Kronstadt is famous for its monuments of pre-revolutionary Russia, one of which is the battery 'Prince Menshikov'. It was built in 1826 from wood and took its final form in 1850. After the completion of the stone fortifications, the battery was named after the Russian Minister of the Navy, Prince Alexander Sergeyevich Menshikov, an outstanding admiral and descendant of a companion of Peter the Great.

Initially, the wooden battery, erected in 1826, had two tiers and 24 guns. In 1841, a decision was made to replace it with a stone structure. Construction began a year later and continued until 1850. As a result, a new four-tier casemated battery with three closed and one open tier emerged.

The project was developed by engineer-captain Iosif Albertovich Zharzhetsky, who completed the task in just three weeks. His work proved successful and from 1854 played an important role in the naval defense of the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland. In the event of an enemy attack, the battery was to meet them with artillery fire. Together with the forts 'Pavel the First' and 'Alexander the First', it covered the mine position in the area of the Southern fairway.

In 1896, with the development of artillery, the battery lost its defensive significance. At that time, the military minister ordered its exclusion from the defensive structures, but for another half-century it was used for storing ammunition and military property.

In the mid-20th century, the Soviet authorities destroyed the two upper closed tiers of the battery, and to this day only one closed and one open tier remain. The remnants of the Menshikov battery serve as a monument to the glorious past of the Russian fleet and coastal artillery, attracting many tourists and residents of Kronstadt every year.