Novgorod

Despite its name, Novgorod – “New Town” – is one of oldest cities in Russia, founded according to the chronicles by Varangian Prince Rurik in 862 AD. By the end of the tenth century it had become one of the most affluent and flourishing trade and commercial Russian centers due to its advantageous position on the River Volkhov, which flows north into Ladoga Lake and from there to the Gulf of Finland thus forming a part of the ancient trade route "from the Varangians to the Greeks". Novgorod was traditionally ruled over by the eldest son of the prince of Kiev, though in the course of time the power devolved to the town meetings known as “veche” controlled by wealthy local landlords, this phenomenon turned into a healthy disdain towards the prince.

It’s worth mentioning that Novgorod was the only Russian city which was not captured by the Mongol Tartars in the thirteenth century. During the most booming period that lasted for about three centuries starting from the 12th up to the 15th centuries, Novgorodian republican-minded nobles bestowed an unbelievable architectural legacy that can be cherished even today. That concerns not only the impressive nine-meter-high, red-brick walls of the gorgeous Kremlin, but exquisite Byzantine-style churches as well. Moreover the level of literacy in Novgorod (judging by the numerous texts inscribed on birch-bark found during excavations) was unrivaled through-out Russia. Moreover it was in Novgorod where a local school of icon painting was established. At present the masterpieces revealing the essence of Novgorodian icon-painting phenomenon can be seen in the best museums such as Russian Museum and Tretyakov Gallery. The city remained proudly independent – giving itself the title “Lord Novgorod the Great” – till Tsar Ivan III succeeded in bringing it under the administrative control of Moscow in 1475 and only a century later 1570, Novgorod was conquered once and for all by Ivan the Terrible.

The old town is divided neatly in two by the wide sweep of the River Volkhov. The right bank is the Commercial center, the site of the old marketplace and the houses of the city’s rich merchants. The opposite bank is known as the Sophia Side due to the fact that it is focused around the Kremlin, where the prince and the later the archbishop resided. The construction of the existing Kremlin dates back to the 15th century when the entire series of fortifications were put together and formed the circle, but it should be noticed that the original walls were erected around 1000AD. As many as eighteen churches and more than 150 houses used to cram its territory though at present much of Kremlin consists of open space. Among all Novgorodian churches, Saint Sophia Cathedral is the earliest and the most venerated one. Commissioned by the son of Yaroslav the Wise and completed in the middle of the eleven century, it reflects the essence of princely power. In the course of time it became a symbol of great civil pride: “Where Saint Sophia is, there is Novgorod”.

To the south of the cathedral there appears a monument unveiled by the graduate of the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts M. Mikeshin that can’t but attract everybody’s attention – this is a bell-shaped Millennium Monument erected in 1862 on the thousand anniversary of Rurik arrival in Novgorod. Cast in iron by an English company according to the project of a famous Russian sculptor, the whole monument should be treated as the embodiment of Mother Russia. The frieze around the base shows over 100 figures: heroes, statesmen, artists, composers, princes and chroniclers from different periods of Russian history. It is divided into three registers that is the sculptural representation of the official doctrine existed during that period of time “orthodoxy, autocracy and populism”. The fate of the monument is significant: during the World War II, when Novgorod was occupied by the Nazis, the fascists stretched a narrow railroad inside the destroyed Kremlin, and dismantled figures and reliefs of the monument were about to be taken to Germany. The monument then would have been re-erected in Berlin as a symbol of defeated and subdued Russia. However, Soviet Army freed the city, and after restoration was over, the Monument «Millennium of Russia» was returned to Novgorod.