The engraving “Millennium of Russia Monument” was made in lithographic technique by the architect and artist Viktor Hartmann, one of the founders of the Pseudo-Russian style. He began working on the architectural part of the monument immediately after graduating from the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts.

The lower tier of the monument depicts an angel, blessing Russia with a cross. Above, around the sphere, there are six sculptural groups, each symbolizing one of the periods of national history. An emperor embodying his era is at the base of each composition. The height of seventeen figures in these groups is about three meters. On the third tier, there are 109 outstanding historical figures.

About 100 tons of metal and 65.5 tons of bronze casting were needed to create the monument more than 15 meters high.

The foundation stone was laid on May 16, 1861, on the Kremlin Square in Novgorod, between the Cathedral of St. Sophia and the building of government offices. The foundation was laid ten meters deep. A bronze box, which contained paper about the time of laying the monument and its purpose, as well as medals and gold and silver coins of the reign of Alexander II, was placed in the foundation. A granite pedestal, narrowed to the top, was erected on the foundation. The outer facing was made of gray polished Serdobol granite, quarried on the northern shore of Lake Ladoga.

Hartmann’s engraving depicting the monument was in the collection of the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg. In 1957, it was given to the newly opened picture gallery in the city of Tyumen. Since 2018, the lithographic picture has been in the permanent exhibition of “The Kolokolnikovs’ Estate Museum.”