Monument to Minin and Pozharsky Monument

Address: Ploshchad Teatralnaya / Red Square vicinity, Moscow, Russia

Hours: Public viewing 24 hours (monument in Red Square); museum hours vary

Admission: Free to view in Red Square; museum and tower entry fees vary (State Historical Museum and Kremlin complex tickets vary seasonally)

The Monument to Minin and Pozharsky is a bronze sculpture group on Red Square in Moscow that commemorates the leaders Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky. The monument celebrates their role in organizing a volunteer army that liberated Moscow from foreign occupation in 1612.

The sculptural group depicts the two figures in a dynamic composition and serves as a civic memorial in the heart of the city; it is a focal point for visitors to Red Square. The work was created by the sculptor Ivan Martos and is one of Moscow’s prominent public monuments.

Commissioned in the early 19th century, the monument was completed and unveiled in 1818 as part of a wave of national memorials following the Napoleonic Wars. It has stood on Red Square since its installation as a symbol of Russian unity and resistance.

The statue is positioned on Red Square immediately northwest of Saint Basil’s Cathedral and adjacent to the Kremlin walls at the centre of Moscow’s historical core.

• Red Square location: Located on Red Square near Saint Basil’s Cathedral and directly in front of the Kremlin wall, offering one of the most photographed viewpoints in central Moscow.

The monument is on the edge of Red Square near St. Basil’s Cathedral and the State Historical Museum. Most visitors arrive via Okhotny Ryad, Ploshchad Revolyutsii, or Kitay-gorod metro stations. Red Square is pedestrianized and easily walked to from central Moscow.

• View the monument from the Kremlin side for a better sense of its sculptural depth and the way it frames St. Basil's colorful domes.
• Look for the tiny inscription on the base - guidebooks often quote Karamzin's phrase praising the 1612 militia.
• Combine the visit with a walk around Red Square at dawn when the light makes the bronze warm and the crowds are few.