Kuzma Minin in the context of "Nizhny Novgorod"

The Time of Troubles (Russian: Смутное время, romanized: Smutnoye vremya), also known as Smuta (Russian: Смута, lit. 'troubles'), was a period of political crisis in Russia which began in 1598 with the death of Feodor I, the last of the House of Rurik, and ended in 1613 with the accession of Michael I of the House of Romanov at the 1613 Zemsky Sobor.

It was a period of deep social crisis and lawlessness following the death of Feodor I, a weak and possibly intellectually disabled ruler who died without an heir. His death ended the Rurik dynasty, leading to a violent succession crisis with numerous usurpers and false Dmitrys (impostors) claiming the title of tsar. Russia experienced the famine of 1601–1603, which killed almost a third of the population, within three years of Feodor's death. Russia was also occupied by the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth during the Polish–Russian War and lost Smolensk.

Dmitry Mikhaylovich Pozharsky (Russian: Дми́трий Миха́йлович Пожа́рский, IPA: [ˈdmʲitrʲɪj mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ pɐˈʐarskʲɪj]; 17 October 1577 – 30 April 1642) was a Russian prince known for his military leadership during the Polish–Russian War from 1611 to 1612. Pozharsky formed the Second Volunteer Army with Kuzma Minin in Nizhny Novgorod against the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth's occupation of Russia during the Time of Troubles, resulting in Polish withdrawal after Russian victory at the Battle of Moscow in 1612. Pozharsky received the unprecedented title of Saviour of the Fatherland from Mikhail I of Russia, becoming a folk hero in Russian culture and honored in the Monument to Minin and Pozharsky in Moscow's Red Square.

The Church of St. John the Baptist is one of the oldest Orthodox churches in Nizhny Novgorod, mentioned from the 15th century. The stone church was consecrated in 1683, again on November 4, 2005. The nearest Ivanovskaya tower of the Kremlin was named after this temple. The church is located on the National Unity Square, Rozhdestvenskaya Street.

In the Time of Troubles (in 1612), Kuzma Minin appealed to the citizens of Nizhny Novgorod to liberate Moscow from the Polish intervention from the church porch. At that time, the church was still wooden.

The Monument to Minin and Pozharsky (Russian: Па́мятник Ми́нину и Пожа́рскому) is a bronze statue designed by Ivan Martos and located on the Red Square in Moscow, Russia, in front of Saint Basil's Cathedral. The statue commemorates two Russian national heroes Prince Dmitry Pozharsky and Kuzma Minin, who in 1612 organized a popular uprising that ultimately led to the end of the Polish occupation of Moscow during Polish intervention in Russia, thus putting an end to the Time of Troubles.