Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow is one of the main attractions of the capital, which perpetuated the memory of those who died during the Great Patriotic War. This is memorial park located between Kutuzovsky Prospekt and Minskaya Street. It is a popular holiday destination for Muscovites and guests of the capital. The park is part of the Memorial of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.

Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow - history

In the west of the capital, between the Setun and Filka rivers, there is a gentle hill. In the old days, travelers coming to the city could see the capital city from this hill and bow to it. Hence the name - Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow. The first mention of it is found in the annals of the 16th century. It was located on the Smolensk road and important milestones in the history of our Motherland are associated with it. Here Napoleon in 1812 was waiting for the keys to Moscow to be brought to him. Soldiers went to the front along the same road during the Great Patriotic War.

Back in 1942, a memorial project was developed. But in war and post-war years it was difficult to build. In 1958, a memorial sign was erected at this place with the words "A monument to the Victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 will be erected here." Then a park was founded, which was called the Victory Park. Funds for the construction of the ensemble were collected by citizens, earned on subbotniks, and also allocated by the state and the government of the capital. The memorial complex was opened on the 50th anniversary of the Victory Day on May 9, 1995.

Monuments and buildings on Poklonnaya Hill

The memorial complex covers an area of ​​135 hectares. On its territory there is the Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War, the Victory Monument and three churches built in memory of those who died in the Great Patriotic War. On Pobediteley Square, which is the main attraction of Victory Park, there is an obelisk 141.8 meters high. This height reminds us of 1418 days and nights of the Great Patriotic War. At the hundred-meter mark, a bronze figure of the goddess of Victory, Nike, is fixed. At the foot of the obelisk, on a granite podium, there is a statue of St. George the Victorious, who strikes a snake with a spear - a symbol of evil. Both sculptures were made by Z. Tsereteli. In the Victory Park, there is also a monument to the Defenders of the Russian Land (sculptor A. Bichugov) and a Monument to All the Fallen (sculptor V. Znoba). April 30, 2010 on the eve of the celebration of the 65th anniversary of the Victory on Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow lit Eternal flame. A torch with a flame was delivered from the Eternal Flame near the Kremlin wall on an armored personnel carrier with an escort of motorcyclists.

Temples on Poklonnaya Hill

The Church of St. George the Victorious was founded by His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II next to the memorial on December 9, 1993 and was consecrated by him on May 6, 1995. Architect - A. Polyansky. The iconostasis was made by A. Chashkin. The authors of bronze bas-reliefs are Z. Anjaparidze, Z. Tsereteli, mosaic icons - E. Klyuchareva. In the whole appearance of the temple, it is clear that elements of modernism have been added to the Russian style. The shrine of the temple is a particle of the relics of the Great Martyr George the Victorious, donated by the Jerusalem Patriarch Diodorus, transferred to the temple in 1998. At the temple there is a children's Sunday School. The temple also enlightens the children of the psycho-neurological boarding school. The temple-chapel of the Archangel Michael at the Memorial Museum of the Patriotic War of 1812 belongs to the temple. Some believe that the location of the temple was chosen extremely poorly - not far from the goddess Nike, crowning a high 140-meter obelisk.

The memorial mosque was opened on September 6, 1997 on the day of the celebration of the 850th anniversary of the capital. The construction of the mosque combines the features of various Muslim architectural schools. A community and a madrasah work at the mosque.

The building of the Temple of Memory - the Synagogue, was built and solemnly opened on September 2, 1998. The synagogue building was built on the basis of the concept of Israeli architect Moshe Zarhi. The opening was attended by the President of Russia. An exhibition dedicated to Jewish history and the Holocaust was set up on the ground floor and on the gallery of the prayer hall.

In 2003, a chapel was opened on the territory of the Memorial, erected in memory of the Spanish volunteers who died during the Great Patriotic War. In addition, it is planned to build a Buddhist stupa, an Armenian chapel and a Catholic church on Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow.

Museum on Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow

From Kutuzovsky Prospekt, along the central alley of Victory Park, you can go to the round Pobediteley Square. The Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War is located here. Millions of visitors have visited it since its opening. The museum was established in 1986. There are about 50 thousand exhibits here. 385 volumes of memory books tell us about those who died in the war. The museum has a large collection of items telling about the Great Patriotic War. This weapon and Combat vehicles, uniforms and awards, photographs and many other documents. In addition, there are also works of art: paintings and sculpture, graphics and posters. The museum's library contains more than 50,000 publications, including rare books. The museum presents the exposition "The Way to Victory". Visitors will be able to visit the art gallery, see six dioramas that represent the main battles of the war. There is an exhibition of military equipment (foreign and domestic) and fortifications from the war. One of the most valuable relics of the museum is the Victory Banner, hoisted on April 30, 1945 over the Reichstag in Berlin.

Rest on Poklonnaya Hill, in Victory Park

In addition to monuments dedicated to the victory in the Great Patriotic War, there is an opportunity to have a good rest. Both adults and children will find entertainment to their liking. You can come here with the whole family. There are swings and various attractions. Elderly people meet, walk along the Victory Park, remembering the old days. You can take a tour by traveling by road train. And young people will have a great time riding bicycles. Rollers and skateboarders train here. There are cafes in the Victory Park for those who are hungry.
Huge flower clock will tell you the exact time.

AT summer time Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow is a place of folk festivals.

Victory Park

In every Russian city there are holy places of mass worship of people to the Great Feat of their people.

In Moscow, this is, first of all, Victory Park (or Poklonnaya Hill).

The memorial complex, located in the west of Moscow, was opened on May 9, 1995 to mark the 50th anniversary of great victory. This is truly the Altar of the Fatherland, at which Muscovites remember the heroic events of all wars in the history of Russia, but, first of all, the Great Patriotic War. Solemn dates are celebrated here, patriotic actions and concerts are held. This is a meeting place for veterans and a favorite vacation spot for Muscovites and guests of the capital. The area of ​​the complex is 135 hectares.

For the first time, it was proposed to build a monument to a national feat back in 1942. But it was not possible to carry it out in wartime conditions.

On February 23, 1958, a memorial granite sign was erected on Poklonnaya Hill with the inscription: "A monument to the Victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 will be erected here." At the same time, trees were planted around, a park was laid, which was named after the Victory.

Construction memorial complex The victory on Poklonnaya Hill began in 1984.

The toponym "Poklonnaya Gora" may have come from the action "bow", which was used to express respect. Travelers arriving or leaving the city bowed to Moscow in this place, expressing respect to her. But there is another meaning - it denotes a kind of feudal tax, which was levied for travel or stay on the territory of a volost.

The first documentary evidence of the existence of Moscow's Poklonnaya Hill dates back to the 16th century. In October 1508, the ambassadors of the Crimean Khan Mengli Giray were met here, and in 1612, the Polish troops set up their camp here when approaching Moscow. It was at this place that the French Emperor Napoleon waited in 1812 for the keys to Moscow.

In the 20th century, the Great Victory Memorial of 1945 was built here.

The backbone of the memorial complex is the Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War.

Over an area of ​​over 3000 sq. m. there are the Hall of Glory, the Guards Halls, the artistic and decorative composition "Shield and Sword of Victory", the main military-historical exposition of the museum "Feat and Victory of the Great People". The Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War presents six dioramas dedicated to the largest military operations of the Great Patriotic War, created by famous masters of the Studio of Military Artists. M.B. Grekova.

The Central Moscow Military District has the largest collection of the All-Union Book of Memory - over 1600 volumes, as well as a fund of photo albums of the burial places of Soviet soldiers on the territory of the former Soviet Union, catalogs of military graves of the Second World War, etc.

Here you can get comprehensive advice on various aspects of searching for information about the front-line fate of relatives and friends. The visitor is shown wartime documents posted on the OBD Memorial website, entries in the Books of Memory and other information.

The main part of the Victory Memorial on Poklonnaya Hill is a stele (bayonet) made of durable steel, the height of the bayonet is 141.8 m (10 centimeters for each day of the Great Patriotic War). On the bayonet there is a bronze bas-relief - a 25-ton bronze figure of the goddess of Victory Nike (located at a height of 122 m above the ground). And at the foot is a statue of St. George the Victorious (heavenly patron of Moscow), striking a snake with a spear (a symbol of the fascist conquerors). Architect Z. Tsereteli.

The Victory Monument is a bright and solemn dominant of Moscow. The monument is clearly visible from the center, from viewing platforms Sparrow Hills, Krylatsky and others.

In 2009, the Eternal Flame appeared behind the stele on Poklonnaya Hill. It was lit from the memorial to the Unknown Soldier near the Kremlin wall in memory of the soldiers who died during the Great Patriotic War.

At the entrance to the park from the side of the Park Pobedy metro station, on the left, visitors are greeted by the white-stone Church of St. George the Victorious on Poklonnaya Hill - an Orthodox church of the late 20th century, built in honor of the victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. The Church of St. George the Victorious was founded by His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II next to the memorial on December 9, 1993.

Architect - A. Polyansky. The iconostasis was made by A. Chashkin. The authors of bronze bas-reliefs are Z. Anjaparidze, Z. Tsereteli, mosaic icons - E. Klyuchareva. The walls were painted by the artel "Joy" under the direction of B. Alekseev.

The church contains a particle of the relics of the Great Martyr George the Victorious, donated by the Jerusalem Patriarch Diodorus, and transferred to the church in 1998.

In memory of the Muslim soldiers who died in the Great Patriotic War, in 1995-97. the Memorial Mosque was erected in the Park on the initiative of the Moscow government and the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the European Part of Russia (DUMER).

Faiz Gilmanov, a well-known Moscow philanthropist, became one of the initiators of the construction of the mosque and the sponsor of the design and estimate stage.

The Memorial to the Memory of Jewish Victims of the Holocaust, erected by the Russian Jewish Congress with the assistance of the Moscow authorities in Victory Park, plays an important role not only for the Russian Jewish community, but for our country as a whole. The construction of the synagogue complex and the "Museum of Jewish Heritage and the Holocaust" became a landmark event in history new Russia.

Opened in 1998, the Memorial has become an integral part of the architectural complex of Poklonnaya Gora. It is one of the key links in the chain of historical memory of the Second World War.

In memory of the Spanish volunteers, a Chapel was built in the Park. Fleeing from the fascist regime of Franco, they found shelter in the Soviet Union. During the Great Patriotic War, shoulder to shoulder, together with Soviet soldiers, they fought courageously against the Nazis.

Each stroke of the bell of the Chapel reminds us of their glorious deed.

Fountain complex. There are 5 fountains along Kutuzovsky Prospekt. This fountain complex is called "Years of War". As a token of memory of 225 painfully long weeks of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, exactly 225 jets beat out of its 15 bowls, five of each. A series of these fountains leads to the Museum building.

The length of the fountain group is quite large, which reminds us of how painfully long the Great Patriotic War was. In the evening, when the backlight turns on, the impression of the Years of War fountains is amplified many times over. Because of the red color, the jets appear bloody.

The fountain group dedicated to the Victory is located opposite the Church of St. George the Victorious. It covers the Museum building in a semicircle from the southeast side. This fountain ensemble consists of three large fountains divided into six bowl-segments. Beautiful forms of jets in the form of glasses he got from the "Geyser" from Manezhnaya Square.

At the intersection of Kutuzovsky Prospekt with Minskaya Street in 1995, a monument to the Defenders of the Russian Land was erected (sculptor - A. Bichugov, architect - Yu.P. Grigoriev). It personifies the continuity of heroic generations in the form of a sculptural composition of three Russian defenders: the hero Ancient Russia, a guard during the war of 1812 and a soldier of the Great Patriotic War. The sculptures portrayed the defenders of the Fatherland as stern, courageous warriors, ready at any moment to rush into battle to defend the Motherland. The monument to the Defenders of the Russian Land is installed on a man-made hill, in front of which a flower girl is made in the form of an inscription: "Rus", where flowers of the same color are planted, resulting in an inscription of flowers.

Monument to the Missing Soldiers (sculptor V.I. Zloba) - opened on Poklonnaya Hill in 1995. The monument is an image of a man, which is molded in layers and not processed to the end. The face is not visible, the head hangs down, the legs are half-bent. The outline of soldier's clothing is visible, soldier's boots, hands folded on his chest, as if asking for help. The soldier does not even walk, but wanders into the unknown. How many such nameless heroes have sunk into oblivion! The sculpture is installed on

Granite oblong pedestal on the alley of tankmen. At the feet of a soldier there are always fresh flowers as a sign of respect and human memory.

In Victory Park there is a monument dedicated to the activities of the anti-Hitler coalition, which played important role in world history and consisting by the end of the war of 53 states. The monument is a marble stele crowned with a gilded wreath (UN symbol). At its base there are four statues depicting soldiers of the USSR, USA, France and Great Britain. An interesting fact is that the images embodied in the sculptures are taken from real photographs of the war years. On granite cubes, a couple of sentences describe the history of the coalition.

In memory of the victims of the fascist genocide in the Second World War, in the Park in 1996, a monument was erected "The Tragedy of the Nations", dedicated to the prisoners fascist concentration camps. Sculptor Z. K. Tsereteli. The height of the monument is 8 meters.

A gray, seemingly endless, line of naked men, women, old and young; children who differ from adults only in height; almost indistinguishable, similar to each other with their equally shaved heads, equally emaciated naked bodies. Lowered hands, faces exhausted by torture, unseeing, turned inward eyes: a silent, doomed line for death.

In 2004, the Monument to the Soldiers-Internationalists was built on Poklonnaya Hill at the expense of veteran organizations of Afghan soldiers.

According to the original plan, a memorial museum dedicated to the memory of local wars should be located in a single complex with the monument, however, its construction was postponed to a later date.

A 4-meter statue of a young soldier made of red granite rises on a pedestal. Wearily he lowered his machine gun and helmet - his war was over. He stands silently over the cliff and his frozen gaze is fixed somewhere in the distance. Below it, on a pedestal, is a battle scene in bronze bas-relief.

This monument was created by S. Shcherbakov and Yu. Grigoriev, an architect and sculptor. The monument was unveiled on December 27, 2004. in honor of the 25th anniversary of commissioning Soviet soldiers to Afghanistan.

On August 1, 2014, a monument to the "Heroes of the First World War" was opened on Poklonnaya Gora. Currently, the Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War hosts the exhibition "Heroes of Two Wars" (dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the 1st World War and the 70th anniversary of the Victory in the 2nd World War).

Today, Victory Park can rightly be called the Park of Memory of all wars in the history of Russia.

Poklonnaya mountain - memorial place Moscow and Russia in general. Poklonnaya Gora was first mentioned in the documents of the 16th century, although then it was called a little differently - Poklonnaya Gora near the Smolensk (Mozhaisk) road. It is believed that Poklonnaya Gora got its name thanks to an old tradition: every person who arrived in Moscow and left the city bowed to him at this place. It was here that important persons-princes, high dignitaries, ambassadors were met with a bow. foreign countries. Napoleon did not receive such an honor. "Napoleon waited in vain, intoxicated with his last happiness, for Moscow kneeling with the keys of the old Kremlin: No, my Moscow did not go to him with a guilty head..." These unforgettable lines of the greatest Russian poet Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin are connected with the Russian-French war of 1812, when the French emperor, who reached the walls of the capital with his troops, tried in vain to wait for the keys to Moscow from the city authorities.

Memorial complex on Poklonnaya Hill

From time immemorial, Poklonnaya Hill has been one of the holy places of both Moscow and the whole Russian land. From here, the Orthodox worshiped its shrines. Years and decades have passed, and Poklonnaya Hill has become a real symbol, embodying the Russian soul, the Russian character with such qualities as cordiality and hospitality on the one hand, freedom and independence on the other. And first of all, of course, this is due to the construction of a memorial complex here in honor of the Victory of our people in the Great Patriotic War. This memorial complex and Poklonnaya Hill itself are now strongly associated among Russians with immortal feat Soviet people committed in the name of saving the Fatherland.

The decision to build the Victory Monument was made on May 31, 1957. On February 23, 1958, a granite foundation stone was installed on Poklonnaya Hill with the inscription: "A monument to the Victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 will be erected here." In 1961, Victory Park was laid out on Poklonnaya Hill. But the active construction of others constituent parts the memorial complex (Victory Monument and the Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War of 1941 - 1945) began only in 1985.

On May 9, 1995, on the day of the 50th anniversary of the Victory, the memorial was solemnly opened. Leaders from 56 countries of the world attended its opening. Today it consists of several exposition and exhibition complexes - art gallery, sites of military equipment, military-historical exposition, dioramas, concert halls, providing all the necessary conditions for scientific, educational-patriotic and educational work. The exposition areas occupy 44 thousand square meters, where more than 170 thousand exhibits are presented.

The museum is rich not only in its unique exhibits. Here, in a solemn atmosphere, ceremonies of taking the military oath of young soldiers, meetings with famous veterans of the Great Patriotic War are held.

Temples of Memory on Poklonnaya Hill

The property of the Memorial complex is represented not only by the Museum of the Great Patriotic War. Every monument, every building reminds of the feat of such different, but united people of the Soviet Union.

On the territory of the memorial complex there are three temples that belong to different religions. This once again characterizes the multinationality of the liberators of our Motherland.

The first was built the temple of St. George the Victorious. In 1995, its solemn consecration took place. The shrine of the temple is a particle of the relics of the great martyr George the Victorious, donated by the Jerusalem Patriarch Diodorus.

Two years later, in September 1997, a memorial mosque was opened. This event fell on the day of the celebration of the 850th anniversary of Moscow.

Temple of Memory - Synagogue, was solemnly opened on September 2, 1998. The synagogue building was built on the basis of the concept of Israeli architect Moshe Zarhi. The opening was attended by the President of Russia. An exhibition dedicated to Jewish history and the Holocaust was set up on the ground floor and on the gallery of the prayer hall.

In 2003, the Memorial complex was supplemented by a chapel erected in memory of the Spanish volunteers who died during the Great Patriotic War. In addition, it is planned to build a Buddhist stupa, an Armenian chapel and a Catholic church on Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow.

Monuments on Poklonnaya Hill

In Victory Park, which is part of the Memorial Complex, there is an obelisk 141.8 meters high. This height characterizes 1418 days and nights of the Great Patriotic War. At the hundred-meter mark, a bronze figure of the goddess of Victory, Nike, is fixed.

At the foot of the obelisk, there is a sculpture of St. George the Victorious, who strikes a snake with a spear - a symbol of evil. Both sculptures were made by Zurab Tsereteli.

On the Alley of Partisans in 2005, a monument to the soldiers of the countries participating in the anti-Hitler coalition was opened. The opening ceremony was attended by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. The author of the monument is Mikhail Pereyaslavets.

In Victory Park there is another beautiful attraction - the flower clock - the largest in the world, the dial diameter of which is 10 m, the length of the minute hand is 4.5 m, the hour hand is 3.5 m. The total number of flowers planted on the clock is 7910 pcs. The clock mechanism is based on the principles of electromechanics and is controlled by an electronic quartz unit.

The nearest metro station to Poklonnaya Gora is Park Pobedy. Immediately upon exiting the station, the Moscow Triumphal Gates, or simply the Triumphal Arch, will appear in front of you.

It was built in 1829-1834 according to the project of the architect O. I. Bove, in honor of the victory of the Russian people in the Patriotic War of 1812. Initially, the arch was installed on Tverskaya Zastava Square, on the site of a wooden arch built in 1814 for the solemn meeting of Russian troops returning from Paris after the victory over the French troops. Currently, the Arc de Triomphe is located on Victory Square, which is crossed by Kutuzovsky Prospekt, not far from Poklonnaya Hill. It was moved to this place in 1966-1968. The architecture of the Moscow Triumphal Gates is reminiscent of the Narva Triumphal Gates in St. Petersburg.

Poklonnaya Hill has become a traditional gathering place for veterans of the Great Patriotic War. Since inexorable time takes us further and further away from those heroic events, it is important to use every opportunity to turn to those memorable days, to tell and show young people how their great-grandfathers fought, defending the freedom and independence of our Motherland. The expositions of the memorial on Poklonnaya Hill make it possible.

Photo Memorial complex on Poklonnaya Hill

March 5th, 2013

Today the story will be about one of the most famous places in Moscow, along with Red Square and Sparrow Hills - the so-called Poklonnaya Hill (or Victory Park). This place is a must for almost all bus tours introducing the city. By itself, Poklonnaya Gora is a gentle hill to the west of the center of Moscow. Once it was located far outside the city, and from its top a panorama of Moscow and its environs opened. Travelers often stopped here to look at Moscow and bow to its churches - hence the name of the mountain. The view from the mountain opens even now, just like in the photo, but the city center is no longer visible - it is closed by the buildings of the Stalin era along Kutuzovsky Prospekt and the skyscrapers of Moscow City.


You can talk about Poklonnaya Gora for a long time - in my own story, as usual, I will focus on the main places that any visitor will meet. The mountain itself is located territorially in the Moscow region of Dorogomilovo and became part of the city in 1936. The first mention of the territory of Poklonnaya Gora dates back to 1368. Here, on an elevated place, important persons, foreign embassies met with bows. Knowing this historical fact, it was on Poklonnaya Hill that Napoleon was waiting for the keys to the Kremlin. In 1966, most of the mountain was demolished. On the hill remaining from the hill, there is now a flower clock in the summer:


The nearest metro station to Poklonnaya Gora is Park Pobedy. Immediately upon exiting the station, the Moscow Triumphal Gates, or simply the Triumphal Arch, will appear in front of you. It was built in 1829-1834 according to the project of the architect O.I. Bove in honor of the victory of the Russian people in the Patriotic War of 1812. Initially, the arch was installed on Tverskaya Zastava Square in place of a wooden arch built in 1814 for the solemn meeting of Russian troops returning from Paris after the victory over the French troops.


Currently, the Arc de Triomphe is located on Victory Square, which is crossed by Kutuzovsky Prospekt, not far from Poklonnaya Hill. It was moved to this place in 1966-1968.




The main part of Poklonny Mountain in this moment occupies the memorial complex, opened on May 9, 1995 to the 50th anniversary of the Great Victory in the Great Patriotic War.


On one side of the Main Alley of the memorial complex there is a fountain group "Years of War", which includes 5 hydrocascades of 45 jets each. In the evening, a bright scarlet backlight turns on, evoking associations with the blood spilled on the battlefields.


The central place in the complex is occupied by the Victory Monument (project architect - Zurab Tsereteli). It is an obelisk on Pobediteley Square with a height of 141.8 meters. At the foot, on a granite podium, there is a statue of St. George the Victorious, who strikes a snake with a spear and cuts it into a sausage, which caused a lot of controversy about the creation of Zurab Tsereteli.


The obelisk is decorated with bas-reliefs on a military theme with inscriptions of hero cities. And at a height of 122 meters, a 25-ton bronze figure of the goddess of victory Nike is attached to the stele.


From the beginning of the main alley to the Victory Monument itself, granite slabs were installed with the years in which the war took place.


On the other side of the Main Alley, 15 memorial steles are installed, as this granite stone says:


They are located in the sequence and order of placement of fronts, fleets and military formations at the Victory Parade on June 22, 1945.





In the summer, it is not only worth coming here to get acquainted with the sights, but also just for a walk.





Poklonnaya Hill also has entertainment for the little ones. Tourists will also be able to buy souvenirs for themselves in the stalls set up here.







The Square of the Winners, on which the obelisk is located, is limited in the form of a semicircle by another fountain group - it is designed to symbolize the joy of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.


From Poklonnaya Gora you can clearly see the finally completed residential complex "House on Mosfilmovskaya":


Those who are not a hindrance to the fences can climb directly to the base of the obelisk, located on a hill, and get a better view of the surrounding area. This is where the very first photo of the story was taken.


Oh, also built for the 50th anniversary of the Victory, I already told a little earlier.






Part of the spotlights illuminating the monument at night:


Immediately behind the Victory Monument is the Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War, also opened in 1995.


In front of the museum is the Eternal Flame:


The museum deserves a separate day for inspection and therefore a separate story.


We will go around the museum building and go to the second half of Victory Park, where you can take a break from traffic noise, visitors and numerous memorial monuments.




But even here you can find monuments erected in honor of the victors in the war. Although they were just opened a little later than the 50th anniversary of the Victory. One of them is a monument to the soldiers of the countries participating in the anti-Hitler coalition. It was opened on May 7, 2005 on the Alley of Partisans. The opening ceremony was attended by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. The author of the monument is Mikhail Pereyaslavets.

Judging by the uniform, from left to right, one can recognize a French, Soviet, American and English soldier:


In 2003, a monument-chapel was erected in Victory Park to the Spaniards who fell in the Great Patriotic War:



In the park, the flowers are also reminiscent of Soviet symbols:


The memorial "We were together in the fight against fascism" was opened on December 21, 2010. It is similar to the one blown up on December 19, 2009 in Georgian city Kutaisi "Memorial of Glory". The memorial is a sculptural composition depicting the soldiers Mikhail Yegorov and Meliton Kantaria, who set the banner of Victory over the Reichstag.

A little lower, on the side bas-reliefs, Soviet soldiers are depicted throwing Nazi banners to the Kremlin walls, as well as jubilant soldiers.

In the background - a wall resembling the silhouette of the "Memorial of Glory" destroyed in Kutaisi, and 15 granite cubes. On these cubes there are images of iconic monuments dedicated to the Great Patriotic War, installed in the cities of the former Soviet republics.

The area of ​​the architectural and construction part of the memorial complex is about a thousand square meters. The height of the monument together with the pedestal is 14.5 meters. The project was carried out by a team of authors, which included Honored Artist of Russia Salavat Shcherbakov and folk artist Russian Andrey Kovalchuk.






The memorial synagogue, or the memorial "Church of Memory of the Jews - victims of the Holocaust", is also part of the historical and architectural complex, dedicated to Victory in the Great Patriotic War. The synagogue was built in memory of more than 6,000,000 Jews killed during the Second World War. The construction of the Memorial Synagogue was funded by the Russian Jewish Congress. Its opening took place in September 1998.




The entire Victory Park is divided into numerous alleys named after something (mostly related to the war).

The Monument to the Warriors-Internationalists was solemnly opened on December 27, 2004 at the corner of Peace Alley and Memory Alley.





In the summer, you can eat here or rent a bike or roller skates.






Behind the museum there is another sculptural composition - "The Tragedy of Peoples". It was installed in 1997 at the entrance to Poklonnaya Gora in memory of the victims of the Nazi genocide in World War II. However, after some time, the sculpture was moved deep into Victory Park, behind the Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War. Its author is also Zurab Tsereteli.


We will go around the museum and head back to the metro station.



Our walk ends at the Alley of the Newlyweds, where wedding corteges stop before laying flowers at the Victory Memorial.

A thousand tons of special strong steel lined with stone, a 25-ton sculptural group, an unusual trihedral shape, record construction time - this is the Victory Monument on Poklonnaya Hill - the highest in Russia. It is hollow inside. What is hidden behind the stone cladding and bronze bas-reliefs?

The glazed door right in the snow-covered hill under the Victory Monument is closed, and in order to get to it, you have to move the barrier. Passers-by do not look here, tourists take pictures of the stele and go to the Museum of the Great Patriotic War. And behind this door is a whole station, where specialists from the State Budgetary Institution "Gormost" monitor the state of the monument around the clock.

Inside it is warm and there are many flowers even now, when it is winter outside. In spring and summer, they are crowded both on the shelves and on the floor. The plants are well-groomed, and when you find out that only male engineers work here, you are a little surprised. And then, in the corridors, where there are only walls and pipes, artificial light, and the air is supplied by a special ventilation system, you understand: this is how they add life to this almost deaf dungeon.

Signal systems and oscillation curve

On the wall of the corridor - a diagram of the monument and instructions, on the left - the control room. There are two engineers in each of the four duty shifts. In a small room with monitoring equipment, they spend the whole day. Numbers change all the time on one screen: wind speed (average and in gusts) and its direction, temperature. On the other, the curve shows the stele oscillating, but as long as the wind is weak and it barely moves, the curve looks more like a straight line. When the wind speed exceeds 17 meters per second, the system beeps. This means that fluctuations can be strong.

The image from the cameras is displayed on the other screen. They show the pedestal itself and the details - the muzzle of a rifle at the base of the bayonet stele, the wreath in Nike's hands, the plump hands of angels trumpeting victory. The video system monitors not only the state of the monument, but also the roofers who strive to climb the monument. However, in winter, when it is cold, they become smaller.

On the tables there are journals for accounting, in which each shift records what happened, what to pay attention to.

“Of course, we are not just sitting here behind the monitoring system. We have planned a constant visual inspection, that is, we need to climb up, inspect the condition of metal structures: elements, assemblies, connections, ”says Salkarbek Shamkanov, chief specialist of the engineering and production group.

Vibration dampener behind the back of the goddess

The stele is a unique building. And it's not even in height, but in a complex shape. The architects conceived the monument in the form of a bayonet, similar in shape to the bayonet of a Russian rifle of the 1898 model. The unusual design is unstable. The layout even had to be blown in a wind tunnel to find out how the monument would react to the wind and to calculate the loads.

“You see, the structure has a trihedral shape. And then another sculptural group, Nika. If it were just a pipe - it's in all directories, what coefficients - you can calculate. And here, how the structure behaves depends on the direction of the wind,” explains Shamkanov.

“Behaves” is actually a strange characteristic for a bulk of steel, stone and bronze, but under a strong wind the stele really seems to come to life and move. When its speed exceeds 17-20 meters per second, the fluctuations can be strong. In 2000, the stele deviated by 90 centimeters. But this is an isolated case. “This year, for example, 45 centimeters is the maximum deviation,” says the specialist. His voice is calm, everyday, but still the thought creeps in: can a huge stele deviate so much?

To reduce vibrations, special dampers of the first and second tone of bending vibrations and a torsional vibration damper were installed on the monument. The main damper of the bending vibrations of the first tone is behind the shoulders of the winged Nike. The 10-ton structure oscillates in antiphase of the structure and, as it were, prevents it from swinging strongly.

“This is the most important extinguisher. It dampens the bending vibrations of the first tone. They are characterized by maximum deviation. And there are also oscillations of the second tone, small oscillations: the amplitudes are small, but the frequencies are high,” says Salkarbek Shamkanov.

There is a hatch behind Nika's back, at a height of more than 100 meters, for servicing the dampers. If you look out, you can see Kutuzovsky Prospekt. But they are not allowed to go there: you have to climb vertical stairs, and you need a special permit to work at height. Instead, they offer to ride on the lift.

Attention! Rise… open

A corridor, several steps, a small platform, and finally a strange narrow opening in the wall, as if the entrance to the compartment of either a submarine, or spaceship. To get on the lift, you have to almost squeeze and bend over. The engineer is not in vain in a helmet: you can hurt yourself, although the opening, painted in black and yellow stripes, is hard not to notice.

It is cold inside the hollow stele, almost like outside. Beams and stairs go up, electric wires are everywhere, through which information about dampers, wind speed and direction comes down to the control room. From the inside, the monument is illuminated by lamps, which is why it can be seen that it is fastened into a single structure with large bolts. Bas-reliefs cover most of the outside of the stele, but here these bulges form intricate patterns.

The Swedish lift with two platforms, one above the other, is designed for 250 kilograms, but only two people are allowed on it anyway - it’s too narrow. Salkarbek Shamkanov asks to hold on and not lean out of the booth: “The gap is small, like a guillotine, it can cut you off.”

The elevator leaves, and Shamkanov closes the passage with a chain with a sign “Attention! The lift is closed." A precautionary measure is not superfluous: step down and you will fall into a hole.

The small platform of the lift is fenced with handrails, but it has no walls, and it’s scary to ride. Marks of white paint flash: 8.5 meters, 11.5 ... 17.5 ... 26.5 ... There is a platform every 12 meters. They are all the same, only narrowing upward along with the stele. The elevator does not go to the very top, because the elevator simply does not squeeze through. Further only on the stairs, like firefighters.

“Good exercise,” Andrey Malykhin, the shift engineer on duty, laughs. It can be seen that he is used to climbing stairs, jumping from beam to beam, fastening the safety rope so that it is properly stretched. You have to be here often. Either you need to lubricate the part, then tint something, then replace the light bulb. And it happens that the wind is strong, the vibrations are large, and the absorber does not move on the video. It means that something is jammed, and we need to climb up.

Employees have been working here since the 1990s. “Romance fades with age,” says Andrey Malykhin. But still, he likes this job much more than the office.