Restorers dismantled the monument to Minin and Pozharsky on the Red Square

“At the end of December 2021, work was completed on equipping the pavilion over the monument to Minin and Pozharsky, testing the beam crane and engineering equipment of the pavilion. On January 13, the sculptural group was successfully lifted from the pedestal using a beam crane and transferred to the restoration and assembly table", - the museum's press service told Interfax.

Director of the State Historical Museum Alexei Levykin considers dismantling the monument to be the most dangerous and crucial moment of restoration. He noted that now the restorers will begin a detailed examination and restoration.

The project for the restoration of the monument on Red Square without transferring it and the methods of restoration were approved by the scientific and methodological council under the Ministry of Culture of Russia. The restoration work will last until November 2022, and the cost of the work is estimated at 55 million rubles.

"During the restoration process, the technological frame of the figures and the remains of the molding mixture will be removed through the technological holes, the inner and outer surfaces of the sculptures and bas-reliefs will be restored, the plinth frame will be replaced", - Interfax reports.

The monument to Minin and Pozharsky was erected with folk funds in 1818. The monument is dedicated to the leaders of the Second People's Militia in 1612, the end of the Time of Troubles and the expulsion of the Polish invaders.

Last month, the head of the Zvenigorod territorial administration of the Odintsovo district of the Moscow region and his deputy were fired for dismantling two busts of Heroes of the USSR. The monuments were installed at the expense of the townspeople, but did not have the necessary package of permits. The head of the Odintsovo city district administration, Andrei Ivanov, intervened in the situation.