One of the morals values in each society would be respecting and memorizing the people who sacrificed themselves in the wars. Russia which had many wars and intrusion in its history acknowledges the significance of this memorial.
One of the darkest period in St. Petersburg history happened during the Second World War when the Nazi’s army siege the Leningrad (St. Petersburg) for 900 days. The people of Saint Petersburg and the Russian army withstood the attack till the victory reached.
During those dark days, many citizens, soldiers, and officers lost their lives to secure the victory for Russia. The Soviet government acknowledged those sacrifices and ached to pay respect. One way to show your gratitude and honoring the lost souls is to build a monument for them. One of the most glorious monuments that have been built in Russia locates at the Victory Square in Saint Petersburg.
Victory Square locates at the end of Moskovsky Prospekt, near the Pulkovo airport. Unlike other cities during the Soviet era that the Victory Square's name was given to the city Central Square, the victory square in St. Petersburg locates nearly at the south end part of the city. The idea that makes this square truly special is the Monument to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad that erected at the center of this square.
Where the Srednerogatsky Palace took place before, currently, there’s a large square which hosts a 48 meters tall obelisk, 26 bronze sculptures, and a vast hall under it.
During the Second World War, the city of Leningrad went under siege by the Nazi’s army for 900 days which took 800k Russian lives. This event is known as the Siege of Leningrad which ended with Russia victory by remarkable resistance from the Leningrad’s people and the army. When the Soviet government announces that they want to build a memorial for that event in 1958, more than 40 applications containing the design for the memorial received by the committee and the design of Russian architect, Sergei Speransky won the competition. Speransky’s team with their “the eternal flame of our memory” also won the next competition amongst 80 received applications which were for the monuments and design of the memorial hall.
This monument has three principal parts. The first part which caught tourists’ eyes if they enter the city from the Pulkovo airport is the 46-meter high obelisk which erected at the center of the square. This granite column decorated with two sculptures of a worker and a soldier which is a symbol of the association between people and army during the 900 days siege.
The second part is the broken circle at the center of the square which decorated with 26 bronze sculptures by Russian artist Mikhail Anikushin of civilians, sailors, pilots, snipers, and the city defenses builders. The broken circle represents the victory over the siege, and the sculptures manifest the people’s struggles and suffer that the city went through during those dark days.
The third part which locates under the square is a vast memorial hall that contains the war artifacts, medals, documents, letters, soldiers’ belonging, and the request letters by boys who wanted to join the defense force. The east and the west part of the hall is quite remarkable with two huge mosaic art in which the siege and victory scene represented quite well. The silence in the hall only breaks whenever the radio starts to broadcast the emergency announcements which creates a fascinating atmosphere.
If you travel to Saint Petersburg by airplane, you would probably see the square and its monument when you enter the city. The victory square is quite far away from the city center, and also there are lots of significant attractions in the city, generally, the Victory Square doesn't include in the St. Petersburg's tour plans, however, if you’re curious to see the monument from near sight, you can reach there by taking the train to the Moskovsky station.
