Where there used to be a monument to Minin and Pozharsky. Brief information about the monument to Minin and Pozharsky

) that today's neo-Banderaites should pray for the founding fathers of the USSR, who divided the state along ethnic lines. Yes, the idea was not theirs, and even the first steps on this path were taken by the Austro-Hungarians and the Poles in Galicia. But it was the Bolsheviks who did not allow these seedlings to dry out.

On the contrary, they were groomed and cherished, seated and protected by the merciless force of the party of the dictatorship of the proletariat. I don’t even want to argue that this was justified by objective conditions - that’s not the point. The main thing is that this was the work of the Bolsheviks of the Stalin period.

Yes, Ukrainization began even before Lenin’s death. The same Stalin back in 1921 X congress of the RCP(b) stated: “...It was recently said that the Ukrainian republic and Ukrainian nationality- an invention of the Germans. Meanwhile it is clear that Ukrainian nationality exists, and the development of its culture is the responsibility of communists . You can't go against history. It is clear that if Russian elements still predominate in the cities of Ukraine, then over time these cities will inevitably be Ukrainized ».

But even after Lenin’s death, nothing changed and the brochure “On the Right of Nations to Self-Determination” was not burned. On the contrary, the USSR was built from a “union of nations” with the right to secede from the USSR. Moreover, when after the Victory it was possible to transform the USSR into single state with the “new community of Soviet people” - this was also not done.

So it was the party, and it was in the USSR, that created the Ukrainians as a nation, turned Little Russia itself into a huge, full-fledged founding state of the UN, gathered all the territories into this state, right up to the Crimea, and, in Stalin’s style, harshly and uncompromisingly planted Ukrainian language even where he was not born.

Historical fact - there were no “Ukrainians” in the Republic of Ingushetia! Look at any census. You will find there all the peoples of the empire, except one... So as not to be unfounded (Census of the Republic of Ingushetia, 1897: http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/rus_lan_97.php). There were no Ukrainians in neighboring countries either. There were Russians or Rusyns, Ruthenians, Little Russians, anyone. There were no Ukrainians until the First World War, even in the USA and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which cultivated Ukrainians from the Rusyns on its territory in Galicia (fortunately, Polish groundwork was made along this path). We must also pay tribute to the Russian Empire, in which “Ukrainians” were fashionable and popular (remember the reburial of Shevchenko).

However, only World War began official Ukrainization. Pay attention to the passport of newspaper No. 61 dated October 13, 1914 and compare the passport of the next number 62 for October 15, 1914.

But these were just the beginnings.

Unsuccessful attempts to split the warring Russian Empire. And even all sorts of UPR of Grushevsky, Hetmanate of Skoropadsky and Directory of Petliura were not crowned with success. Happy ending civil war the winners could beat everything - and the attempt to create the Donetsk-Krivoy Rog Republic is just one example of a different kind of construction. But for the reasons that I wrote about in the previous article (Stalin and the time bomb that destroyed the USSR), the Bolsheviks followed the principle of national division of the USSR.

This was the most brutal and all-encompassing of the Ukrainizations - Yushchenko is resting (in total, under the USSR there were at least three waves of Ukrainizations under all the secretaries general, except for Andropov and Chernenko, who ruled for a short time). It was in the USSR that the population of the Ukrainian SSR and adjacent territories of the RSFSR learned that they were “Ukrainians.” Stalin did not “destroy” the “Ukrainians” - he created them!

In 1923, at the XII Congress of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, Stalin, in accordance with Lenin’s ideas, made a decision on “indigenization” - replacing the Russian language with local ones national languages in administration, education and culture. In Ukraine, as well as in Kuban, in the Stavropol Territory, parts North Caucasus, Kursk and Voronezh regions Such indigenization was quite officially called Ukrainization.

The same Grushevsky, head of the UPR from Galicia, already favored by the Soviet authorities, wrote: « About 50 thousand people moved to the Ukrainian SSR from Galicia with wives and families, young people, men. Many Galicians work in the apparatus of the People's Commissariat of Education of Ukraine. M.I. worked at Ukrnauka. Yavorsky, K. I. Konik, M. L. Baran; the scientific secretaries of the People's Commissariat for Education were A.I. Badan-Yavorenko, and then Zozulyak; Skrypnik’s personal secretary was the Galician N.V. Erstenyuk.”

Together with them, 400 officers of the former Galician army, led by G. Kossak, the uncle of Zenon Kossak, who became the author of 44 rules of life, were also discharged from then Polish Galicia to the Ukrainian SSR Ukrainian nationalist. I can imagine how delighted Pilsudski and Co. were.

From Gorky's letter Ukrainian writer A. Slesarenko: “Dear Alexey Makarovich! I am categorically against shortening the story “Mother”. It seems to me that translating this story into Ukrainian is also not necessary. I am very surprised by the fact that people, setting themselves the same goal, not only assert the difference between adverbs - they strive to make the adverb a “language”, but also oppress those Great Russians who find themselves a minority in the field of this adverb.”

IN1930 in Ukraine, 68.8% of newspapers were published by Soviet authorities in Ukrainian language, in 1932 there were already 87.5%. In 1925-26 45.8% of books published by communists in Ukraine were published in Ukrainian; by 1932 this figure was 76.9%. There was no market, the growth and distribution of circulation was a purely party matter and was not dictated by demand.

Here is a quote from the decision of the 4th plenum of the Donetsk regional committee of the CP(b)U: “ Strictly observe the Ukrainization of Soviet bodies, resolutely fighting against any attempts by enemies to weaken Ukrainization.” The decision was made in October 1934.

And six months before that, in April, the same regional committee made a strong-willed decision “On the language of urban and regional newspapers Donbass". In pursuance of the party's decisions on Ukrainization, Donetsk residents decided to completely translate 23 of 36 local newspapers into Ukrainian, another 8 had to print at least two-thirds of the information in Ukrainian, 3 - in Greek-Hellenic, and only TWO newspapers (!) in the region were decided leave it in Russian.

Before the revolution, there were 7 Ukrainian schools in Donbass. In 1923, the People's Commissariat of Education of Ukraine ordered the Ukrainization of 680 schools in the region within three years.

But the peak of Ukrainization of education here occurred precisely in 1932-33! On December 1, 1932, out of 2,239 schools in Donbass, 1,760 (or 78.6%) were Ukrainian, another 207 (9.2%) were mixed Russian-Ukrainian.

By 1933, the last Russian-language pedagogical technical schools had closed. In 1932-33 academic year in Russian-speaking Makeevka there is not a SINGLE Russian-speaking class left in primary school, which caused violent protests from parents. This year, no more than 26% of the region’s students could study in Russian.

Party bodies have also actively Ukrainized (well, yes, the same party that they are now trying to accuse of genocide of the Ukrainian people). If in 1925 the ratio of Ukrainians and Russians in the Communist Party of Ukraine was 36.9% to 43.4%, in 1930 - 52.9% to 29.3%, then in the peak year of the “Holodomor” (1933). ) - 60% Ukrainians to 23% Russians

Wow, while “destroying” the “Ukrainians,” Stalin for some reason implanted the language everywhere and persecuted the Russian language. Some kind of strange "destruction".

Here's another interesting document for you:

Resolution of December 14, 1932 of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR “On grain procurements in Ukraine, the North Caucasus and the Western Region”, quote:

d) Invite the Central Committee of the Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of Ukraine and the Council of People's Commissars of Ukraine to pay serious attention to the correct implementation of Ukrainization, to eliminate its mechanical implementation, to expel Petliura and other bourgeois-nationalist elements from party and Soviet organizations, to carefully select and educate Ukrainian Bolshevik cadres, to ensure systematic party management and control over the implementation of Ukrainization.

Read it - an interesting document. The fight against hunger and (ATTENTION!) Ukrainization are discussed! There, by the way, it is decided to cancel Ukrainization in Kuban, because The local population does not understand the language well. :)

"Confirm that Only persons who speak Ukrainian can be recruited for service, and non-owners can be accepted only in agreement with the District Commission for Ukrainization.” R-401 op.1, no. 82 Presidium of Lugansk District. executive committee: “Confirm to employees that careless attendance at courses and unwillingness to learn the Ukrainian language entails their dismissal from service.” R-401, op.1, case 72.

In July 1930, the Presidium of the Stalin District Executive Committee decided to “bring to criminal liability the heads of organizations formally related to Ukrainization, who have not found ways to Ukrainize their subordinates, who violate the current legislation in the matter of Ukrainization.” Newspapers, schools, universities, theaters, institutions, inscriptions, signs, etc. were Ukrainianized. In Odessa, where Ukrainian students accounted for less than a third, all schools were Ukrainized. In 1930, there were only 3 large Russian-language newspapers left in Ukraine.

Ukrainization of the Communist Party of Ukraine

Years Party members and candidates Ukrainians Russians others
1922- 54818... 23,3 %...... 53,6 % 23,3 %
1924- 57016... 33,3 %..... 45,1 % 14,0 %
1925- 101852 36,9 %... 43,4 % 19,7 %
1927- 168087 51,9 %.. 30,0 % 18,1 %
1930- 270698 52,9 %.. 29,3 % 17,8 %
1933- 468793 60,0 % .. 23,0 % 17,0 %

It would be a mistake to assume that Ukrainization stopped in the mid-30s. Yes, it quietly faded away in the Kuban, Stavropol, and Northern Caucasus. But without exception, all the lands that joined the Ukrainian SSR were Ukrainized harshly and mercilessly. In 1939, it turned out that the inhabitants of Galicia were also not sufficiently Ukrainized due to the prevalence Polish language. Lviv University named after Jan Casimir was renamed in honor of Ivan Franko and Ukrainianized in the same way as the Lviv Opera, which received the same name. The Soviet government massively opened new Ukrainian schools and founded new Ukrainian-language newspapers. It’s just that here they changed it to Ukrainian not Russian, but Polish.

De-Russification also occurred in Transcarpathia after joining the Ukrainian SSR. Approximately half of the locals, even before the First World War, through the efforts of the Austro-Hungarian authorities, who used the Terezin and Talerhof concentration camps to persuade them, chose Ukrainian identity. The other half of the Rusyns adhered to the all-Russian orientation and stubbornly considered Russian their native language. However, in 1945, all Rusyns, regardless of their wishes, were called Ukrainians by the Soviet government. Well, there is no need to talk about Crimea; its Ukrainization began as soon as Khrushchev stuck it into the Ukrainian SSR.

I will not bore readers with a list of documents different years- some photocopies of newspapers:

"...to pay serious attention to the correct implementation of Ukrainization, eliminate its mechanical implementation, expel Petliura and other bourgeois-nationalist elements from party and Soviet organizations, carefully select and educate Ukrainian Bolshevik cadres, ensure systematic party leadership and control over the implementation of Ukrainization"

Vladislav Pavlovich Smirnov (born 1929) - Soviet and Russian historian, specialist in the history of France. Honored Professor of Moscow University (2012), laureate of the M.V. Lomonosov for pedagogical activity(2013). In 1953 V.P. Smirnov graduated from the Faculty of History of Moscow State University, then became a graduate student, and in 1957 he began working at the department of new and modern history Faculty of History at Moscow State University, where he rose from assistant to professor. Below is an excerpt from his book: Smirnov V.P. FROM STALIN TO YELTSIN: self-portrait against the background of the era / V. P. Smirnov. – M.: New Chronograph, 2011.

Leader and teacher

When I was born, Stalin ruled the country. Members of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, who were close to him, called him “master” in their circle, and “leader and teacher” in public. In 1929, the last legal intra-party opposition, the “right opposition” led by N.I., suffered a complete defeat. Bukharin and A.I. Rykov. Just on my birthday, Pravda published big article under the heading: “Persistently and mercilessly fight the ideology and practice of right-wing opportunism.” Opposition members were expelled from the party, removed from work, sent into exile, and sometimes arrested, with fictitious crimes attributed to them, most often “anti-Soviet activities,” “sabotage,” or “espionage.” Some of the oppositionists, in search of salvation, repented and admitted their mistakes.

At the same time, a campaign of unbridled glorification of Stalin was underway and rapidly intensifying. The signal for her was a special issue of Pravda for the 50th anniversary of Stalin, entirely filled with greetings and praises. There, for the first time, the photograph “Lenin and Stalin in Gorki” appeared, without which not a single biography of Stalin was subsequently complete, articles by the members of the Politburo closest to Stalin, poems in his honor and - under the heading “Thousands of Greetings” - congratulatory telegrams from various institutions and organizations. The tone was set by the editorial of Pravda, which said: “The Communist Party, the working class and the world revolutionary movement are celebrating today the 50th anniversary of their leader and leader, friend and comrade comrade. Stalin."

For the first time, Stalin was called a “leader,” not only of the party, but also of the working class and the world revolutionary movement. How unusual this was then can be seen from the fact that in the greeting to Stalin on behalf of the Central Committee and the Central Control Commission of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, the word “leader” was not yet used. Stalin appeared there only as “Lenin’s faithful, best disciple,” “ iron soldier revolution”, “dear friend and comrade in arms” of the remaining members of the Central Committee and the Central Control Commission. The Moscow Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) turned out to be even more modest in its assessments. He hailed Stalin "as first among equals at the Bolshevik battle headquarters." In the flattering welcoming verses of Demyan Bedny published by Pravda, another note was sounded, which was then constantly repeated in the stream of enthusiastic writings about Stalin: the beloved leader, on top of everything else, is also incredibly modest - he only tolerates praise with difficulty.

“Telegrams... The editorial office is inundated with them.
On the occasion of Stalin's half-century!
Let Stalin do as he pleases
Angry, roaring,

But “Pravda” can no longer remain silent!” – wrote Demyan Bedny. The flow of praise grew, and the epithets applied to Stalin quickly reached highest degrees. In 1934, at the XVII Congress of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, officially proclaimed the “Congress of Winners,” the leaders of the largest party organizations in Moscow and Leningrad - N.S. Khrushchev and A.A. Zhdanov - called Stalin “brilliant”. It is unlikely that this thought occurred to them at the same time. pure chance. Khrushchev said that the Moscow Bolsheviks rallied “around our brilliant leader, Comrade Stalin,” and Zhdanov assured that all the successes of the USSR were achieved “under the brilliant leadership of the greatest leader of our party and the working class, greatest man of our era - Comrade Stalin."

Others did not lag behind, including those admitted by Stalin to the congress, the former leaders of the opposition - Zinoviev, Kamenev, Bukharin, Rykov. They all condemned the chain of their “mistakes, delusions and crimes,” dissociated themselves from their already arrested comrades, thanked Stalin for defeating them, swore allegiance to him, and praised him to the skies. Perhaps their statements need to be recalled, because they show how morally and politically broken the opposition leaders were even before the trials organized against them began. Zinoviev assured that Stalin belongs “to those few rare and rare writers and thinkers whose works you reread many times, each time finding in them a new wealth of content.” Kamenev said that Stalin “is a banner,” “an exponent of the will of millions, a blow against whom means a blow against the entire party, against socialism, against the entire world proletariat.”

Bukharin called for unity “around Comrade Stalin as the personal embodiment of the mind and will of the party, its leader, its theoretical and practical leader.” Rykov promised to “work for the cause of the proletarian revolution under the leadership of our Central Committee and its great leader, Comrade Stalin.” Repentance and forced praise of Stalin did not save the opposition leaders. A few years later, at trials, they had to not only repent, but also “confess” to treason, espionage, murder and other crimes that they did not commit; humiliatedly, but to no avail, beg Stalin for mercy.

After the defeat of the opposition, all means mass media a wave of stories, poems and “ folk tales"about Stalin, the enthusiastic memories of people who have ever seen or at least heard of him. Appeared special genre: “Songs about Stalin”, where he was compared to a falcon, an eagle and the sun. Their authors were not only unknown rhymers, but also very famous, respected and authoritative people. So, in 1938, composer A.V. Alexandrov and the poet M. Inyushkin composed the “Cantata about Stalin”, which since that time has opened almost all holiday concerts. It began with the words:

From edge to edge, along mountain peaks,
Where the free eagle takes flight,
About Stalin, wise, dear and beloved
The people compose a wonderful song.

No less famous was “Song about Stalin” by the poet A. Surkov and composer M. Blanter. They “composed a joyful song about the Great Friend and Leader.” Its chorus went:

Stalin is our military glory,
Stalin is the flight of our youth.
With songs, fighting and winning,
Our people are following Stalin.

In another “Song about Stalin” the poet S. Alymov and composer A.V. Alexandrov on behalf of Soviet people assured:

We will all follow you for any feat,
Our banner of victory, our Stalin.

Along with the image of a great, wise and beloved leader, the songs of the 30s created the image of the USSR as an exceptionally rich and happy country.

The sunny and brightest land
The entire Soviet land has become...
Warmed by Stalin's smile
Our children are happy.

The vast majority of the population of the USSR lived in poverty, were malnourished, and in some places there was real hunger, but in the songs everything looked simply wonderful.

We're bursting with bread
In the barns there are bins,
All the way to the outskirts
All new houses.

The songs were accompanied by books, articles, films, theatrical performances, chanting happy life Soviet people under the leadership of their brilliant, wise, kind, humane leader - Comrade Stalin. His portraits hung in all institutions, military units, schools, hospitals, and in many private apartments. It was a genuine “cult of personality,” as it was later called, a cult resembling a religious one, accompanied by mass enthusiastic worship.

Not only " simple people", but also gifted critical mind famous intellectuals were delighted at the mere appearance of Stalin. Having seen Stalin at the Komsomol congress in 1936, K.I. Chukovsky wrote in his diary: “I looked around: everyone had loving, tender, spiritual and laughing faces. Seeing him—just seeing him—was happiness for all of us... We walked home together with Pasternak, and both reveled in our joy.” The most amazing thing is that even people who seemed to know Stalin well, including his relatives, whom he later destroyed, saw in him “a real invincible Eagle” and believed that Stalin was “infinitely kind.”

After the revelation of Stalin’s crimes at the 20th Congress of the CPSU, when it became completely safe to criticize him, it turned out that some prominent scientists and writers, for example, A.A. Akhmatova, had no illusions either about Stalin or about the Stalinist regime. Perhaps many “ordinary people” thought the same, especially those who suffered from Soviet power. However, they kept their feelings to themselves, because expressing them was mortally dangerous. I was a little boy then, growing up in an atmosphere of continuous praise of Stalin and perceived it as completely natural. I’ll tell you an episode from my childhood impressions, which unexpectedly received a continuation. Apparently, I could not read yet, but with great pleasure I looked at the large, beautiful posters hanging everywhere, on which Stalin, with a kind, fatherly smile, was holding a little girl in his arms with a large bouquet of flowers.

Many years later. In the fall of 2000, I met a beautiful middle-aged woman at my friends’ house. They told me: “Meet me. This is Gelya Markizova; Do you remember the girl with a bouquet in Stalin’s arms?” I remembered, I started asking Gelya, and this is what she told me. Her father was the Minister of Agriculture of the Buryat-Mongolian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, one of the secretaries of the Buryat Regional Committee of the CPSU, and a convinced communist. He named his children in honor of the founders of Marxism-Leninism: his son Vladilen (in honor of Lenin), and his daughter Engelsina (in honor of Engels). In 1936, my father, along with his wife and Gelya (as she was called at home), came to Moscow for a decade of Buryat art. He was invited to a government reception, and Gelya, who was then 5–6 years old, begged him to take her with him. They bought large bouquet flowers and went to the Kremlin. There Gele got tired of listening to speeches, she got up and went straight to Stalin with her bouquet. This caused wild delight in the entire room. Stalin picked her up, they were immediately photographed, and the next day the photograph appeared in the newspapers with the caption “Thanks to Comrade Stalin for our happy childhood" Gelya received a flood of congratulations and gifts. Stalin gave her wrist watch and a gramophone. According to Gelya, he asked: “Will you get it?”, and Gelya replied: “I’ll ask dad.”

Following Stalin, a variety of institutions and organizations began sending gifts to Gele. Some collective farm even donated a cow and calf. Posters depicting Geli in Stalin’s arms made her famous throughout the country. And then came ’37... My father was arrested, accused of spying for Japan and of conspiracy to separate Buryatia from the USSR, brutally tortured and shot. The posters with Gels in Stalin’s arms disappeared. Gelya, her brother and mother were exiled to Kazakhstan. After the rehabilitation of her parents, Gelya was able to see her mother’s personal file. It contained a request from the local NKVD branch: What to do with the mother? She keeps a photograph of Geli in Stalin’s arms and can use it in the future. Beria, who replaced Yezhov as People's Commissar of Internal Affairs, signed a resolution in blue pencil: “Eliminate.” After this, Geli’s mother was admitted to the hospital under some pretext and a few days later they said that she had committed suicide in a fit of depression by cutting her throat with a broken bottle. Gelya didn’t believe this. According to her, she herself saw the mark of the cut - it was narrow, thin, like from a knife or lancet, and not torn, as it would be from a fragment of a bottle. Further fate Geli and her brother's life turned out relatively well. They were adopted by distant relatives, they were not considered “members of the family of a traitor to the motherland”, they received higher education, worked. Gelya graduated from the Faculty of History of Moscow State University. In her story, Gelya mentioned a detail that now surprised her. She did not believe the accusations against her father, but in 1953, when Stalin died, she cried and was very sorry that her little daughter would never see such a great man.

The monument to Minin and Pozharsky by Ivan Martos is a kind of crowdfunding project of the 19th century. The idea to create such a monument using public money arose in 1803 at a meeting of the St. Petersburg Free Society of Lovers of Literature, Science and the Arts. Then publicists called upon artists fascinated by Antiquity to turn to subjects from national history. The townsman Kuzma Minin and the commander Prince Dmitry Pozharsky were ideal heroes: during the Time of Troubles, in early XVII century, one organized and the other led the militia that liberated Moscow from foreign invaders. In 1804, Martos presented the first sculptural sketch. However, they decided to postpone the project. In 1808, Nizhny Novgorod residents got down to business. A sketch competition was held, and Martos's work was recognized as the best. An imperial decree announced the collection of funds by popular subscription, and the names of donors were published in the press.

Initially they wanted to erect the monument in Nizhny Novgorod, where Minin called on the people to form a militia. But in 1811 they decided that the place for the monument was in Moscow. This was the first sculptural monument in the city. At first he stood near the shopping arcades (today the territory of GUM), and Minin pointed with his hand at the Kremlin, where enemies settled in 1610-1612. However, in the 1930s, the monument was moved to its current location, near the Intercession Cathedral.

1. Minin. The clothing of the representative of the people is not stylized as antique: Minin’s tunic with a border resembles a shirt; there are ports on it. In addition, Minin has a Russian “bracket” haircut. But the correct facial features of the Nizhny Novgorod resident seem to have been copied from ancient images of gods and heroes: in classicism, such an appearance is a sign of the character’s moral integrity.

2. Sword. Both heroes hold on to it: they are ready to repel the enemy together. The sheathed weapon is similar to the images of ancient swords in engravings late XVIII century with Roman antiquities (in particular the works of Giovanni Battista and Francesco Piranesi).

3. Pozharsky. In the first sketch, the heroes stood side by side, but the sculptor was criticized: one should not equate a person from the people with a prince. And Martos decided to portray Pozharsky sitting, not yet fully recovered from the wounds received in the battles with the Poles. Nizhny Novgorod residents called on the talented military leader to lead the militia when he was being treated on his estate in Mugreevo.

4. Exomida. Pozharsky is dressed in a one-shoulder chiton, as worn by Spartan warriors: according to the canons of classicism, a noble hero should be depicted in antique attire.

5. Portrait of a sculptor. Martos himself, in the guise of a townsman sending his sons into the militia, was portrayed by his student Samuel Galberg. Antique stories about parents sacrificing their own children for the good of the fatherland were close to the sculptor. One of his sons took part in the Patriotic War of 1812, and the other, while on an internship in Europe, was captured by Napoleonic soldiers and died in 1813.

6. Minin's feat. The subject of the front bas-relief is that Nizhny Novgorod residents, at the call of a fellow countryman, hand over money and jewelry to gather a militia. Their movements are solemn, as if they were ancient citizens performing a sacred rite.

7. Memorial inscription. Its text: “To Citizen Minin and Prince Pozharsky, grateful Russia. Summer of 1818” Alexander Pushkin criticized for being too laconic: neither the names of the heroes nor Minin’s status were mentioned.

8. Pozharsky’s feat. On the bas-relief on the back side, the militia led by Pozharsky are expelling the Poles from Moscow. And again, antique robes are combined with stylized Russian helmets and the image of the Mother of God on the shield, the intercessor of Russian soldiers.

9. Helmet. The only detail of Pozharsky's vestment that resembles appearance that he is a Russian prince.

10. Shield. It looks like an aegis ancient greek goddess Athens, only in place of the head of the Gorgon Medusa there is an oriflamme with the image of the Savior Not Made by Hands.

Ivan Petrovich Martos
1754 - born in the town of Ichnya (Ukraine) into the family of an impoverished landowner.
1764-1773 - studied at St. Petersburg Academy arts
1773 - went to Rome for an internship.
1779 - returned to Russia, began teaching at the Academy of Arts.
1780 - sculpted a bust of his patron, Count Nikita Panin, in the spirit of ancient Roman sculptural portraits.
1804-1807 - created a statue of John the Baptist, bas-reliefs and frieze for the Kazan Cathedral.
1807 - made a tombstone for the cenotaph of Emperor Paul I in the mausoleum in Pavlovsk.
1835 - died in St. Petersburg, buried at the Lazarevskoye cemetery.

Monument to Minin and Pozharsky - a sculptural group made of brass and copper, created by Ivan Martos; located in front of St. Basil's Cathedral on Red Square.

Dedicated to Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Mikhailovich Pozharsky, leaders of the second people's militia during the Polish intervention in Time of Troubles, and the victory over Poland in 1612.

The front high relief depicts patriotic citizens donating their property for the good of the Motherland. On the left is the sculptor Martos himself, giving his two sons to the fatherland (one of them died in 1813).

The rear high relief depicts Prince Pozharsky driving the Poles out of Moscow.

A proposal to start collecting funds for the construction of the monument was made in 1803 by members of the Free Society of Lovers of Literature, Science and the Arts. Initially, the monument was supposed to be installed in Nizhny Novgorod, the city where the militia was gathered.

Sculptor Ivan Martos immediately began work on the monument project. In 1807, Martos published an engraving from the first model of the monument, in which folk heroes Minin and Pozharsky presents Russian society as liberators of the country from foreign yoke.

In 1808, residents of Nizhny Novgorod asked for the Highest permission to invite other compatriots to participate in the creation of the monument. The proposal was approved by Emperor Alexander I, who strongly supported the idea of ​​erecting a monument.

In November 1808, the sculptor Ivan Martos won a competition for best project monument, an imperial decree was issued on subscription to fundraising throughout Russia. The names of the subscribers were printed and made public.

Due to the importance of the monument for Russian history, it was decided to install it in Moscow, and in Nizhny Novgorod to install a marble obelisk in honor of Minin and Prince Pozharsky.

Obelisk in honor of Minin and Pozharsky in Nizhny Novgorod.

Installed in 1828 in the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin instead of the originally planned monument. Designed by architect A. I. Melnikov, the bas-reliefs were created according to the sketches of I. P. Martos.

Work on the creation of the monument began at the end of 1812 under the leadership of Ivan Martos. A small model of the monument was completed in mid-1812. In the same year, Martos begins production big model and early in 1813 the model was opened to the public. The work was highly appreciated by Empress Maria Feodorovna (February 4) and members of the Academy of Arts

The casting of the monument was entrusted to Vasily Ekimov, the foundry master of the Academy of Arts. At the end preparatory work casting was completed on August 5, 1816. 1,100 pounds of copper were prepared for smelting. The copper took 10 hours to melt. The casting of such a colossal monument at once was carried out for the first time in European history.

It was originally planned to use Siberian marble for the pedestal of the monument. But due to the significant size of the monument, it was decided to use granite. Huge stones were delivered to St. Petersburg from the shores of Finland, which was part of Russian Empire. The pedestal, consisting of three solid pieces, was made by stonemason Sukhanov.

It was decided to deliver the monument from St. Petersburg to Moscow by water, taking into account the size and weight of the monument, along the route through the Mariinsky Canal to Rybinsk, then along the Volga to Nizhny Novgorod, then up the Oka to Kolomna and along the Moscow River. On May 21, 1817, the monument was sent from St. Petersburg and on September 2 of the same year was delivered to Moscow.

At the same time, the installation location of the monument in Moscow was finally determined. It was decided that best place is Red Square compared to the square at the Tverskaya Gate, where the installation was previously planned. The specific location on Red Square was determined by Martos: in the middle of Red Square, opposite the entrance to the Upper Trading Rows (now the GUM building).

Monument to Minin and Pozharsky near the Upper Trading Rows in the mid-1850s. Lithograph by Daziaro based on the original by F. Benoit.

February 20 (March 4), 1818 took place Grand opening monument with the participation of Emperor Alexander and his family and at the confluence of huge amount of people. A guard parade took place on Red Square

Parade at the opening of the monument to Minin and Pozharsky. 19th century engraving.

Demonstration near the monument in the first days of the First World War. The location of the monument in the center of Red Square is visible. Photo by A. Savelyev. 1914.

In 1931, the monument to Minin and Pozharsky was considered an obstacle to demonstrations and parades of military equipment and was moved to St. Basil's Cathedral. The poet D. Altauzen demanded that the monument be demolished and a monument to N. Nekrasov erected in its place.

Monuments to Minin and Pozharsky in other cities

On November 4, 2005, a monument to Minin and Pozharsky by Zurab Tsereteli was unveiled in Nizhny Novgorod - a reduced (5 cm) copy of the Moscow monument. It is installed under the walls of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin, near the Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist. According to the conclusion of historians and experts, in 1611 Kuzma Minin, from the porch of this church, called on Nizhny Novgorod residents to gather and equip the people’s militia to defend Moscow from the Poles. On Nizhny Novgorod monument the inscription is preserved, but without indicating the year.

Monument to Kozma Minin in Nizhny Novgorod. Installed in June 1989 (sculptor O.K. Komov).

Monument to Kozma Minin in Balakhna, Nizhny Novgorod Region.

The monument was created to raise the patriotic spirit and was inaugurated on November 7, 1943 in Gorky (Nizhny Novgorod) (sculptor Alexander Kolobov).

The figure of Minin was made of short-lived material (concrete) and painted bronze. In the summer of 1985, the monument, in need of repair or replacement, was dismantled and sent to Balakhna, the supposed homeland of the hero.

Monument to Dmitry Pozharsky in the park near the walls of the Spaso-Evfimiev Monastery in Suzdal.

Monument to Dmitry Pozharsky in Zaraysk, Moscow region

In 1610-1611, Dmitry Pozharsky was the governor of Zaraysk.

Monument to Dmitry Pozharsky in the village of Borisoglebsky, Yaroslavl region

Monument to Dmitry Pozharsky in the village of Purekh, Nizhny Novgorod region

The monument to Kozma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, two national liberator heroes, is one of the most famous Moscow monuments and perhaps the most symbolic. Firstly, it stands in the very center of Moscow - on Red Square, in front of. Secondly, it was established not with state money, but with public donations. Thirdly, he depicts not a sovereign, not a poet, not a leader, but a commoner and a prince. Kozma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky are not depicted at all as befits medieval Russian warriors. But let's deal with everything in order.

Why they?

Kozma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky lived at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. It was a difficult time for Russia, which is called “The Troubles.” The Rurik dynasty was interrupted - there was no legitimate sovereign in Rus'. False princes, who are financially and politically supported by powerful Poles, are chasing the Russian throne. After the overthrow of False Dmitry I, the Poles and Lithuanians, taking advantage of the disunity of the Russian kingdom, openly attacked Moscow. It begins. While the interventionists dominate the Kremlin, 400 kilometers from the capital - in Nizhny Novgorod - headman Kozma Minin is gradually gathering a people's militia, led by Prince Dmitry Pozharsky. In February 1612, the militia went to Moscow, calling for volunteers along the way. From August to October, the militia army fought a long and bloody battle in Moscow with the Poles and eventually successfully expelled them.

Moscow was rarely captured by foreigners: in the 14th century it was plundered mongol khan Tokhtamysh, and later, in XIX century, - Napoleon. Only three times in 700 years of history of Moscow and Russian state! And each time, deliverance was achieved at the cost of numerous casualties and destruction. And Kozma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky, who voluntarily and without any order gathered and led the liberation movement, became for Russia a symbol of freedom and indestructibility.

Why here?

The monument did not always stand at St. Basil's Cathedral. Initially they wanted to put it in Nizhny Novgorod - after all, the legendary militia was gathered there. But Minin and Pozharsky fought near the walls of the Kremlin! In addition, the monument was erected after the War of 1812 and the expulsion of Napoleon from Moscow. Therefore, Emperor Alexander II decided to erect a monument in Moscow and announced a fundraiser throughout the country. Was announced art competition, at which the project of the sculptor Ivan Petrovich Martos received approval. The casting of the monument was carried out in St. Petersburg. The fact that the creation of the monument was truly a national effort is indicated by the sign: “To Citizen Minin and Prince Pozharsky, grateful Russia.”

However, the monument did not immediately take its current place. Initially on Red Square it stood in front of the building nium of shopping arcades (nowadays the GUM building stands on this site), which after Patriotic War Built in 1812 by architect Osip Bove. This extended building, ending with a flat, wide dome, echoed another structure of similar architecture - the Kremlin Senate, built in the 18th century by Matvey Kazakov. They stood opposite each other, on the same axis, and between them ran a long open area. Minin’s hand gesture, simultaneously triumphant and patronizing, seemed to echo the domes of these two buildings, “covered” them and at the same time pointed to the Kremlin towers. In the 1930s of the 20th century, the monument was moved to the cathedral. Official version said that he was interfering with parades. And if you believe the popular joke, one of the party leaders did not like the fact that Minin took the sword with one hand and pointed at it with the other.

Why is that?

Look at the monument. Why is Minin standing and Pozharsky sitting? Why are both Russian soldiers dressed so strangely? Where is the legendary battle with the Poles? The author of the monument, sculptor Ivan Martos, also considered all these questions.

At first, he decided to portray Minin and Pozharsky in the image of ancient heroes, but in different ways: Minin, as a representative common people, - barefoot and with his head uncovered, and the sculptor decided to put Prince Pozharsky in princely boots, place a Roman helmet on his head, and pin his cloak with a fibula ancient Russian princes. Then Pozharsky was conceived just like antique hero- in sandals, and Minin - in a simple peasant Russian shirt. Ultimately, Martos depicted both barefoot, without unnecessary details (nudity in an ancient figure is a sign of a hero). Thus, the sculptor equalized their significance and deprived them of any signs of time, emphasizing that their feat will forever remain in the memory of people.

However, of course, there are signs of “Russianness” in the monument. The face of the Savior is depicted on Pozharsky’s shield - it practically becomes an icon. And the long Russian sword, only partially removed from its scabbard, resembles a cross. The defense of the Fatherland in Rus' has always been associated with the defense of faith. Standing Minin hands the sword to Pozharsky, as if calling him to lead the militia. Pozharsky, although he is sitting, is full of inner energy gies, like a compressed spring, ready to straighten out. He is already taking the sword, and behind his back is an ancient Russian (and not at all Roman) helmet. The reliefs on the pedestal depict events that occurred during the Troubles, including famous battle on Red Square on August 24, 1612. According to legend, on the relief under the inscription Martos depicted himself, giving his two sons to the militia.