Professions

Monuments to military sailors in St. Petersburg

Monuments to military sailors in St. Petersburg St. Petersburg can be confidently called a sea city: it has access to the Baltic Sea, and there are several large ports in the city, both cargo and passenger. So it is not surprising that such a “sea” city has a large number of monuments dedicated to sailors.

Monument “Glory to the Russian Fleet”. Monuments to military sailors

Location: Nakhimovsky square, Petrovskaya embankment

The author of the monument is the sculptor Anikushin (his most famous work in St. Petersburg is the sculptural composition of the monument to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad on Moskovsky Prospekt) and the architect Sadovsky.

Glory to the Russian fleet
Glory to the Russian fleet. Monuments to military sailors in St. Petersburg

The monument “Glory to the Russian Fleet” consists of a whole composition: a bronze statue of a woman stands on a high granite pedestal, allegorically depicting the ancient Greek goddess of victory Nika. In her hands she holds a sailing ship, which serves as a symbol of the Russian Navy. And at the base of the monument, on the sides of the flower bed (which, by the way, symbolizes the direction of the cardinal points), a polygon of the wind rose is laid out of tiles.

Glory to the Russian fleet detail
Glory to the Russian fleet detail

It is also noteworthy that the monument is located in the Nakhimovsky park, adjacent to the naval school of the same name, and opposite the monument is perhaps the most famous ship in Russia the cruiser Aurora. Here is such a naval corner in St. Petersburg!

Monument to the hero-sailors of the BMP and the Leningrad port

Location: Boundary channel 5

One of the most dramatic and “powerful” monuments of St. Petersburg, dedicated to the sailors who gave their lives in the name of defending Leningrad during the Great Patriotic War.

The main detail of the monument is the sculpture of two sailors: a soldier lends his shoulder to his seriously wounded colleague, while not letting go of the banner from the other hand!

The pedestal lists the ships of the Leningrad fleet that died during the Great Patriotic War
The pedestal lists the ships of the Leningrad fleet that died during the Great Patriotic War

The sculpture reflects not only the heroism of the defenders of our homeland, but also evokes a feeling of grief in the viewer. And rightly so war monuments should remind us that war is, first of all, a tragedy.

Unfortunately, the monument to the heroes-sailors is located in the depths of the Gutuevsky Island, so few people know about its existence. However, such an unusual place was not chosen by chance the sculpture is located opposite the main entrance to the seaport of St. Petersburg.

Monument to the hero-sailors of the BMP and the Leningrad port detail
Monument to the hero-sailors of the BMP and the Leningrad port detail

Monument and memorial sign in honor of the centenary of the submarine forces

Location: Rizhsky prospect 49; Mechnikov Avenue 14

Near the entrance to the main shipyard of St. Petersburg “Admiralty Shipyards” there is another very interesting monument from an artistic point of view, dedicated to the centenary of the Russian submarine forces.

Monument and memorial sign in honor of the centenary of the submarine forces
Monument and memorial sign in honor of the centenary of the submarine forces

As in the case of the previous monument, this monument was installed in its place for a reason: the fact is that the Admiralty Shipyards are one of the main manufacturers of submarines in Russia. Actually, the submarine model 671 RTM, depicted by the sculptor in the central part of the monument’s composition, was also created in the shops of the Admiralty shipyards.

four bottom mines
four bottom mines

The sculptural composition consists of a submarine shrouded in stormy sea waves in the center and four bottom mines installed on either side of the submarine. Under each mine there is a tablet telling us about various facts both from the history of the Admiralty shipyards and from the history of the entire submarine fleet of Russia as a whole. It is interesting that this memorial stone was installed in the Podvodnikov park, but now this park no longer exists a residential building was built in its place. So now the memorial sign is in the courtyard of an ordinary residential building, and few people know about it.

This photo was taken by me in May, so the flowers, it seems to me, were laid in memory of the Hero of the Soviet Union Hajiyev, who died in battle on May 12, 1942
This photo was taken by me in May, so the flowers, it seems to me, were laid in memory of the Hero of the Soviet Union Hajiyev, who died in battle on May 12, 1942

Monument to the crew of the destroyer “Guarding”

Location: Aleksandrovsky Park, next to the Gorkovskaya metro station

One of the most beautiful and at the same time tragic monuments of St. Petersburg, dedicated to one of the battles of the Russian-Japanese war. But one cannot fail to note an amazing fact: the sculptural composition of the monument shows us events that, one might say, did not exist in reality.

Monument to the crew of the destroyer Guarding
Monument to the crew of the destroyer Guarding

It is dedicated to the destroyer “Guarding”, who died in an unequal battle with the Japanese near Port Arthur. Of the 52 crew members, 48 ​​people died during the battle. In reality, an hour after the “Guarding” ceased fire, the cruisers “Bayan” and “Novik” under the command of Admiral Makarov came to his aid. The Japanese, planning to take the “Guard” in tow, retreated. Four surviving sailors from the destroyer crew (all who survived after the battle) were rescued, and the wrecked ship eventually sank on its own.

Monuments to military sailors in St. Petersburg. Monument to the crew of the destroyer Guarding
Monuments to military sailors. Monument to the crew of the destroyer Guarding

Monument to the crew of the cruiser “Kirov”

Location: Korablestroiteley street 18, Morskaya embankment

And finally, I want to tell you about a monument that is quite typical at first glance (I think that in every region of Russia there is a monument in the form of a tank or other military equipment installed on a pedestal), but very interesting from a historical point of view!

Monuments to military sailors in St. Petersburg. Monument to the crew of the cruiser Kirov
Monument to the crew of the cruiser Kirov. Monuments to military sailors

The historical value of the monument lies in the fact that it is made up of real fragments of the famous cruiser Kirov the first cruiser built in the Soviet Union! In addition, the cruiser is also famous for its participation in the defense of Leningrad: at one time, “Kirov” was located within the city, in the Neva River, and led the defense of the city from there!

Monuments to military sailors in St. Petersburg. Shells serving as a decorative detail of the monument
Shells serving as a decorative detail of the monument

The cruiser “Kirov” was subjected to repeated airstrikes by the Germans, but still survived the war and until 1958 performed its main functions. After that, the cruiser passed into the status of a training ship, and in 1974 it was decided to disassemble the ship for scrap metal.

Monuments to military sailors in St. Petersburg. About cruiser Kirov
About cruiser Kirov