Russian Monuments

Moscow Monuments

Moscow monuments....there are quite a lot of those in our city! Well, first of all let's get clear - there are so many monuments in Moscow that listing them all would probably make me write another site. There is no way you can see all of those especially if you're on a trip.

However, the good part is that you don't need to know and visit all of them, as there are not that many that deserve your attention. Luckily, I found a free minute to compile and put out a list of Moscow monuments and statues that I believe you will find the most interesting. No need to thank me, I'm an angel, I know.

Anyways, even after we thoroughly prune the list of monuments in Moscow, we are still left with quite a lot of those. Therefore, bear in mind I will probably be adding more content to this page with time, so why don't you check back here and there? You know, just in case I added something cool? 😉

Alright, let's get started. The first monument I would like to tell you about is Peter the Great statue located on Moscow River. The reason I chose it to be the first in the list is because there are probably no other monuments in Moscow that caused so much controversy.

Peter the Great statue was created by Georgian architect Zurab Tsereteli, the favorite craftsman of former Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov. Some people adore the huge Peter, while many others are disgusted by it.

My feelings about this artwork are mixed. On the one hand I can't help but notice the ugliness in the statue, but on the other hand I still believe there is something special in it.

Maybe it's me, but somehow this monument seems to symbolize the gloomy power of Peter the Great times, so I think you should pay it a visit at least once.

Yuri Dolgoruky. Yuri was truly the man of historic scale - he travelled throughout Russia, founded cities, moved capitals and even got to be the Great Prince twice! His monument is very thoroughly done, and you'll be able to see even the smallest historical details like armor and weapons of Russian warriors of that time. So - have a free hour in your busy.

The next item in our Moscow monuments list is the statue of Alexander Pushkin, the genius of Russian poetry. The statue was erected at Pushkinskaya square, which is located at the crossing of Tverskoy boulevard and Tverskaya street, very close to the Moscow center.

To be honest, this is the least we could do for the poet of such scale. Alexander Pushkin is not very well known abroad, maybe only by university professors, but he was probably one of the founding fathers of Russian poetry and culture.

The genius of the place...

Even today, when people don't show that much interest in classics, you can find performances and even operas based on Pushkin's "Evgeniy Onegin" poem in probably every capital of the Western hemisphere.

I suggest that you pay a visit to bronze Pushkin, both because such poet shouldn't be overlooked and because the Pushkinskaya square is a very nice place where many poetic and other performances are held regularly.

Minin and Pozharsky monument is the next one on our list. Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky were those who liberated Russia from the Polish invasion.

The monument is by the left side of the cathedral.

Back then, the Russian government failed the country, both because it was weak and because it was corrupt. Someone had to step in, and so the people of Nizhny Novgorod led by Minin and Pozharsky created a militia that drove off the invaders.

Today, their monument is located right near St. Basil's Cathedral on the Red Square, and I can surely say they deserve it. Those people saved Russia when others couldn't, plain and simple. What can be any more heroic than that?

The next one of Moscow monuments I would like to talk about is the statue of "Worker and Kolkhoz Woman" located at "VDNH".This statue is probably as Soviet as it can get - you won't find anything more resembling of USSR times in Moscow, maybe except Lenin's tomb! 

Amm...I thought we were through with the Communism....

Created in 1937, the monument is 60 meters high (including pedestal), and it's one of the finest examples of socialist realistic style. It was made completely from stainless steel, and its sculptor, Vera Mukhina, received Stalin award for her work. Both the statue and VDNH are some of the coolest Moscow sights, so I urge you to visit them once you have some time!

If you're a fan of World War II history, I suggest you visit the monument of Marshal Georgy Zhukov located right outside the entrance to the Red Square. Zhukov was one of the most brilliant Soviet military commanders. We owe him a great deal, because that man was among the few who made the victory over Nazism possible.

The White Knight of the Soviet Union

Zhukov is very controversial - some believe he was a hero, other consider him to be a criminal. While I do not want to go into details (you can read that separate post if you like), I would say that the entire Soviet history is a one big controversy.

Was Stalin a criminal? On the one hand he was, but on the other hand he built a powerful state out of post-revolutionary, ruined Russia. Yes, he killed many, but what would happen if he did nothing and Russia just fell apart? Terrible, terrible questions with no answers. And Zhukov, well - he's just another one of those Soviet mysteries...

Moscow, May 28, (AsiaNews) - The Coordination Council of Russian Compatriots in the PRC is proposing a restoration project of historical sites and monuments linked to the Russian community in Northeast China. The Council outlined its proposal during its ninth meeting, held on May 27.

"The document is a list of seven sites, located in the Chinese city of Harbin, Shenyang and Dalian," reports the news agency Tass, speaking to one of the Council members, Sergey Eremin. Eremin points out that currently in Harbin restoration work is underway on the only active church, the Orthodox Church of the Intercession, and that of St. Iver. There is a plan to transform the last Russian cemetery  in Huangshan into a memorial.

"In Shenyang, local authorities intend to transfer the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, and to restore the building — says Eremin — however, there are fears that in the course of this transfer decorations and paintings can be damaged. This is why we want to seek the help of Russian diplomats and the Chinese side to bring specialists from Russia to the city". Moreover, the Council member says there is a plan to rebuild the Cross of Adoration in Shenyang, where in 1904 a hard battle was fought as part of the Russo-Japanese War.

"As for Dalian — continues Eremin — there is the planned reconstruction of the civil-military cemetery, which is on the main Tsinyuntsze road, and also the church of Saint Michael Archangel, which was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution."

The program of restoration of the Russian presence in the Northeast of China, according to its promoters, will help the local Russian community to "act in a more systematic and coherent way", asking for support from authorities of the Russian Federation, the Russian abroad and focusing on archive work.

The meeting of the Coordination Council of Russian Compatriots in China was organized by the Federal Rossotrudnichestvo agency, the Russian Embassy in the People's Republic, the Consulate General in Shenyang and the Russian culture center in Beijing.

The presence of the Russians in North-East China is often linked to the Orthodox Church, which in recent years has launched an active cooperation with the local authorities, part of a broader alliance between Moscow and Beijing, revived after cooling of relations between the Kremlin with the EU and the US because of the Ukrainian crisis.

While the Patriarchate is still seeking recognition of Orthodox Christianity among China’s "official" religions (which are: Taoism, Buddhism, Islam, Protestant Christianity and Catholicism), the People's Republic has recently authorized, for the first time in 60 years,  the ordination of Chinese Orthodox priests.