Hermogenes was elected to the patriarchal chair in the era of the Time of Troubles in the early 17 th century. It was he who inspired the people's militia to release capital from foreign invaders. For his patriotic convictions he was imprisoned in Miracles Monastery, where he died of starvation in 1612. Even from prison Hermogenes continued to appeal to the Russian people, blessing him on the war of liberation. The idea of the monument there was more than two hundred years ago, but World War and Revolution thwarted those plans.