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

Picture Name Name in Russian Historical year Description
The arrival of the Varangians in RusПризвание варягов на Русь862The 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 RusКрещение Руси988In 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 TatarsНачало изгнания татар1380Dmitry 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 TsardomОснование самодержавного царства Русского1491Ivan 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 dynastyНачало династии Романовых1613The 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 EmpireОбразование Российской империи1721Peter 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 SlavsYaroslav the Wise, Grand Prince of KievSviatoslav I of Kiev, Grand Prince of KievMikhail Lomonosov, polymath
Olga of Kiev, Grand Princess of KievVladimir Monomakh, Grand Prince of KievMstislav Mstislavich, Prince of Novgorod and GaliciaDenis Fonvizin, playwright
Vladimir the Great, Grand Prince of KievGediminas, Grand Prince of LithuaniaDaniel of Galicia, Prince of GaliciaAlexander Kokorinov, architect
Abraham of Rostov, bishop of RostovAlgirdas, Grand Prince of LithuaniaDaumantas, Prince of PskovGavrila Derzhavin, poet and statesman
Anthony of Kiev, founder of the Monastery of the CavesVytautas, Grand Prince of LithuaniaAlexander Nevsky, Grand Prince of VladimirFyodor Volkov, actor
Theodosius of Kiev, Kievan monkIvan the Great, Grand Prince of MoscowMichael of Tver, Prince of TverNikolai Karamzin, playwright and historian
Kuksha of the Kiev Caves, Kievan monkSylvester, clergyman and statesmanDmitry Donskoi, Grand Prince of MoscowIvan Krylov, poet of fables
Nestor the Chronicler, chronicler of the Russian historyAnastasia Romanovna, first wife of Ivan the TerribleKęstutis, Grand Prince of LithuaniaVasily Zhukovsky, poet and translator
Cyril of White Lake, Founder of the Kirillo-Belozersky MonasteryAlexey Adashev, Ivan IV's bosom friend and advisorDaniil Kholmsky, generalNikolay Gnedich, Poet and translator
Stephen of Perm, Bishop and Missionary of PermHermogenes, Patriarch of MoscowMikhail Vorotynsky, Field MarshalAleksandr Griboyedov, Writer and Diplomat
Alexius of Moscow, Metropolitan of Kiev and MoscowMichael Romanov, first Romanov tsarDaniil Shchenya, military leaderMikhail Lermontov, poet and writer
Sergius of Radonezh, spiritual leaderFilaret, Patriarch of MoscowMarfa Boretskaya, Posadnik of NovgorodAlexander Pushkin, poet and writer
Peter Mogila, Metropolitan of KievAfanasy Ordin-Nashchokin, DiplomatYermak Timofeyevich, Cossack leaderNikolai Gogol, Writer
Zosima of Solovki, Founder of the Solovetsky MonasteryArtamon Matveyev, Statesman and DiplomatMikhail Skopin-Shuisky, military leaderMikhail Glinka, Composer
Maximus the Greek, Writer and scholarAlexei I, TsarDmitry Pozharsky, PrinceKarl Briullov, Painter
Savvatiy, Founder of the Solovetsky MonasteryPeter the Great, Tsar and first emperorKuzma Minin, Organizer of the People's ArmyDmitry Bortniansky, Composer
Jonah of Moscow, Metropolitan of MoscowYakov Dolgorukov, advisor to Peter IAvraamy Palitsyn, Monk and Writer
Macarius of Moscow, Metropolitan of MoscowIvan Betskoy, Statesman and ReformerBohdan Khmelnytsky, Hetman of the Zaporizhian cossacks
Varsonofius of Tver, Archbishop of TverCatherine the Great, EmpressIvan Susanin, Folk hero
Guriy of Kazan, Archbishop of KazanAlexander Bezborodko, Statesman and DiplomatBoris Sheremetev, Field Marshal and Diplomat
Konstantin Ostrozhsky, Prince and voivode of KievGrigory Potyomkin, Statesman and DiplomatMikhail Golitsyn, Field Marshal
Nikon, Patriarch of MoscowViktor Kochubey, Statesman and DiplomatPyotr Saltykov, Field Marshal
Fyodor Rtishchev, PhilanthropistAlexander I, TsarBurkhard von Münnich, Field Marshal
Dimitry of Rostov, Churchman and composerMikhail Speransky, StatesmanAlexei Orlov, General
Tikhon of Zadonsk, Archbishop of Ladoga and VoronezhMikhail Vorontsov, Field MarshalPyotr Rumyantsev, Field Marshal
Mitrofan of Voronezh, Archbishop of VoronezhNicholas I, TsarAlexander Suvorov, Generalissimo
Georgy Konissky, Archbishop of BelarusMichael Barclay de Tolly, Field Marshal
Feofan Prokopovich, Archbishop of Novgorod; StatesmanMikhail Kutuzov, Field Marshal
Platon Levshin, Metropolitan of MoscowDmitry Senyavin, Admiral
Innocent, Archbishop of Chersonesos TauricaMatvei Platov, General
Pyotr Bagration, General
Karl Diebitsch-Sabalkanski, Field Marshal
Ivan Paskevich, Field Marshal
Mikhail Lazarev, Admiral
Vladimir Kornilov, Vice-Admiral
Pavel Nakhimov, Admiral

References

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