Postcard made in the Soviet Union about the Millennium of Russia Monument. The Millennium of Russia is a bronze monument in the Novgorod Kremlin. It was erected in 1862 to celebrate the millennium of Rurik’s arrival to Novgorod, an event traditionally taken as a starting point of the history of Russian statehood.
A competition to design the monument was held in 1859. An architect Viktor Hartmann and an artist Mikhail Mikeshin were declared the winners. Mikeshin’s design called for a grandiose, 15-metre-high globus cruciger on a bell-shaped pedestal. It was to be encircled with several tiers of sculptures representing Russian monarchs, clerics, generals, and artists active during various periods of Russian history.
During World War II, the Germans dismantled the monument, and prepared it to be transported to Germany. However, the Red Army regained control of Novgorod and the monument was restored to public view in 1944.