Millennium of Russia, Novgorod Oblast, Veliky Novgorod, Russia
The idea of opening the monument belonged to Alexander II and was supported by historians. In 1862, the celebration of the millennial anniversary of Russia was expected; it was decided to erect the monument to the Millennium of Russia in Novgorod, thus recognizing its key role in creating the Russian state.
Monument to the Millennium of the Russian Statehood is the first work of Mikhail Mikeshin, at that time still being an unknown graduate of the Imperial Academy of Arts. Numerous figures, moldings, grating and lights were cast in the capital.
The grand opening of the monument was carried out on the 8th of September in 1862. The Emperor Alexander II, his heir and the members of the Imperial House attended the ceremony. Then Novgorod once again became the center of political life of Russia for a few days, its capital.
The monument was placed on the square between the Cathedral of St. Sophia and Government offices. Its height (more than 15 meters) and the immensity of forms allowed to withstand the neighborhood with the ancient and present-day architectural structures. The general solution, accepted by each and every, was that the silhouette of the monument was associated with two important symbols of Russian and Novgorod history. It was Vladimir Monomakh’s Cap, the attribute of the throne, and the Veche bell. The separation of the monument into three levels allowed to translate into sculpture’s language the famous formula of the official doctrine of those times: “Orthodoxy, Autocracy and Nationality”.
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