The obelisk is dedicated to the eternal memory of the hero of Kulikovo Field, Grand Prince of Moscow Dmitry Donskoy. It was designed by A Bryullov and inaugurated at Krasny Hill on 8 September 1850 It was intended that a small museum be created nearby, but this idea failed to materialise in the 19th century. Only guardhouses were built, to house soldiers whose duties included watching over the monument. It was these soldiers who became the first tour guides at Krasny hill.

In 1913-17 the Tula clergy initiated the establishment of a memorial church dedicated to St Sergei of Radonezh at Kulikovo Field. Designs drawn up by architect Alexei Shchusev show that the church was intended to form part of a coherent ensemble alongside the Dmitry Donskoy obelisk, which would include a museum telling the story of the Kulikovo battle. But it would be decades before this came to fruition. In preparation for the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Kulikovo in 1980, an exhibition opened in the church telling the story of the battle.

In 1998, when the Kulikovo Field State Museum-Reserve was created, the Sergei of Radonezh church, Dmitry Donskoy memorial column and other Kulikovo memorials were gifted to the Museum-Reserve.

In 2010 the Sergei Radonezh church was transferred to the authority of the Trinity Sergius Lavra in Sergiev Posad, and the museum exhibition closed. Later the church was restored, and today its walls are decorated with religious murals.

Today the Sergei Radonezh memorial church and the grounds of the memorial on Krasny Hill are open to the public again. Tours of the grounds are available, and the interior of the church can be accessed when there are no services taking place.

In keeping with a tradition started in the 19th century, on the third weekend of September each year we celebrate the most important date in the museum’s calendar: the anniversary of the victory at Kulikovo Field. The most exciting part of the programme is a theatrical re-enactment of the battle of 1380.