A few metres from the Our Lady of Smolensk Cathedral, standing in front of the Stepan Degtyarev Musical School, is a statue of Stepan Degtyarev himself.   Degtyarev was a renowned composer who was born in 1766 in the Belgorod Region, which was then part of the Kursk Governorate. His most famous work is the oratorio "Minin and Pozharsky, or the Liberation of Moscow" which he composed in 1811. The monument depicts Degtyarev in a rather active pose with his hands thrust wildly into the air.