 The Moscow Government reserved 60 million rubles for financing works on design, making of the granite pedestal, setting of the monument and finishing of the surrounding territory.On June 7, 2005 Alexius II, Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, performed the consecration of the new monument.Alexander II is probably best known for his 1861 order to end serfdom, and an inscription on the monument listing his accomplishments says he ""freed millions of peasants from centuries of slavery"".