Mstislavl. Monument to Peter Mstislavets near the church.

The city of Mstislavl is proud of its countrymen, to whom numerous monuments and commemorative plaques have been opened in the district center. Many outstanding educators, historians, writers, engineers and artists were born in the city, who glorified their city far beyond the borders of our country. Doctor of Art History, Professor, art historian Adrian Prakhov (1846-1916) was born here; famous historian Semyon Dubnov (1860-1941), who wrote 10 volumes of the History of the Jewish People; Doctor of Historical Sciences, archaeologist Mikhail Tkachev (1942-1992) and many others.

Separately in this row is the figure of the enlightener and the first printer Peter Mstislavets (early 16th century, after 1577). P. Mstislavets was born into a merchant family in the city of Mstislavl. When Peter grew up, he came to Moscow, where, together with Ivan Fedorov, who also hails from Belarus, he published the first printed book in the kingdom of Moscow, The Apostle, in 1564. Several more books were then published. A little later, P. Mstislavets and I. Fedorov returned to Belarus and worked in the town of Zabludovo near Bialystok.

Realizing the importance of the figure of Peter Mstislavets for the city and for the Belarusian people, 2 monuments to the outstanding educator were erected in Mstislavl. This monument was erected near the church in Soviet times in 1986. The sculptor is a local master Nikolai Malinovsky. The sculptor created Peter Mstislavets here as a very young man in monastic clothes, who points towards Russia with his hand. There is a plaque on the monument with the inscription: "Monument to the first printer Peter Mstislavets from grateful countrymen."