On September 11, President Vladimir Putin and Patriarch Kirill took part in the ceremony of opening the monument called “Alexander Nevsky with his warriors”, as part of the nationwide celebrations devoted to the 800^th anniversary of the Prince Alexander Nevsky.

The monumental composition is installed on the shore of lake Chudskoye, in the village of Samolva, Gdovsk region, where the Battle on Ice was fought in 1242, in which the Prince defeated the Livonian Order army.

50 tons in weight, and 20 meters (65 feet) in length, the monument is cast in bronze. It was brought to the site in parts, and assembled right on the shore of the lake. The composition is made up of three mounted statues – the Prince himself, his brother, and the voivoda (the military commander). There are also six additional warriors. The reverse side of the monument is a mosaic picture showing scenes from the battle.

The monument was built in only four months’ time by the Russian Military History Society, with support from the Russian Federation Ministry of Defense.

Nikolay Ovsienko, the Deputy Head of the Society, told the press that the idea was to show the Prince and his warriors coming back from the battle. It was then that Alexander Nevsky is believed to have pronounced the famous phrase, “Those who come to us with a sword shall die of a sword.”