ABOUT THE MAN:
"Prince Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly (27 December [O.S. 16 December] 1761 – 26 May [O.S. 14 May] 1818) was a Russian Field Marshal and Minister of War during Napoleon's invasion in 1812 and War of the Sixth Coalition.
Early life
Barclay de Tolly, a member of the Scottish Clan Barclay with roots in Towie (Towy or Tolly, Scottish Gaelic: Tollaigh) in Aberdeenshire, was born in Pamušis, Courland and Semigallia (in present-day Pakruojis District Municipality, Šiauliai County, Lithuania) and raised in Jõgeveste, Livonia, Russian Empire (now part of Estonia). The commonly accepted birth date of 27 December 1761 is actually the day of his baptism in the Lutheran church of the town Žeimelis. He was a German-speaking descendant of a Scottish family which had settled in Livonia in the 17th century. His grandfather served as the mayor of Riga, his father Bogdan Barclay de Tolly was admitted into the ranks of Russian nobility, and the future Field Marshal entered the Imperial Russian Army at an early age.
De Tolly was a member of the Akademie gemeinnütziger Wissenschaften zu Erfurt (de).
Napoleon's invasion
During Napoleon's invasion of Russia in 1812, Barclay assumed the supreme command of the 1st Army of the West, the largest of the Russian armies facing Napoleon. He proposed the now famous scorched earth strategy of drawing the enemy deep into one's own territory and retreated to the village of Tsaryovo-Zaimishche between Moscow and Smolensk, although some consider the strategy merely an confluence of diverse circumstances and not attributable to the will of one man.
Nevertheless, the Russians keenly opposed the appointment of a foreigner as commander-in-chief. His rivals spread rumors of his being Napoleon's agent, and the populace condemned him as a coward. Barclay was forced by his subordinates and the Tsar to engage Napoleon at Smolensk (17–18 August 1812). Napoleon forced Barclay to retreat when he threatened Barclay's only escape route. After losing the Holy City of Smolensk, the outcry of officers and civilians grew to a point where the Tsar could no longer ignore it. He appointed Kutuzov, previously a general at the battle of Austerlitz, as the over-all commander of the Russian forces. Barclay remained General of the 1st Army of the West.
Barclay commanded the right flank at the Battle of Borodino (7 September 1812) with great valor and presence of mind and during the celebrated council at Fili advised Kutuzov to surrender unfortified Moscow to the enemy. His illness made itself known at that time and he was forced to leave the army soon afterwards.
After Napoleon was driven from Russia, the eventual success of Barclay's tactics made him a romantic hero, misunderstood by his contemporaries and rejected by the court. His popularity soared, and his honour was restored by the tsar."
-- Wikipedia
ABOUT THE STATUE:
The life-size bronze statue of Barclay de Tolly depicts him in uniform. He is standing and has his left leg extended forward of his right leg. His left hand is holding his right wrist, and they rest over his abdomen. He appears to be holding a cylinder (maybe a scroll) in his right hand. The statue rests atop an approximately 5-foot tall stone plinth.
There is an inscription in Russian on the front of the plinth that, translated to English, reads:
Field Marshal
Prince
Barclay de Tolly
On the left side of the plinth is the date "1812" and on the right side of the plinth is the date "1912".
A brass plaque with text in Latvian, English, and Russian is located on the front base of the plinth. The English text reads:
1761 - 1818
General Field Marshal, Prince Michael Barclay de Tolly
Sculptor Wilhelm Wandschneider, Berlin
Unveiled on October, 13th, 1913
A brass plaque with text in Latvian, English, and Russian is located on the rear base of the plinth. The English text reads:
Bronze sculpture was destroyed during World War I
Reconstructed in the year 2002
Sculpted by Alexey Murzin, Ivan Korneyev,
cast by Denis Gochiyaev (St. Petersburg, Russia)
Donated to the City of Riga by Eugene Gomberg
A sign adjacent to the monument provides the following information:
"In 1912, to commemorate 100 years of victory over Napoleon, the City of Riga decided to set up a monument of Barclay de Tolly. Vilhelm Vandschneider, a German sculptor, won the competition, and the monument was unveiled on October 13th in 1913.
In 1915, during WW1, the statue of Barclay de Tolly, as many other bronze monuments and church bells, was taken away for military utilisation and evidently melted down. The plynth remained. In 2001 the statue was reconstructed according to photographs and a little plaster model of the original still kept in the Riga museum of history and navigation. Reconstruction was done by the St. Petersburg sculptors Alexei Murzin and Ivan Korneyev, cast in bronze by Denis Gochiyaev, and financed by Latvian company "Teikas Nami". Following the resolution of the Development Committee of the Riga City Council from June 12, 2002, the statue is being exhibited starting with July 1st, 2002, for 6 months to collect public opinion on whether it should remain there in the future as well." [Given that it's now 2015, the decision was apparently made to allow the statue to remain.]