2nd Artillery Brigade. St Petersburg, Russia, 1910s. Tsarskoe Selo Collection

Nicholas II's colonel aide-de-camp epaulettes (with the monogram of his father, Alexander III) of the Life-Guards 2nd Artillery Brigade. St Petersburg, Russia, 1910s. Tsarskoe Selo CollectionNicholas II's colonel aide-de-camp epaulettes (with the monogram of his father, Alexander III) of the Life-Guards 2nd Artillery Brigade. St Petersburg, Russia, 1910s. Tsarskoe Selo Collection Staff Officer's neck badge of the Life-Guards 3rd Artillery Brigade, Pattern 1913. St Petersburg, Russia, 1913. Tsarskoe Selo Collection

Staff Officer's neck badge of the Life-Guards 3rd Artillery Brigade, Pattern 1913. St Petersburg, Russia, 1913. Tsarskoe Selo CollectionStaff Officer's neck badge of the Life-Guards 3rd Artillery Brigade, Pattern 1913. St Petersburg, Russia, 1913. Tsarskoe Selo Collection Objects on display at the Russian Artillery in the Great War exhibition

Objects on display at the Russian Artillery in the Great War exhibitionObjects on display at the Russian Artillery in the Great War exhibition Plastic and wooden mock-up of the 76 mm gun model 1902. Leningrad, USSR, 1962. Collection of the Kirov Plant History and Machinery Museum

Plastic and wooden mock-up of the 76 mm gun model 1902. Leningrad, USSR, 1962. Collection of the Kirov Plant History and Machinery MuseumPlastic and wooden mock-up of the 76 mm gun model 1902. Leningrad, USSR, 1962. Collection of the Kirov Plant History and Machinery Museum Congratulatory address to the Konstantin Artillery School's church rector, on a silvered metal stand. St Petersburg, Russia, 1914. Tsarskoe Selo Collection

Congratulatory address to the Konstantin Artillery School's church rector, on a silvered metal stand. St Petersburg, Russia, 1914. Tsarskoe Selo CollectionCongratulatory address to the Konstantin Artillery School's church rector, on a silvered metal stand. St Petersburg, Russia, 1914. Tsarskoe Selo Collection Technical drawing of the 76 mm mountain gun by the Obukhov Plant on a field carriage. Russia, 1906. Collection of the Military Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineers and Signal Corps

Technical drawing of the 76 mm mountain gun by the Obukhov Plant on a field carriage. Russia, 1906. Collection of the Military Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineers and Signal CorpsTechnical drawing of the 76 mm mountain gun by the Obukhov Plant on a field carriage. Russia, 1906. Collection of the Military Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineers and Signal Corps Russian Artillery in the Great War exhibition at the Martial Chamber

Russian Artillery in the Great War exhibition at the Martial ChamberRussian Artillery in the Great War exhibition at the Martial Chamber Early 20th-c. Cherkeska with gazyr breast pockets ("gazyrs"), donated to Tsarskoe Selo by Alexey Gnedovsky, a collector and exhibition sponsor

Early 20th-c. Cherkeska with gazyr breast pockets ("gazyrs"), donated to Tsarskoe Selo by Alexey Gnedovsky, a collector and exhibition sponsorEarly 20th-c. Cherkeska with gazyr breast pockets ("gazyrs"), donated to Tsarskoe Selo by Alexey Gnedovsky, a collector and exhibition sponsor

The Martial Chamber (WWI Museum) of Tsarskoe Selo offers the exhibition Russian Artillery in the Great War which runs 1 August through 14 November 2023.

The exhibition marks 109 years since the start of World War One. Over 400 artefacts—many for the first time on display—include objects from the Tsarskoe Selo collection, the Military Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineers and Signal Corps, the Kirov Plant History and Machinery Museum, the Obukhov Plant History Museum and several private collections. Photographs are provided by the St Petersburg State Archive of Photo and Audio Documents and the Vadim Zadorozhny Machinery Museum.

Interesting facts about how the early 20th-century Russian artillery was organised, commanded, supplied and trained, how and where artillery guns were manufactured and which artillery units were the most heroic on the WWI battlefields, are illustrated with scale models and design drawings of artillery guns, ammunition artefacts, paintings, graphics and sculptures, as well as the honorary commander uniforms of Emperor Nicholas II and Tsesarevich Alexei.

Specially made for the exhibition, the 1:35 scale mock-up Platoon of the Life-Guards 1st Artillery Brigade in position in 1914 shows how Russia's typical WWI 76 mm gun model 1902 ("the three incher") was manned. Also on display, a mock-up of Russian weapons designer Frantz Lender's anti-aerostat (anti-aeroplane) gun, which was Russia's first air defense gun adopted in 1915 .

Noteworthy exhibits generously lent by private collectors include: garrison artillery badges (Vladimir Ponsov's collection); a unique 1906 mock-up of the 6-inch siege gun model 1904, and the epaulettes of Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich (Nicholas I's grandson) as General Inspector of Artillery with the rank of Adjutant General (German Klimov's collection); heavy artillery officer's shoulder boards (Paul Klimov's collection).

A highlight of the display is a series of 1917 drawings of frontline trench life by Boris Zinserling, a WWI participant whose relative Vsevolod Zinserling donated the drawings to the Museum in 2022.

A richly illustrated exhibition catalogue will soon be available at the Museum shop, thanks to support from the investment company VELES Capital.

Visiting information