Vladimir the monumental rises in Moscow

A 16m-tall statue of prince Vladimir the Great, a tenth-century ruler of Kiev who converted his kingdom to Orthodox Christianity and is regarded as the founder of the Russian state, is to be unveiled near the Kremlin, in Moscow, on 4 November. Both critics and supporters of the Russian president Vladimir Putin, see the statue, which was originally planned to be even bigger, as a barely disguised homage to Putin too and an effort to legitimise Russias claim to Crimea.The Military-Historical Soci