According to the annals, Novgorod and their neighbors invited the Varangians to control Russia. It was Rurik in 862 who became the head of the Novgorod principality. From this moment the Russian state was formed.
Russian history in bronze
The Millennium of Russia holiday was decided to be celebrated on a grand scale. Emperor Alexander II wanted to perpetuate the feat of the Russian prince with a monumental construction, although the idea itself belonged to the head of the Ministry of the Interior, Lansky. The millennium of Russia was to be captured in bas-reliefs and images of prominent statesmen and heroes of the Fatherland, who did a lot for its prosperity. At the same time, it can be said without exaggeration that the monument is the property of the whole people.
Preparations for the celebration of such an important date as the millennium of Russia were thorough. After the government approved the construction of the monument, the collection of voluntary donations began.
It was decided to erect a monument in Veliky Novgorod. The millennium of Russia was supposed to symbolize precisely this city.
Why Veliky Novgorod
The city on the Volkhov River was chosen as the site for the erection of a monument dedicated to the celebration of the Millennium of Russia, not by chance. Neither Belokamennaya nor the Northern capital were suitable for this role. Why Veliky Novgorod? The monument “Millennium of Russia” was supposed to appear in the city in which Rurik ruled. It was here that Russian statehood was born, and it is Novgorod land that is considered the "cradle of the Russian kingdom." This was recalled by Alexander II, speaking with a festive greeting to representatives of the Novgorod nobility.
National donations
For the period from 1857 to 1862, about 150,000 rubles were collected for the construction of the monument. However, then it became clear that the Millennium of Russia monument could not be built with this money, and then the government for two years laid down an additional 350,000 rubles in the budget to implement the project.
Training
In the spring of 1859 a competition was initiated, the participants of which could submit their own sketch of the monument.
The monument "Millennium of Russia" was presented in fifty-three versions. As a result, the choice was stopped on the project of the sculptor Mikeshin. Mikhail Osipovich was instructed to compile a list of the greatest figures of Russia, the memory of which will be immortalized in the monument.
List
The topic of the list of names of the heroes of the Fatherland, whom the monument “Millennium of Russia” was supposed to glorify in Novgorod, was debatable. Disputes flared up around her, as a result of which corrections were repeatedly made to the list of great statesmen and patriots of the country. Some officials doubted whether such figures as Mikhail Kutuzov, Gavrila Derzhavin, Mikhail Lermontov, Vasily Zhukovsky were worthy of perpetuation. Fedor Ushakov, Alexei Koltsov, Nikolai Gogol were added to the list, but subsequently deleted. The candidacy of Tsar Ivan the Terrible was rejected without much discussion, since in the XIX century he was considered a real tyrant and despot.
The first stone of the Millennium of Russia monument in Novgorod was laid on May 28, 1861 on the territory of the local Kremlin.
Upper tier
Of course, everyone is struck by the grandeur and grandeur of the Millennium of Russia monument. Thousands of tourists visit Veliky Novgorod annually to just see this unique monument. It includes several bronze groups. Two figures of the upper globe represent the whole of the Fatherland: a woman dressed in a Russian national costume, kneeling, holds the state emblem. Nearby is an angel with a cross in his hands, which is the personification of Orthodoxy. At the foot of this group is a large ball. It symbolizes autocracy.
Middle tier
The central part of the monument consists of six sculptural groups made of bronze. They are a reflection of six milestones in Russian history.
On the south side of the tier we see the full height of the first Russian prince - Rurik, whose shoulders are decorated with animal skin. The ruler holds a sword in his left hand, and an acute-angled shield in his right.
On the right side of Rurik is the Grand Duke of Kiev Vladimir Svyatoslavovich, in whose right hand is a cross, and in his left is a book. To the right of Vladimir is a woman who brings a child for baptism, and on the left side of the prince, a man throws a broken image of the pagan god Perun. This whole group refers to the period when Russia was baptized.
In the southeastern part of the monument is the majestic figure of Prince Dmitry Donskoy, who is dressed in the armor of a warrior - a helmet and chain mail. The leg of the prince rests on the defeated Tatar, in his left hand he holds a bunchuk, and in his right - a club.
Five figures stand out in the eastern part of the monument, which personify the victory over the country's enemies during the formation of a centralized state. In the center you can see the figure of Prince Ivan III.
In the western part of the monument are represented statesmen and heroes who did everything possible to destroy the Polish invaders and restore unity of command in Russia. In the foreground are the figures of Dmitry Pozharsky and Kozma Minin.
In the northern part of the middle tier, Emperor Peter the Great is depicted in porphyry and with a scepter in his hand. His figure is directed forward, at the feet of the king is a Swede with a torn banner.
Lower tier
In the lower tier, the sculptor divided all historical figures into four categories: “State People”, “Writers and Artists”, “Enlighteners”, “Military People and Heroes”.
Among the heroes, one can single out Martha Boretskaya, who was the widow of the Novgorod posadnik. At the feet of Martha the posadnitsa is a broken veche bell - a symbol of the loss of independence by the Novgorod Republic.
The monument survived after 1917
It is noteworthy that after the October Revolution, the Bolsheviks did not destroy the monument “Millennium of Russia” in Novgorod, despite the fact that the Soviet press considered it “politically and artistically insulting”.
He was saved by the anti-religious campaign, when all the forces of officials were directed to the plunder of the Novgorod diocese. However, during the celebration of communist holidays, the monument was covered with plywood.
The monument was not destroyed during the Great Patriotic War
During the Great Patriotic War, when the Germans captured Novgorod, one of the German generals wanted to make a military trophy from the Millennium of Russia monument. However, the plans of the enemy were not destined to come true: the monument was only half dismantled, after which the city was liberated.