Ksenia Smirnova
Schusev State Museum of Architecture, Russia
An opened competition for architectural projects of monuments to the heroic defenders of Leningrad was held in 1964. Professional and non-professional architects who took part in this competition created projects closely associated with the development of the new city regions as well as projects which allowed the reconstruction of the historical center.
Some architects proposed to establish a memorial in the western part of Vasilyevsky island, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland so it could be regarded as the city’s propylaeum. The most magnificent project was developed by architects A. Tarantul, S. Sokolova and represented a large ensemble, which included not only fraternal burial, eternal flame and stele, but also a new metro lobby, parking, existing and newly-planned residential quarters.
Memorial composed by V. Volkova, V. Kisilgof and T. Belenkaya follows the shape of a broken ring strung on piles growing out of the water. The searchlight mounted in the center of it allows using it as a beacon.
Non-professional architect V. Klimov creates a grandiose project on the Neva River, by the Old Saint Petersburg Stock Exchange and Rostral Columns. His idea was to extend a symmetrical composition of the existing historical ensemble by creating an artificial island with an obelisk and museum. Architects V. Maslov and G. Skorohodov suggested building a new monument directly behind the Old Stock Exchange, thus significantly changing the historical area. V. Popov and S. Ushakov proposed to set the new memorial directly in front of the main facade of the Admiralty building.
Many architects considered the southern regions of Leningrad as a perfect site for the new memorial. I. Malkov develops an extended complex included in the transport interchange. Project by V. German and A. Kozhuhov assumes location of the monument in the very center of the transport interchange, where the roads to Moscow, Kiev and airport begin. Many projects of the south area may be regarded as the forerunners to the monument on the Victory Square created in 1975.
With the help of the studied materials we can trace the development of the memorial typology dedicated to the defenders of Leningrad during the Great Patriotic war.