4/5 Jaroslav M. 3 years ago on Google
Poklonnaya
Gora
was,
at
171.5
meters,
one
of
the
highest
spots
in
Moscow.
Its
two
summits
used
to
be
separated
by
the
Setun
River,
until
one
of
the
summits
was
razed
in
1987.
Since
1936,
the
area
has
been
part
of
Moscow
and
now
contains
the
Victory
Park
with
many
tanks
and
other
vehicles
used
in
the
Second
World
War
on
display.
Historically,
the
hill
had
great
strategic
importance,
as
it
commanded
the
best
view
of
the
Russian
capital.
Its
name
is
derived
from
the
Russian
for
"to
bow
down",
as
everyone
approaching
the
capital
from
the
west
was
expected
to
do
homage
here.
During
the
French
invasion
of
Russia
in
1812,
it
was
the
spot
where
Napoleon
in
vain
expected
the
keys
to
the
Kremlin
to
be
brought
to
him
by
Russians.
In
the
1960s,
the
Soviet
authorities
decided
to
put
the
area
to
use
as
an
open-air
museum
dedicated
to
the
Russian
victory
over
Napoleon.
The
New
Triumphal
Arch,
erected
in
wood
in
1814
and
in
marble
in
1827
to
a
design
by
Osip
Bove,
was
relocated
and
reconstructed
here
in
1968.
A
loghouse,
where
Kutuzov
presided
over
the
Fili
conference
which
decided
to
abandon
Moscow
to
the
enemy,
was
designated
a
national
monument.
The
huge
panorama
"Battle
of
Borodino"
by
Franz
Roubaud
(1910–12)
was
installed
here
in
1962.
A
monument
to
Kutuzov
was
opened
in
1973.
The
Victory
Park
and
the
Square
of
Victors
are
important
parts
of
the
outdoor
museum.
In
1987
the
hill
was
leveled
to
the
ground
and
in
the
1990s
an
obelisk
was
added
with
a
statue
of
Nike
and
a
monument
of
St
George
slaying
the
dragon,
both
designed
by
Zurab
Tsereteli.
The
obelisk's
height
is
exactly
141.8
metres
(465
ft),
which
is
10
centimetres
(3.9
in)
for
every
day
of
the
War.
A
golden-domed
Orthodox
church
was
erected
on
the
hilltop
in
1993-95,
followed
by
a
memorial
mosque
and
the
Holocaust
Memorial
Synagogue.
On
9
May
1995
the
first
post-Soviet
victory
parade
was
held
here,
with
President
of
the
Russian
Federation
Boris
Yeltsin
and
Minister
of
Defence
and
General
of
the
Army
Pavel
Grachev
in
attendance.
Commanding
the
parade
was
commander
of
the
Moscow
Military
District
Colonel-General
Leonid
Kuznetsov.
This
parade
was
also
the
first
major
display
of
the
new
post-Soviet
army
uniforms.
At
the
60th
V-day
celebrations
in
2005,
President
Vladimir
Putin
inaugurated
15
extravagant
bronze
columns,
symbolizing
main
fronts
and
navies
of
the
Red
Army
during
World
War
II.
