Moskovsky Victory Park (Московский парк Победы, ''Moskovsky park Pobedy'') is a public park in the Moskovsky District of

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. The name of the park was given in honor of victory in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Victory Park is situated in the south part of

and bounded by Kuznetsovskaya Street,

Moskovsky Avenue Moskovsky Prospekt (, ''Moskovsky Avenue'') is a 10 km-long prospekt in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It runs from Sennaya Square and Sadovaya Street, to Victory Square, where it splits into the Pulkovo Highway and Moscow Highway. It cr ...

, Yuri Gagarin Avenue, Basseynaya Street. The address of the park administration is Kuznetsovskaya Street, 25. It covers an area of 168 acres (0.68 km²). Victory Park was created as the area redevelopment of the former site of the brick factory soon after the Second World War ended. The factory site and surrounding area carried a sorrowful reminder for surviving citizens. During the war, the factory facilities were used to cremate victims of German blockade and bombardments during the

Siege of Leningrad The siege of Leningrad was a Siege, military blockade undertaken by the Axis powers against the city of Leningrad (present-day Saint Petersburg) in the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front of World War II from 1941 t ...

. The ashes were transported in mine cars and dumped in the nearby flooded pits. The brick factory was located less than a mile from Russian front-line positions along one of the city's major routes - International Avenue (now Moskovsky Avenue) - close to the south outskirts of the city. Several pictures taken by Nazi aerial reconnaissance in one of the harsh winters during the Siege shows that the crematory facility was heavily used as seen by markings on snow-covered area. Estimates on how many victims were cremated there widely range from at least 117,000 to over 600,000 bodies. Soon after the Second World War, the factory building was erased and the area was redeveloped into a park. Victory Park was officially opened on July 7, 1946, and covered only the 1/7 of the present-day territory. During the next decade, the park grew to the present boundaries. The original quarries, trenches and foxholes were preserved and further developed into a system of channels and small ponds. In the 1950s, construction projects in the park were led by the Soviet architects Yevgeniy Katonin and Valerian Kirhoglani. They created a summer stage, fountains and several pavilions, including two

propylaea In ancient Greek architecture, a propylaion, propylaeon or, in its Latinized form, ''propylaeum''—often used in the plural forms propylaia or propylaea (; Greek: προπύλαια)—is a monumental gateway. It serves as a partition, separat ...

-like buildings at the main entrance. In further years, sculptures and monuments were installed throughout the park. A major alley called "Alley of Heroes" features busts of Soviet heroes, hence the name. Among statuaries in the park are the monument dedicated to Soviet marshal

Georgy Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov ( 189618 June 1974) was a Soviet military leader who served as a top commander during World War II and achieved the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union. During World War II, Zhukov served as deputy commander-in-ch ...

and statues of the Soviet war heroes

Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya Zoya Anatolyevna Kosmodemyanskaya ( rus, Зо́я Анато́льевна Космодемья́нская, p=ˈzojə kəsmədʲɪˈmʲjanskəjə; September 13, 1923 – November 29, 1941) was a Soviet partisan. She was executed after acts of s ...

and

Alexander Matrosov Alexander Matveyevich Matrosov ( February 5, 1924 – February 27, 1943) was a Soviet infantry soldier during the Second World War, posthumously awarded the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union reportedly for blocking a German machine-gun wit ...

. In the 1990s, the Orthodox chapel and commemorative plaque were erected at the former site of the crematory facility. The park has several entertainment options including a small amusement park, playgrounds, cafés, boat rental, mini-golf, tennis courts and an outdoor ice skating rink. Transportation to the park is provided by the Park Pobedy Metro station at the south-west edge of the park.

Notes

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