Minin and Pozharsky - Red Square, Moscow
Posted by: 
NevaP
N 55° 45.163 E 037° 37.355
37U E 413548 N 6179417
This statue in Red Square honors heroes of the "Time of Troubles".
Waymark Code: WM2FGR
Location: Russia
Date Posted: 10/25/2007
Views: 135
In 1584 Ivan the Terrible was succeeded by his only remaining son, mentally deficient Fyodor. His death in 1598 ushered in an unsettled period of disputed reigns and civil unrest known as the time of troubles,1598 -1612.
After the assassination or deposition of several czars and would be czars the throne was vacant and the Boyer's (Russian nobles) were fighting among themselves. Poland had invaded a greatly weakened Russia and the Poles had captured and occupied the Kremlin.
Ivan Martos' massive, larger than life, bronze statue depicts Kuzuma Minin, a butcher and Prince Dimitry Pozharsky, an unlikely pair who came forward in 1612 to lead a patriotic resurgence, uniting the warring factors and repelling the invaders. The Kremlin was returned to Russian control on November 4, 1612, an anniversary still celebrated as The Day of National Unity. In 1613 Mikhail Romanov was chosen to become czar, beginning the 300 year reign of the Romanov Dynasty.
The statue was commissioned in 1818 and it originally stood in the middle of Red Square. Bas-reliefs on the base show citizens of Nizhny Novgorod heeding Minin's call and the Poles fleeing Kiev, with Russian fighters in pursuit. The inscription on the monument's pedestal translates: "To citizen Minin and Prince Pozharsky from grateful Russia." The original location of the statue interfered with Military parades in Red Square and in 1936 it was moved to a small garden in front of St Basil's Cathedral where it stands today, a favorite spot for tourists to be photographed.
Visit Instructions:
You must have visited the site in person, not online.