Nikitin and Medinsky announced a competition for a monument to the idea of Russian freedom.

      November 18, 2025, 16:27 — Society. The governor of Nizhny Novgorod Region, Gleb Nikitin, and an aide to the President of the Russian Federation, chairman of the Russian Military-Historical Society (RVIO), Vladimir Medinsky, announced the launch of a contest (18+) for a monument to the idea of Russian Freedom.

      The monument is planned to be installed in Nizhny Novgorod, in the Strelka water area — the place where the Oka and Volga meet. It is this place, according to the organizers, that embodies the spirit of freedom, labor and creation.

      As Vladimir Medinsky noted, Nizhny Novgorod has historically been associated with entrepreneurship, honest merchants and popular initiative, and the Volga, on whose bank the monument will appear, is a symbol of Russia’s eternity and vastness.

      As a possible image for the future monument, the figure of Kozma Minin — a Nizhny Novgorod merchant who played a key role in the liberation of Moscow from Polish interventionists in 1612 — is being considered. His name has become a symbol of popular unity and determination.

      Gleb Nikitin thanked the RVIO for the joint initiative, stressing that the idea of the monument resonates with the residents of the region. According to him, Nizhny Novgorod is a city with deep historical roots and a rich cultural heritage, where the theme of freedom and unity acquires particular significance.

      The governor also expressed confidence that the monument being created will become an object of not only regional but nationwide significance — a symbol for the whole country.

      The contest results are scheduled for July 15, 2026. The prize fund will amount to 3 million rubles.

      It was previously reported that a monument to the liquidators of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident will be erected in Sarov.

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