MOSCOW, May 7, Zhanna Staritsyna. Victory Day is a good reason to remember the history of the country and the names of our heroes. About places of military memory in Moscow and St. Petersburg, where you can go with the whole family, see the article .
Victory Park
The main alley of the memorial park on Poklonnaya Hill is decorated with many fountains. In the evenings they are illuminated with bright red light. The alley leads to Victors Square with an obelisk whose height is equal to the number of days of the war — 141.8 meters. Here is the Victory Museum with a semicircular colonnade and a large dome, under which is located the majestic Hall of Fame with the names of the heroes. There are also the Hall of Generals, the Hall of Historical Truth, the Hall of Memory and Sorrow, six dioramas are presented, the historical project “Faces of Victory” and permanent exhibitions, thematic exhibitions are held. Some locations are supplemented with holograms, audio and video accompaniment, and sometimes actors are used for greater realism.
«An incredible place, stunning in its scale! I was amazed by the dioramas of the main battles of the Great Patriotic War. Some places are depicted on a tear,” they write in reviews.
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
“Your name is unknown, your feat is immortal” — carved on the tombstone near the Eternal Flame in the Alexander Garden near the Moscow Kremlin. The remains of one of the nameless soldiers from a mass grave discovered near Zelenograd are buried here. Every year, statesmen, foreign heads of state and war veterans lay flowers here to honor the memory of heroes. Nearby is the Alley of 12 Hero Cities, the stele of the cities of military glory and Post No. 1. The changing of the guard of honor is the calling card of the military personnel of the Presidential Regiment. The synchronization and accuracy of movements are worked to perfection. Every hour, many families with children come to watch the mesmerizing performance.
“For many, this is the only place where they can pay tribute to the memory of their relatives who perished in the meat grinder of war and were buried somewhere unknown. Everyone living today should definitely visit here!” — say visitors.
Museum complex «Zoya»
In the village of Petrishchevo near Moscow, a renovated complex opened in memory of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya in 2020. The chamber museum immerses you in the atmosphere of the era: interactive exhibits coexist with archival documents — letters, photographs, personal belongings, clothing. The exhibition was built according to a theatrical principle using sound and light effects. Entire spaces have been recreated — visitors can be transported to a 1930s school classroom or find themselves inside a trench and dugout.
There are eight thematic halls in the complex; in one of them you can enter the name of your Great Patriotic War hero into the museum’s database. The house of Vasily and Praskovya Kulik is also open to the public — Zoya spent her last night there before her execution. Kitchen utensils and furniture have been preserved, including the bench on which the girl slept.
“The museum shocked me to the core. I advise you to visit, especially for children and teenagers, so that they know who gave their lives for them,” guests share their impressions complex.
Patriot Park
The territory of the military-patriotic park in the Odintsovo district is more than five thousand hectares. In addition to the main exhibition with different types of equipment, there is a separate tank museum, an equestrian center, a center for military tactical games and a temple of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The diameter of the main dome drum is 19.45 meters, which reminds us of the year the war ended. Nearby is a reconstruction of the “Victory Field” with authentic military equipment. You can freely approach each object and take a photograph. This also applies to a unique exhibit — the BP-43 armored train, a “fortress on wheels”. He stands on the Patriot train platform. During the war, such trains fought against planes and tanks and supported Red Army units with fire. Another favorite place for guests is a partisan village with dugouts, trenches and a field kitchen with soldiers' porridge and tea.
«All children should visit this park; there you clearly begin to understand what a feat our defenders accomplished. We saw T-34 tank, which was lifted from a seven-meter depth, torn apart by shells,” say visitors.
Memorial to the Panfilov Heroes
Six monumental figures rise in the field — this is the memorial complex to the “Feat of 28”. In 1941, Panfilov’s heroes fought to the death at this line in a battle with the fascists. The complex amazes with its power and brevity: the impressive ten-meter sculptures are divided into three groups. The “Forward Looker” figure stands separately, in the distance there are two soldiers with grenades, and in the center is the “Oath of Allegiance to the Motherland” group. The opening of the complex in 1975 was attended by participants in the legendary battle — Ivan Shadrin and Daniil Kozhubergenov.
Next to the memorial there is a thematic museum “Bunker” — small but interactive, many exhibits can be touched with your hands.
“It’s a fascinating sight. Before your eyes, you can immediately see the last battle, and political instructor Klochkov with his famous words: “Great Russia…” It’s difficult to convey these feelings,” the guests note.
Defense Museum and the blockade of Leningrad
The main exhibition is collected in one room: diaries, personal belongings and other artifacts are complemented by multimedia technologies — for example, airplanes “fly” overhead on screens. In some places the floor is glass — visitors walk above the ground from the Nevsky patch, one of the heaviest sections of the front, over broken monuments and the snow of Ladoga. There are installations thanks to which you can find yourself at a train station, in a besieged bakery, living room, school classroom, bomb shelter or factory workshop. Admission is free.
“I couldn’t stand in front of some of the exhibits without crying. The heroism shown on the slides makes me think about many things and re-evaluate modern values,” they write in the reviews.
«Green belt of Glory»
There are more than 80 memorial structures along the Leningrad defense line; if you wish, you can create a route for several days. “You, the living, know that we did not want to leave this earth and did not leave,” says the inscription on the Rubezhny Stone on the Nevsky Patch. With heavy losses, over and over again, Soviet soldiers recaptured the bridgehead during the Battle of Leningrad. Another memorial of the “Green Belt of Glory” is “Flower of Life”, dedicated to the lost children. The tall stone flower depicts a smiling child, and the inscription “May there always be sunshine” is carved into the petals. Nearby, schoolchildren planted a birch grove, and here is Tanya Savicheva’s mound with stone pages of her diary. The center of the «Green Belt» is a monument to the heroic defenders of Leningrad. The eternal flame burns in memory of the 900-day siege of the city.