Early Russia’s foremost cultural and art centre, Novgorod was first mentioned in a scripture in 859. For the many centuries ever since Novgorod produced a large artistic school and preserved numberless monuments of the 11th-17th-century architecture, along with artistically outstanding works of early monumental painting. Novgorod remained unconquered throughout the hard times of Tartar invasion, so that its cultural monuments and artistic traditions survived until to-day. This explains the city’s special significance in Russian art. Continue reading →