Of course, the Great Patriotic War left a huge mark in the history of our country. For the past 68 years, we have been annually honoring the memory of those who died on May 9th. We all know that in the vastness of Russia, monuments of the Great Patriotic War were built in huge quantities. Below in the article we will consider the most famous of them that are located in the hero cities of Russia: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Murmansk, Tula, Volgograd, Novorossiysk and Smolensk. These cities are most famous for their brave defense during the hostilities of 1941-43.
Let's start with Moscow. All Muscovites will certainly say that the most significant for this city is Poklonnaya Gora, on which Victory Park is located. The memorial complex of the park was inaugurated on May 9, 1995 during the celebration of Victory Day. Monuments of the Great Patriotic War located here include the Victory Monument, exhibitions of military equipment, the Great Patriotic War and the Holocaust museums, the memorial mosque and synagogue, as well as the Church of St. George the Victorious. In addition to these monuments, there are other minor structures that can be seen throughout Moscow.
Next, let's move on to St. Petersburg. Like in the capital, in “Northern Venice” there is also Victory Park, but here it is presented in a double: Primorsky, which is dedicated to naval victories, and Moscow, which is built as a holistic memory of the victory. The former does not stand out in anything, but the latter has on its territory a large number of buildings that are monuments to soldiers of the Great Patriotic War. Among them stand out Alley of Heroes, where monuments-busts of twice Heroes of Socialist Labor, natives of the city, are built. Also worth noting is the Rotunda monument, commemorative crosses and planks, various sculptures and the Temporary Chapel. In addition to these parks, it is worth mentioning the Museum-Reserve "Breakthrough of the Siege of Leningrad", as well as the memorial museum "Defense and Siege of Leningrad", which highlighted the severity of the battles and "wresting" the victory from the Nazi invaders.
Tula is not particularly replete with monuments, however, it is worth noting the monument to the defenders of Tula in the Second World War, which is located on Victory Square, as well as the Immortality barrow in the city of Efremov, built at the people's own expense.
Of course, one of the greatest cities that have shown a heroic defense and no less heroic counterattack is Volgograd. On the most famous hill, where from September 1942 until January of the next bloody battles took place - Mamaev Kurgan, there is an architectural ensemble of monuments dedicated to the Second World War. It includes, perhaps, the most famous monument of the Great Patriotic War of Russia “Motherland is Calling!”, Which, by the way, is one of the highest monument-statues in the world, 3 squares (Sorrow square, Heroes square, Standing to the death square), Monumental relief, high relief “Memory of generations”, War cemetery, Ruin walls. The construction, during which many architects were involved, lasted almost 10 years, from 1959 to 1967.
Next, we will briefly examine the monuments of World War II in Smolensk. In the Readovka park, the Immortality Barrow is located, which was built by the Smolensk people in memory of soldiers and ordinary people who died during the Second World War. It was inaugurated on September 25, 1970. Not far from the Kurgan you can see the Eternal Flame, and in the park itself there is also a monument to the “Grieving Mother”, where thousands of soldiers are buried. Among other monuments of Smolensk, the World War II monument “Bayonet”, which was erected in memory of the soldiers of the legendary 16th Army, defending the city in July 1941, deserves mention.
Murmansk never got impressive architectural ensembles, having only small monuments scattered throughout the city. Well, the last city we will have is Novorossiysk. In its central area is Heroes Square, on which many monuments of the Great Patriotic War are erected. To be more precise, monuments to the Heroes of the USSR Ts.L. Kunikova and N.I. Silyagin, the memorial wall “To the Sons of the Fatherland, whose ashes rest in the land of Novorossiysk”, the Eternal Flame, the mass grave and memorial plates. By visiting this place, you can learn much more about the history of Novorossiysk.