Mstislavl. Monument to Peter Mstislavets on the square

A significant place in the history of the city of Mstislavl and the Belarusian people is given to the enlightener and first printer Peter Mstislavets, who lived in the 16th century.

P. Mstislavets was born in Mstislavl. In adulthood, he ended up in Moscow, where, together with his colleague Ivan Fedorov, who also hails from Belarus, he published the first printed book in the kingdom of Moscow, The Apostle, in 1564. 

The first monument to P. Mstislavets was erected in the city of Mstislavl in 1986. And the new monument was timed to open on the republican holiday of the Day of Belarusian Writing. Every year the holiday takes place on the first Sunday of September in different cities of Belarus. In 2001, the holiday was celebrated in Mstislavl, and large educational events were held. And, among other things, a new monument to fellow countryman P. Mstislavets was opened.

The monument was erected in the very center near the district executive committee. And the square in front of the district executive committee was also named after P. Mstislavets.

The monument is three meters high in bronze. Architect Yuri Kazakov and sculptors Alexander Chigrin and Alexander Botvinenok worked on the monument. In this monument, P. Mstislavets is depicted already in adulthood with an open book in his hand.