Polotsk. Monument to Prince Vseslav Bryachislavich

Prince Vseslav Bryacheslavich the Magician is perhaps one of the most legendary and significant historical figures of the Belarusian land. Even at birth, he received the nickname "The Magician", since the chronicles indicate that his birth was accompanied by witchcraft, that is, "from witchcraft." Descendants and chroniclers claimed that Vseslav possessed extraordinary strength, could transform into a wolf and cover huge distances with lightning speed.

Vseslav's reign lasted for 57 years and ended with the construction of the majestic St. Sophia Cathedral in Polotsk. During his reign, the prince sought to establish the independence of the Principality of Polotsk from Kiev, and one of the manifestations of this independence was St. Sophia Cathedral, which had previously been built only in Kiev and Novgorod.

Vseslav the Magician also became the hero of the famous work "The Word of Igor's Regiment", which describes in detail the battle on the Nemiga River in 1067 between the troops of Rogvolodovich and Yaroslavich. The feud between Vseslav Bryacheslavich of the Rogvolodovich family and the three Yaroslavich brothers (Izyaslav of Kiev, Svyatoslav of Chernigov and Vsevolod Pereyaslavsky) lasted for many years and was passed on to descendants. Vseslav attempted to besiege Pskov, plundered Novgorod, was defeated in the Battle of Nemiga (March 3, 1067), and was soon deceived by Prince Izyaslav of Kiev.

However, a year later, thanks to the popular uprising in Kiev, Vseslav was released from captivity and declared Prince of Kiev. He stayed on the throne for 7 months, until Izyaslav, who fled to Poland, returned with the Polish army and expelled the Magician not only from Kiev, but also from Polotsk in 1069.

The artist depicted Vseslav on a horse, accompanied by a hunting falcon flying nearby and with a wolf skin on the saddle. The monument, about 3.5 meters high, is cast in bronze. It is noteworthy that not a single penny of budget funds was spent on the creation of the monument - all the work was funded by donations and sponsorship investments. The total cost of the project was 300 million Belarusian rubles, excluding denomination.