The Great Patriotic War

In order to have a deeper love and appreciation for the Russian people it is important to know some of their history.  It is hard to grasp the devastation that befell the Russian people by the end of the Great Patriotic War (known to the United States and other countries as WWII).  Millions and millions of Russian people died during the years between 1941 and 1945.  There are many, many war sites, monuments, museums, etc., reflecting on their great heroes from the past.  Last week, on our P-day, Stephen and I went to see Victory Park.  Although initially proposed in 1947, this memorial complex, honoring the victims of the Great Patriotic War, did not open until the 50th anniversary of the end of that conflict, in 1995.  It is a genuinely moving tribute to the Soviet Union's estimated 27 million war dead.

Zurab Tsereteli monument, is 141.8 meters high and reflects the 1,418 days of the Great Patriotic War.

At the base of this monument is St. George, the patron saint of Moscow, slaying the dragon.

The eternal flame in front of the Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War.

One of several dioramas inside the museum.  This one reflects the 1941 Battle of Moscow.

Red Square in 1941.

Two dioramas of the 1941-1944 Siege of Leningrad.

Unfailingly moving, the Hall of Memory and Sorrow holds 19,500,000 names of the dead or missing.

From the ceiling hang tear-like shaped prisms, each one representing so many thousands of people.

In the Hall of Glory it lists the names of the 11,000 soldiers awarded the highest military honor, the Hero of the Soviet Union.

One of the war's Hero Cities, Kiev.

Another one of the Hero Cities, Moscow.

In Victory Park is the Church of St. George the Victorious, which was the first church built in Moscow since the Revolution.