Millennium of Russia

The Millennium of Russia (Russian Тысячелетие России) is a bronze monument in the Novgorod Kremlin. It was erected in 1862 to celebrate the millennium of Rurik's arrival to Novgorod, an event traditionally taken as a starting point of the history of Russian statehood.

The Millennium of Russia.

The Millennium of Russia (1862), with Saint Sophia Cathedral in the background. The upper row of figures is cast in the round and the lower one is in relief.

A competition to design the monument was held in 1859. An architect Viktor Hartmann and an artist Mikhail Mikeshin were declared the winners. Mikeshin's design called for a grandiose, 15-metre-high bell crowned by a cross symbolizing the tsar's power. The bell was to be encircled with several tiers of sculptures representing Russian monarchs, clerics, generals, and artists active during various periods of Russian history.

Mikeshin himself was no sculptor, therefore the 129 individual statues for the monument were made by the leading Russian sculptors of the day, including his friend Ivan Schroeder and the celebrated Alexander Opekushin. Rather unexpectedly for such an official project, the tsars and commanders were represented side by side with sixteen eminent personalities of Russian culture: Lomonosov, Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol, Karl Brullov, Mikhail Glinka, etc. As for the Russian rulers, Ivan the Terrible is famously absent from the monument due to his role in the 1570 pillage and massacre of Novgorod by the Oprichnina. Alongside the Muscovite princes, the mediaeval Lithuanian dynasts such as Gediminas or Vytautas the Great who reigned over the Eastern Slavs of the present-day Belarus and Ukraine are represented.

The most expensive Russian monument up to that time, it was erected at a cost of 400,000 roubles, mostly raised by public subscription. In order to provide an appropriate pedestal for the huge sculpture, sixteen blocks of Sortavala granite were brought to Novgorod, each weighing in excess of 35 tons. The bronze monument itself weighs 100 tons.

Commemorative coin issued in the USSR in 1988.

At the time when the monument was inaugurated, many art critics felt that it was overloaded with figures. Supporters regard Mikeshin's design as harmonious with the medieval setting of the Kremlin, and subtly accentuating the vertical thrust and grandeur of the nearby 11th-century Saint Sophia Cathedral.

During World War II, the Germans dismantled the monument, and prepared it to be transported to Germany. However, the Red Army regained control of Novgorod and the monument was restored to public view in 1944. A 5-ruble commemorative coin was released in the USSR in 1988 to commemorate the monument.

Middle level

Name	Name in Russian	Historical year	Description
The arrival of the Varangians in Rus	Призвание варягов на Русь	862	The statue of the first warrior prince Rurik with helmet and shield with the inscription "year 6370" (since the creation of the world). Rurik wears a fur on his shoulders, behind him the pagan Slavic god Veles can be seen. The figure looks south-west, in the direction of Kiev.
The Christianization of Rus	Крещение Руси	988	In the center, the Kievan Grand Prince Vladimir the Great can be found, raises an Orthodox cross. Besides, a woman holds her child for baptism and a Slav dispossesses the pagan god Perun. The composition looks in the south-eastern direction.
Beginning of the expulsion of the Tatars	Начало изгнания татар	1380	Dmitry Donskoi, the victor in the Battle of Kulikovo, holds a Russian mace in his right hand. At his feet lies Mamai, the defeated warlord of the Golden Horde. In the left hand Dmitry Donskoi holds a captured bunchuk, the Tatar symbol of power. The composition looks east.
Foundation of an independent Russian Tsardom	Основание самодержавного царства Русского	1491	Ivan the Great in a dress of Byzantine emperors with Monomach's Cap. In his hands he holds a scepter and a globus cruciger. In front of him, a Tatar is kneeling, beside him, a Lithuanian is lying, representing Grand Duchy of Lithuania, as well as a Teutonic knight with a broken sword, representing the Order of Teutonic Knights. The composition looks north-east.
Enthronement of the Romanov dynasty	Начало династии Романовых	1613	The young Tsar Michael of Russia ascends to the Russian throne after the overcoming of the Time of Troubles. Prince Dmitry Pozharsky who represents the nobility protects him with his sword while Kuzma Minin who represents the people offers him the Monomach's Cap and the scepter. In the background, a figure of a Siberian Cossack can be found which symbolizes the colonization of Siberia to come.
Creation of the Russian Empire	Образование Российской империи	1721	Peter the Great with laurel wreath and scepter in the right hand is supported by an angel showing him the way to the north-west where the future city of Saint-Petersburg shall be founded. At Peter's feet, defeated Swede can be found trying to protect his torn flag. This symbolizes the Russian victory in the Great Northern War. The composition looks north-west.

Bottom level

Men of enlightenment:		Statesmen:		Military men and heroes:		Writers and artists:
	Cyril and Methodius, missionaries of Slavs		Yaroslav the Wise, Grand Prince of Kiev		Sviatoslav I of Kiev, Grand Prince of Kiev		Mikhail Lomonosov, polymath
	Olga of Kiev, Grand Princess of Kiev		Vladimir Monomakh, Grand Prince of Kiev		Mstislav Mstislavich, Prince of Novgorod and Galicia		Denis Fonvizin, playwright
	Vladimir the Great, Grand Prince of Kiev		Gediminas, Grand Prince of Lithuania		Daniel of Galicia, Prince of Galicia		Alexander Kokorinov, architect
	Abraham of Rostov, bishop of Rostov		Algirdas, Grand Prince of Lithuania		Daumantas, Prince of Pskov		Gavrila Derzhavin, poet and statesman
	Anthony of Kiev, founder of the Monastery of the Caves		Vytautas, Grand Prince of Lithuania		Alexander Nevsky, Grand Prince of Vladimir		Fyodor Volkov, actor
	Theodosius of Kiev, Kievan monk		Ivan the Great, Grand Prince of Moscow		Michael of Tver, Prince of Tver		Nikolai Karamzin, playwright and historian
	Kuksha of the Kiev Caves, Kievan monk		Sylvester, clergyman and statesman		Dmitry Donskoi, Grand Prince of Moscow		Ivan Krylov, poet of fables
	Nestor the Chronicler, chronicler of the Russian history		Anastasia Romanovna, first wife of Ivan the Terrible		Kęstutis, Grand Prince of Lithuania		Vasily Zhukovsky, poet and translator
	Cyril of White Lake, Founder of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery		Alexey Adashev, Ivan IV's bosom friend and advisor		Daniil Kholmsky, general		Nikolay Gnedich, Poet and translator
	Stephen of Perm, Bishop and Missionary of Perm		Hermogenes, Patriarch of Moscow		Mikhail Vorotynsky, Field Marshal		Aleksandr Griboyedov, Writer and Diplomat
	Alexius of Moscow, Metropolitan of Kiev and Moscow		Michael Romanov, first Romanov tsar		Daniil Shchenya, military leader		Mikhail Lermontov, poet and writer
	Sergius of Radonezh, spiritual leader		Filaret, Patriarch of Moscow		Marfa Boretskaya, Posadnik of Novgorod		Alexander Pushkin, poet and writer
	Peter Mogila, Metropolitan of Kiev		Afanasy Ordin-Nashchokin, Diplomat		Yermak Timofeyevich, Cossack leader		Nikolai Gogol, Writer
	Zosima of Solovki, Founder of the Solovetsky Monastery		Artamon Matveyev, Statesman and Diplomat		Mikhail Skopin-Shuisky, military leader		Mikhail Glinka, Composer
	Maximus the Greek, Writer and scholar		Alexei I, Tsar		Dmitry Pozharsky, Prince		Karl Briullov, Painter
	Savvatiy, Founder of the Solovetsky Monastery		Peter the Great, Tsar and first emperor		Kuzma Minin, Organizer of the People's Army		Dmitry Bortniansky, Composer
	Jonah of Moscow, Metropolitan of Moscow		Yakov Dolgorukov, advisor to Peter I		Avraamy Palitsyn, Monk and Writer
	Macarius of Moscow, Metropolitan of Moscow		Ivan Betskoy, Statesman and Reformer		Bohdan Khmelnytsky, Hetman of the Zaporizhian cossacks
	Varsonofius of Tver, Archbishop of Tver		Catherine the Great, Empress		Ivan Susanin, Folk hero
	Guriy of Kazan, Archbishop of Kazan		Alexander Bezborodko, Statesman and Diplomat		Boris Sheremetev, Field Marshal and Diplomat
	Konstantin Ostrozhsky, Prince and voivode of Kiev		Grigory Potyomkin, Statesman and Diplomat		Mikhail Golitsyn, Field Marshal
	Nikon, Patriarch of Moscow		Viktor Kochubey, Statesman and Diplomat		Pyotr Saltykov, Field Marshal
	Fyodor Rtishchev, Philanthropist		Alexander I, Tsar		Burkhard von Münnich, Field Marshal
	Dimitry of Rostov, Churchman and composer		Mikhail Speransky, Statesman		Alexei Orlov, General
	Tikhon of Zadonsk, Archbishop of Ladoga and Voronezh		Mikhail Vorontsov, Field Marshal		Pyotr Rumyantsev, Field Marshal
	Mitrofan of Voronezh, Archbishop of Voronezh		Nicholas I, Tsar		Alexander Suvorov, Generalissimo
	Georgy Konissky, Archbishop of Belarus				Michael Barclay de Tolly, Field Marshal
	Feofan Prokopovich, Archbishop of Novgorod; Statesman				Mikhail Kutuzov, Field Marshal
	Platon Levshin, Metropolitan of Moscow				Dmitry Senyavin, Admiral
	Innocent, Archbishop of Chersonesos Taurica				Matvei Platov, General
					Pyotr Bagration, General
					Karl Diebitsch-Sabalkanski, Field Marshal
					Ivan Paskevich, Field Marshal
					Mikhail Lazarev, Admiral
					Vladimir Kornilov, Vice-Admiral
					Pavel Nakhimov, Admiral

Gallery

Artwork by Bogdan Willewalde, the opening of the monument to the 1000th anniversary of Russia in Novgorod in 1862
Millennium of Russia on a 5-ruble banknote
The construction of the monument in 1862.
The Commemorative medal of the monument in 1862 when the construction was finished, "In memory of the Millennium of Russia"

References

External links

(in Russian) History and description on the website of the Novgorod administration

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