Monument to Minin and Pozharsky

A 20-ton bronze group directly in front of Saint Basil's Cathedral on Red Square in Moscow. The sculptor Ivan Martos created the work, unveiled in 1818, the first public monument in Moscow. It shows the Novgorod merchant Kuzma Minin urging the wounded Prince Dmitry Pozharsky to lead the liberation of Moscow from the Poles. The 1612 liberation ended the Russian Time of Troubles and is treated to this day as a founding myth of the modern Russian state; since 2005 the 4 November is celebrated as Day of People's Unity. Originally the monument stood at the center of Red Square; in 1931 it was moved in front of Saint Basil's to make room for military parades. Today it is one of the square's most photographed points.