| Millennium of Russia | |
| Native Name: | Тысячелетие России |
| Native Language: | Russian |
| Location: | Veliky Novgorod, Novgorod Oblast, Russia |
| Height: | 15.7m |
| Built: | 1862 |
| Designation1: | WHS |
| Designation1 Offname: | Historic Monuments of Novgorod and Surroundings |
| Designation1 Type: | Cultural |
| Designation1 Criteria: | ii, iv, vi |
| Designation1 Date: | 1992 (16th session) |
| Designation1 Number: | 604 |
| Designation1 Free1name: | Region |
| Designation1 Free1value: | Eastern Europe |
The Millennium of Russia (Russian: Тысячелетие России|Tysyacheletiye Rossii) 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.[1]
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 globus cruciger on a bell-shaped pedestal. It 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 not a sculptor, therefore the 129 individual statues for the monument were made by the leading Russian sculptors of the day, including his friend and the promising new sculptor, 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 medieval 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.
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. The Millennium of Baptism of Russia was the first state-sponsored national and religious festival since the cessation of the State atheistic policy during the early 1980s.[2]
| Picture | Name | Name in Russian | Historical year | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Призвание варягов на Русь | 862 | The statue of the first warrior prince Rurik with helmet and shield with the inscription "year 6370" (Byzantine calendar). 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. | |||
| 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. | |||
| 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. | |||
| 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. | ||
| 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. |