One of the monuments of the monument to the heroic defenders of Leningrad. Monument to the heroic defenders of Leningrad: address, history, description of the complex
100 great sights of St. Petersburg Myasnikov senior Alexander Leonidovich
Monument to the heroic defenders of Leningrad on Victory Square
It is seen by everyone who enters the city from the south, along the Moskovskoye or Pulkovskoye Highways.
There is an obelisk on a huge podium in the center of Victory Square. The dimensions of the podium are 130 by 240 meters. The height of the obelisk is 48 meters. On both sides of it there are two multi-figured sculptural groups that personify the defending Leningraders. At the foot of the obelisk there is a pair of sculptural group "Invincible". Behind the obelisk there is an open memorial hall with the "Blockade" sculptural group in the center.
The monument to the heroic defenders of Leningrad on Victory Square is one of the most beautiful monuments of the Northern capital. It is dedicated to the most tragic page in the history of the city - the Leningrad blockade.
The courage of Leningrad during the Great Patriotic War has long been a symbol of heroism. The city did not submit, survived and won.
Leningraders learned about the attack by Nazi Germany from a message from the Soviet government broadcast on the radio at 12 noon on June 22. The alarming news stirred the entire population of the city: people gathered at the loudspeakers, where, in anticipation of new messages, they discussed what had happened, and hurried to the newsstands. Interrupting their Sunday rest, Leningraders rushed to enterprises and institutions, to military commissariats.
On the night of June 23, the first air raid was announced in the city. Since that time, the air raid signal has been announced on the radio almost daily, often several times. Leningraders, who did not turn off the radio day or night, began to get used to the clear ticking of the metronome that sounded in their apartments and at enterprises almost throughout the war.
The night sky of the city was cut by the beams of searchlights, in the evenings dozens of barrage balloons rose over Leningrad. The roar of patrol planes was heard in the air, covering the city. Troops were moving along the streets, cars with workers and employees who were leaving for the construction of defensive lines swept by.
Monument to the heroic defenders of Leningrad
Leningrad and its suburbs turned into a powerful fortified area. Barricades crossed many streets. At the crossroads and squares, pillboxes were menacing. Anti-tank hedgehogs and nadolby blocked all entrances to the city.
In September, Leningrad was surrounded by a blockade and famine began.
On January 8, 1943, the troops of the Leningrad Front and the soldiers of the Volkhov Front advancing towards them, united near Shlisselburg. In the evening of the same day, it was reported on the radio that the blockade of Leningrad had been broken.
On January 27, 1944, the troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts broke into the defense of the 18th German army in a 300-kilometer zone, defeated its main forces, advanced from 60 to 100 km in battles and cut off the most important enemy communications.
The epic of the heroic city, which has withstood a 900-day siege, has ended, unparalleled in history.
During this time, more than 100 thousand bombs and about 150 thousand artillery shells were dropped on the city. During the blockade, food rations were reduced 4 times. Workers received 250 grams per day, and employees and children - 125 grams of bread. But in inhuman conditions the city worked and fought. And he won.
In memory of those heroic days and people, it was decided to build on the site of Srednaya Slingshot, which was once the southern border of the city, Victory Square and the "Memorial to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad".
The idea to create a monument in honor of the defenders of Leningrad arose during the Great Patriotic War. However, its implementation was postponed for many years for various reasons. In the 1960s, the site was finally chosen for the monument - the square near the Srednaya Slingshot. Since 1962, it has become known as Victory Square.
The choice of the location was not accidental. Moskovsky Prospekt already in the first days of the war became a front road along which divisions of the people's militia, equipment and troops marched. Not far from here was the front edge of the defense. At the very Srednaya Slingshot, at a fork in the road, there was a powerful resistance center with pillboxes, an anti-tank ditch, steel hedgehogs, reinforced concrete gaps and artillery firing positions. And on July 8, 1945, when the residents of the city met the guards troops returning from the fronts of the Great Patriotic War, it was here, near Srednaya Slingshot, that a temporary triumphal arch was erected.
Until 1971, the Srednerogatsky palace was located near Srednaya Slingshot. It was built by Rastrelli in 1754 for the Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. When creating the ensemble of Victory Square, the palace did not fit into the project. It stood with its main facade facing Moskovsky Prospekt, and turned out to be an end to the front square. It was decided to dismantle the palace and reassemble it, changing its location. The palace was measured, the decor elements were dismantled and preserved. The palace was dismantled, but the restoration never took place. By the way, since 1934 there was a tram terminal station "Srednyaya Rogatka" on the square.
The square was designed and built as the southern gate of the city. This is the first significant architectural ensemble that everyone meets at the entrance to the city.
But the construction of the monument could not be started for a long time. The construction was postponed, as numerous creative competitions could not reveal the best project.
In the early 1970s, it became known that Moscow would not be able to create a monument to the 30th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War. The authorities of the city on the Neva took up the creation of this memorial complex as soon as possible. The composition of the creative group was approved, which included architects S. B. Speransky, V.A. Kamensky and the sculptor M.K. Anikushin.
The ensemble of the square has been defined.
The dominant feature of the square is undoubtedly the Monument to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad. The most famous building on Victory Square is dedicated to the heroic defense of the city and the breaking of the blockade. The architects of the monument were Sergei Borisovich Speransky and Valentin Alexandrovich Kamensky.
The monument was created with funds raised by the people. Tens of thousands of volunteers took part in the construction. The construction of the monument was completed in 1975.
The monument includes a stele with a sculpture of a Worker and a Soldier "Winners" and sculptural multi-figured compositions on both sides of the monument on granite pedestals - "Foundrymen", "Commenters", "Militiamen", "Snipers", "Pilots". All these works were created by sculptors Mikhail Konstantinovich Anikushin and Yuri Sergeevich Tyukalov.
The area with the "Blockade" sculptural group in front of the entrance to the museum is bounded by a broken ring (a symbol of breaking the blockade of Leningrad). The eternal flame burns on it in memory of the feat of the past days.
In 1978, the underground Memorial Hall of the monument was opened with relics of the war, mosaic panels "Blockade" and "Victory". The metronome sounds here continuously. In the underground museum-hall there is a bronze calendar - "Chronicle of the heroic days of the Siege of Leningrad", a map of the battle for the city, a 10-minute documentary film "The Siege of Leningrad" is shown daily. The hall is lit by 900 lamps - according to the number of days of siege.
An underground pedestrian crossing leads to the museum under the square. The car tunnel is located below the junction.
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In 1962, Srednyaya Slingsa was renamed Victory Square and became, in fact, the "southern gate" of our city. And in 1975, the year of the thirtieth anniversary of the Victory, a majestic Monument to the heroic defenders of Leningrad was opened in its center. It was created by one of the greatest sculptors of the 20th century, an ardent patriot of the Northern capital of Russia, Mikhail Konstantinovich Anikushin (1917 - 1997), as well as architects Valentin Aleksandrovich Kamensky (1907 - 1975) and Sergei Borisovich Speransky (1914 - 1983). In 1978, the group of authors was awarded the Lenin Prize.
Monument composition
Those entering Victory Square from Moskovsky Prospekt pay attention to the concrete "blockade ring" with a diameter of 40 meters and the inscription "To your feat, Leningrad" in gold, torn from the side of the Pulkovskoye Highway. A 48-meter obelisk with the dates "1941 - 1945" rushes up from the gap. In front of the obelisk there are bronze "Winners" - 8-meter figures of a soldier and a worker. Along both borders of the small esplanade, 5-meter sculptural groups are lined up. Closer to the Pulkovskaya hotel - a pilot, Baltic sailors, snipers in camouflage coats; the builders of the legendary "Luga Frontier" and fortifications on the outskirts of the city - women with spades and men with a rail. Closer to the building of the RNII "Elektrostandart" - soldiers going into the attack, workers of the Labor Front; mother, seeing off her son and Leningrad militias to the war.
On the inner side of the "siege ring" are depicted the medal "For the Defense of Leningrad", the Gold Star of the Hero City, two Orders of Lenin, the Order of the October Revolution, the Order of the Red Banner of Battle and the texts of Decrees on awarding them to Leningrad. On both sides of the "breakthrough" we read "900 days - 900 nights". Below, under the fir trees, capsules with earth from the hero cities are immured. Inside the ring, that is, inside the besieged city, we see a 6-figured sculptural group "Victims of the Blockade": a mother is holding a child killed during the bombing, a girl is trying to lift her wounded friend, a soldier is supporting a woman exhausted by hunger who has dropped a bucket of water.
Museum in the underground hall
On February 23, 1978, a memorial hall was opened in the underground space under the Monument, which is now a branch of the City History Museum. Both end walls are decorated with colored panels "Blockade" and "Victory" (4, 16 x 3, 15 meters), created by a group of artists under the direction of Andrei Andreevich Mylnikov (1919 - 2012). In 12 showcases there are numerous items of weapons of the fighters of the Leningrad Front and sailors of the Baltic Fleet, as well as - the life of the besieged Leningrad. On the marble plaque are the names of almost 700 defenders of the city - Heroes of the Soviet Union, Heroes of Socialist Labor, full holders of the Order of Glory. Museum visitors are shown a film of front-line cameramen "Memories of the Siege" and an electronic sound card "The Heroic Battle of Leningrad"; Memory book; daily changing bronze pages "Chronicle of the heroic days of the defense of Leningrad", where you can read about the events that took place at the front and inside the city on this particular day in 1941 (from September 8), 1942, 1943 and 1944 (until January 27). Along the perimeter of the hall and the inner surface of the ring, 900 lamps are lit, inserted into genuine 76 mm shell sleeves ...
The southern entrance to St. Petersburg is ceremoniously decorated with the architectural ensemble of Victory Square, located at the intersection of Moskovskoye and Pulkovskoye highways. The first thing that appears to everyone's eyes is that in the center of the square rises the Monument to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad, dedicated to the defense and breaking the blockade during the Great Patriotic War.
Historical reference
At this place in the 18th century there was an intermediate guard post Srednyaya Rogatka between two outposts: the first - at the foot of the Pulkovo Heights and the last (third) - at the Ligovsky Canal. In those days, special obstacles in the form of a slingshot blocked the road in the area of the outpost - hence the name.
Near the traveling palace of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna there was a wooden sign with the image of hands, showing the direction of movement to Moscow, St. Petersburg and Peterhof. Srednerogatinsky palace was called “the house at three hands”. Built according to the project of the favorite architect of the Elizabethan era, FB Rastrelli, the palace stood from 1754 to 1971, then it was carefully dismantled in order to change its location - to turn it “facing” the square, but this was not done. As a result, Victory Square is fully formed by modern skyscrapers and ends on the northern side with two 22-storey buildings built in the mid-70s of the last century.
The dominant feature of the architectural ensemble is the monument to the most tragic page in the history of the city. The choice of location was not accidental - at the fork in the roads on the territory of Srednaya Slingship in the early days of the war, a resistance node with steel hedgehogs, an anti-tank ditch, and firing positions was created. When the front line of the defense approached the city, troops, military equipment, and militias were moving along Moskovsky Prospekt.
After the war, a temporary Arc de Triomphe was erected here to meet the soldiers returning from the fronts.
The inauguration of the Monument on May 9, 1975 was timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the Great Victory over fascism. In 1978, on February 23, the Memorial Hall was opened, which since 1991 has become part of the branches.
Architecture and exposition
The creators of the Monument: architects S. B. Speransky, V. A. Kamensky, sculptor M. K. Anikushin, participated in the defense of Leningrad. They managed to convey the deep sorrow of Leningraders, the feeling of a thin line between life and death under bombing and shelling, fierce cold and hunger, but also unparalleled courage and resilience, pride and joy of Victory.
The Obelisk with the laconic inscription "1941-1945" is lifted up to 48 meters - a symbol of the triumph of the people who overcame fascism. At its foot there is a sculptural group: a soldier and a worker, because the basis of Victory is the unity of the front and rear.
On both sides, in front of the stele in the open space, the "Victory Square" is spread. On granite pedestals, 26 sculptures of the city's defenders are installed, which are facing the Pulkovo Heights, where battles took place on the outskirts of Leningrad.
Behind the obelisk, wide staircases lead to the Blockade Memorial Hall. It is located inside a symbolic blockade ring, 40 meters in diameter, massive, with broken lines of the edges of the gap, reminiscent of the chaos of destruction brought by the war. In the center is a sculptural composition. The bronze figures of women and soldiers rescuing children are almost human-sized, which evokes a sense of belonging. The atmosphere is completed by torches with eternal flame on the walls along the entire perimeter of the hall.
The underground part of the Monument is a Memorial Hall, where there is a museum dedicated to the feat of the townspeople during the Siege. The hall is decorated with mosaic panels "Blockade" and "Victory", made by artists SN Repin, IG Uralov, NP Fomin.
900 candle lamps - according to the number of days of siege - illuminate the hall, under them are the names of settlements near Leningrad where the battles took place. In horizontal stands under glass, objects and documents from this period are collected, arranged as twelve separate thematic exhibitions.
Fragments of Dmitry Shostakovich's Heroic Symphony, the radio call signs of Moscow, are played in the hall, the metronome is periodically turned on.
The Monument to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad is a branch of the Museum of the History of St. Petersburg, its employees conduct excursions and celebrations. As a rule, on holidays dedicated to the breakthrough and final lifting of the Blockade, the museum hosts government delegations, at which time the square is closed.
Where is it and how to get there
The nearest metro station to the monument is Moskovskaya. The distance from it to Victory Square is about one kilometer.
The museum is open on January 4-6. From December 31 to January 3, January 7 and 8, the museum is closed.
The monument to the heroic defenders of Leningrad is the first sight that you will see when you enter St. Petersburg from the south, on the way from Pulkovo airport. The unique monument serves as a reminder of the feat of the front and rear in the terrible days of the blockade and perpetuates the triumph of Victory in one of the most destructive wars in the history of mankind.
Ground exposure
The memorial consists of several parts:
"Victors' Square" - 26 bronze sculptures. Among them are Snipers, Pilots, Foundrymen and other collective images of the defenders of Leningrad. Their gaze is directed towards the Pulkovo Heights - where the front line was located.
The central part of the sculptural composition is a granite obelisk 48 m high. At the foot there are figures of a Worker and a Soldier as a symbol of the unity of the front and rear in the struggle for Victory.
An open memorial hall in a broken "ring" symbolizing the breaking of the blockade. The sculptural group in the center conveys the hardships, pain and suffering of the inhabitants of besieged Leningrad, captured in bronze.
Underground Memorial Hall
In the underground part of the museum there is a documentary and art exposition, which contains the relics of the war - incl. weapons, awards, objects of the siege of life. The harsh and sad silence is interrupted by the steady ticking of the metronome and radio call signs. A short documentary newsreel is broadcasted on the screen, allowing you to even more deeply feel this tragic period in our history.
Among the most significant exhibits are 2 mosaic panels "1941 - Blockade" and "Victory", a map of the battle for Leningrad, a bronze calendar "Chronicle of the heroic days of the Siege of Leningrad". There are 900 lamps installed along the walls, which corresponds to the number of days of siege. All this creates a unique atmosphere, recreated and carefully maintained by the museum.
A visit to the underground Memorial Hall is included in the Guest Card.
From the history
The construction of the monument was carried out in the 70s according to the project of folk artists and sculptors of the USSR: V. Kamensky, S. Speransky, M. Anikushin. The work itself was attended by many volunteers - not only Leningraders, but also residents of other cities. The opening of the ground part was timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War - May 9, 1975, but the underground memorial hall could not meet the deadlines - the work was completed only in 1978.
The monument to the heroic defenders of Leningrad is located on Victory Square, within walking distance from the Moskovskaya metro station - from where buses leave for the airport and the famous suburbs of St. Petersburg: Pushkin, Pavlovsk, Gatchina.
Plan a visit to this small but truly wonderful museum to honor the memory, heroism and dedication of the soldiers and ordinary Leningraders who defended their city in the Great Patriotic War.
At the very end of Moskovsky Prospect there is Victory Square. This place is the southern gate of the city. Everyone who arrives at Pulkovo enters the city through them.
For the 30th anniversary of the Victory, it was decided to build a monument to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad here. The construction of the monument was carried out, among other things, with donations from citizens. For this, an account was even opened in the Leningrad branch of the State Bank. The monument was designed by the sculptor, Lenin Prize laureate, People's Artist of the USSR M. K. Anikushin and People's Architects of the USSR S. B. Speransky and V. A. Kamensky. The main vertical - a 48-meter granite obelisk - is a symbol of the triumph of the Victory of the Soviet people in one of the most terrible wars of mankind. At the base of the obelisk there is a sculptural group "Victors": the figures of a worker and a soldier testify to the unity of the city and the front. The obelisk is a connecting link between the "Victors' Square" and the semicircular Memorial Hall "Blockade". It is accessed by wide staircases on both sides of the obelisk's pedestal. The broken lines of the walls, the edges of the rupture of the symbolic ring of the blockade are associated with the chaotic heaps of all-destructive war. As conceived by the authors, the surface of the walls retains the texture of wooden formwork - such were the defensive structures of the war years. The memorial hall "Blockade" contrasts sharply with the open space of the "Victory Square". The overhanging granite ring 124 meters long isolates the hall from the external environment. All elements of decoration and sound design create the atmosphere of the temple. Construction began in 1974 and by the 30th anniversary of the Victory, by May 9, 1975, the monument was unveiled.
2 The building is an ensemble. The granite "broken ring", oriented from north to south, opens towards the obelisk and sculptural groups. It serves as the compositional basis of the ground part of the memorial.
3 On the outside of the "ring" there is an inscription carved: "To your feat, Leningrad." (Words by the poet M. A. Dudin. All work on the design of the typeface of the texts of the monument was made by the architect V. V. Isaeva.) 
4 On the inner side of the "ring" are depicted in bronze reliefs framed by banners six awards of the city (two Orders of Lenin, the Order of the October Revolution, the Order of the Red Banner, the Gold Star medal, the medal "For the Defense of Leningrad").
Here are the texts of decrees on awarding the city and in the center - the text of the greeting of the Central Committee of the CPSU, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and the Council of Ministers of the USSR in connection with the 250th anniversary of Leningrad. 
5
6 
7 The dominant feature of the hall is the sculptural composition "Blockade". Its pedestal is low and compact, and the height of the bronze figures is not much higher than human height. 
8 The sculptor M. Anikushin, who created it, described it as follows: "Everything is here: bombing, shelling, terrible hunger, and fierce cold, suffering and pain of Leningrad, which was tormented by a ruthless enemy ..." 
9 On both sides of the "broken ring" there are bronze inscriptions: "900 days" ... 
10 ... "900 nights". 
11 A gently sloping granite staircase leads to the central part of the monument from the south. On the flanks of the lower flight of the staircase and the staircase terrace, bronze sculptural groups are installed. If you stand facing the obelisk, then on the left there will be groups: "Sailors", "Snipers", "Builders", "Trenches"; on the right - "Soldiers", "Foundry", "Militia".
At the foot of the obelisk there is a bronze group "Victors" - a worker and a soldier.