Millennium of Russia is a bronze monument in the Novgorod Kremlin.

The idea of opening the monument belonged to Alexander II and was supported by historians. In 1862, the celebration of the 1000th anniversary of Russia was to be held, the monument to the “Millennium of Russia” was decided to be installed in Novgorod, thereby recognizing its key role in the creation of the Russian state.

The monument to the “Millennium of Russia” is the first work of Mikhail Mikeshin, at that time an unknown graduate of the Imperial Academy of Arts. Numerous figures, friezes, a grille and lanterns were cast in the capital.

The grand opening of the monument took place on September 8, 1862. The ceremony was attended by Emperor Alexander II with the heir and members of the Imperial House. Then for several days Novgorod again became the center of the political life of Russia, its capital.

The monument was erected in the square near the St. Sophia Cathedral. Its height (more than 15 meters) and the scale of the forms made it possible to sustain the neighborhood with ancient and more modern architectural structures. The general decision, recognized as successful by all, without exception, was that the silhouette of the monument was associated with two important symbols of Russian and Novgorod history - an attribute of royal power with a Monomakh hat and a veche bell. The division of the monument into three levels made it possible to translate the famous formula of the official doctrine of the time into the language of sculpture: "Orthodoxy, autocracy, nationality."

In the upper part, the Angel, personifying Orthodoxy, blesses a kneeling woman - Russia.

The second level consists of six groups, each of which represents one of the stages of the development of Russian statehood: from Rurik on the south side to Peter I - on the north.

The tape of the high relief, which goes in a circle below, contains the whole history of Russia. 109 frieze figures were approved by the sovereign. The figures are grouped together: statesmen, military and heroes, cultural figures, enlighteners.

The fate of the monument to the “Millennium of Russia” is significant. During the Second World War, when Novgorod was occupied by the fascists, a narrow-gauge railway was brought into the destroyed Kremlin, and the dismantled figures and reliefs of the monument began to be prepared for shipment to Germany. Soviet soldiers who entered the Kremlin discovered fragments of the monument that were half-covered with snow. On November 7, 1944, after restoration, the monument was reopened.

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