The obelisk of Moscow's World War II memorial at Poklonnaya Hill
On Tuesday, October 9, 2007, Charles Ganske visited Poklonnaya Hill memorial park and museum located near Kutuzovsky Prospket in Moscow. During Soviet times, Leonid Brezhnev and other Communist Party bosses lived in apartment buildings on Kutuzovsky Prospekt.
Poklonnaya Hill has a special significance - it was the place where Napoleon Bonaparte stood and watched Moscow burn in 1812, shocked by the stubborn refusal of Russian people to concede defeat. As such, it was the natural spot for Moscow's memorial to the Second World War.
Click on the extended post to view more photos, which may take a minute to upload.
On the left, St. George's Russian Orthodox Church, built in the 1990s, and in the center, a massive Soviet monument built during the mid-1980s to commemorate World War II
Another view of St. George's Church, with new apartment buildings on the left.
St. George is a patron saint of Moscow
More new apartment buildings going up near the park. Poklonnaya Hill is located near the prime real estate of Kutuzovsky Prospekt
St. George's Church viewed from the monument - looking to the northwest of Moscow
Inside the World War II Memorial Museum
Mural depicting Red Army troops celebrating the encirclement of German forces around Stalingrad in January 1943
A Soviet locomotive in the outdoor park
A Soviet T-34 tank
Charles Ganske in the trenches...
The lineup of aircraft and replicas parked at the outdoor Memorial museum
A Soviet fighter plane from World War II
A Soviet built Kamov helicopter
A Mi-24 attack helicopter - the same type portrayed in Fyodor Bondarchuk's film 9 Rota (Ninth Company)
Charles Ganske posing in front of a MiG-23 fighter jet
Charles Ganske next to a Soviet copy of the C-47 transport plane. Hundreds of these airplanes were shipped to Russia during World War II as Lend-Lease Aid from the U.S.
A Mikoyan MiG-29 fighter jet
An autumn sunset over Poklonnaya Hill
All photos were taken with a Nikon Coolpix 5600 digital camera without a tripod. Link and reference to Russia Blog required when reposting these photos.
Charles Ganske is the co-founder and first fellow of the Real Russia Project and former editor in chief of Russia Blog.
