Minin and Pozharsky Square is the central square in Nizhny Novgorod. The locals, however, often call it simply Minin Square, which is small wonder as there is a monument to Kuzma Minin only (a monument to both Minin and Pozharsky is not far away, in National Unity Square, which may confuse visitors sometimes). This image of Kuzma Minin captured in bronze is but a figment of the sculptor's imagination. Not a single real portrait of the hero of the 1612 popular uprising has survived.

The public garden opposite the monument has an ornate cast-iron fountain. Put in place in the late 19th century, this was the first water supply system in Nizhny Novgorod. Until then people had had to fetch water from the Volga, every single day going down the hill to the river and then back up with buckets full of water.