Piskarevsky memorial in St. Petersburg: a memory that is always with us

The Piskarevsky memorial in St. Petersburg is one of the most iconic memorable places not only in St. Petersburg, but also in Russia. These are nine hundred days embodied in stone, these are the tears, blood and suffering experienced by the Leningraders during the siege, this is an eternal memory and the most inferior bow to those people who defended our freedom and independence during the cruel years of the Great Patriotic War.

Memory must live with us

Leningrad during the war became a symbol of the resilience of the inhabitants and the courage of Soviet soldiers. However, the 900-day blockade was not in vain: more than four hundred thousand inhabitants and seventy thousand Red Army soldiers were killed or died of hunger and cold. The overwhelming majority of them were buried in the main cemetery of the city - Piskarevsky.

The war was over, and in the city, not only the destroyed buildings were being restored, but also new houses, factories, educational, health and cultural institutions were being built. Piskarevo, which used to be the outskirts of Leningrad, quickly became the center of a young district, and the cemetery territory was gradually built up by new-fashioned high-rise buildings. It was then that the city's leadership and residents decided to create the Piskarevsky memorial, dedicated to the heroic pages of 1941-1944.

Construction and opening of the complex

Already from the very beginning of its creation, the memorial at the Piskarevsky cemetery became a matter for all residents of Leningrad. People who survived the blockade considered it their duty to contribute to the cause of perpetuating the memory of their dead relatives, neighbors, friends.

The construction was progressing quite fast. May 9, 1960, just on the eve of the 15th anniversary of the Great Victory, the Piskarevsky memorial was opened. The solemn ceremony was attended by all the leaders of the city and the region. Special honors were rendered to the architects of the complex - A. Vasiliev and E. Levinson.

"Motherland" and other monuments of the memorial

The memorial "Motherland" at Piskarevsky Cemetery occupies a central place. Its creators - R.Taurit and V.Isayeva - tried to make so that all its pose she would tell tourists about the huge sacrifices brought by the Leningraders in the name of the Motherland. Mournful nature attached to the stern oak leaves in the hands of women, which are interwoven with mourning ribbon.

From the sculpture of Motherland, passing three hundred meters along the central avenue, you can get to the central stela, before which, from May 9, 1960, without fading for a second, the Eternal fire burns . The inscription on the memorial of the Piskarevsky cemetery was made by the famous poetess O. Bergholz, who herself experienced a terrible blockade. With a special tear, the last line is read: "Nobody is forgotten and nothing is forgotten."

On the east side of the complex, the Memorial Alley is planted with blockade. In tribute to the heroic defenders of the city there are memorial plates from all the republics of the former Soviet Union, as well as from enterprises that forged industrial fame for the city.

Piskarevsky memorial in St. Petersburg: eternal memory of heroic defenders

On both sides of the Central Alley are endless hillocks of mass graves. As you know, a 900-day blockade led to the death of seventy thousand Red Army soldiers and more than four hundred thousand civilians in the city. Most of them are buried here, and the graves are mostly nameless.

In addition to the fraternal Piskaryov Memorial, there are about six thousand individual graves, as well as the graves of soldiers killed during the winter company of 1939-1940. Military lists on the memorial at the Piskarevsky complex can also be carefully studied in the local museum. Here there is a new information catalog in which all residents of the city who died in the blockade are mentioned, as well as all Leningraders who gave their lives on all fronts of the Great Patriotic War.

Piskarevsky memorial - one of the largest military museums in Russia

Even before the official opening of the memorial at the Piskarevsky Cemetery, the Council of Ministers of the USSR approved a special decree according to which this complex was to eventually become a modern museum. For several years, on the first two floors of the main building, a composition was opened reflecting the heroism of the defenders of the city and the intentions of the Hitler leadership to completely destroy Leningrad and all its inhabitants.

The museum almost immediately became an extremely popular place not only among the people of Leningrad, but also among the guests of the city. Visiting Piskarevsky memorial became an obligatory part of almost any excursion, and on memorable days on May 8, September 8, January 27 and June 22, solemn events are held here.

The basis of the museum exposition consists of documents, photographs, newsreels. At any time, you can watch the films "Memories of the blockade" and "Blockade album".

New century - new ideas

Any museum complex should not only preserve and carefully store already accumulated material, but also develop in accordance with new achievements of scientific and technological progress. Piskarevsky memorial can serve in this regard as a model for all other similar complexes.

On the one hand, there is a constant replenishment of the museum exposition and the creation of new objects. Thus, at the beginning of the current century, almost simultaneously, the Piskarevsky memorial in St. Petersburg acquired a small chapel, which later should be replaced by the monumental church of the Resurrection of Christ, as well as the memorial slab "Blockade", which symbolizes the heroic deed of Leningrad teachers during the siege, Despite the bombardment and bombardment.

At the same time, the administration and technical staff of the Piskarevsky memorial constantly strive to use the latest technologies in their activities, understanding that interactivity gives new opportunities in the upbringing of the younger generation.