The monument to Marshal Zhukov on Manezhnaya Square is a very special sculpture, in addition to the historical value it represents and due to its location. This monument has become one of the most famous monuments in Moscow.
The monument was unveiled on May 8, 1995, in honor of the 50th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.
Who is Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov
Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov, famous Soviet commander, Marshal of the Soviet Union. Four times Hero of the Soviet Union, holder of two Orders of Victory and a number of other Soviet and foreign awards.
During the Great Patriotic War, he successively held the positions of:
- Chief of the General Staff
- Deputy Supreme Commander-in-Chief
After the Great Patriotic War:
- Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces
- Commander of the Armed Forces of the Odessa and Ural districts
- Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR
- Minister of Defense of the USSR.
Post-Great Patriotic War era
After Nikita Khrushchev arrive to power, Marshal Zhukov was expelled from the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and resigned due to “political insolvency” and “violation of the principles of Stalin’s Leninist Party”.
Be that as it may, for his services during the Great Patriotic War Zhukov received the popular nickname “Marshal of Victory”, with which he became part of Russian history.
The monument reflects one of the most solemn moments in the life of Marshal Zhukov, a representation of the moment of the Victory parade of 1945. Riding on the back of a horse, which tramples the German banners and a stylized eagle from the coat of arms of the Third Reich, and standing in the stirrups, the marshal salutes his comrades-in-arms.
The sculptor sought to convey the image of the commander who, trampling on the German banners, brought Victory to the walls of the Moscow Kremlin.
The sculpture is installed on a solid granite pedestal, the total weight of the monument reaches 100 tons.
Among other things, the composition evokes associations with George the Victorious defeating a serpent.
The authors of the monument are the sculptor Vyacheslav Klykov and the architect Yuri Grigoriev.
The history of the installation of the Monument to Marshal Zhukov
It is interesting that they planned to install a monument to Zhukov in the Soviet years. The USSR Ministry of Culture held a competition for the installation of a monument on Smolenskaya Square. Then the option of installation on Manezhnaya Square began to be discussed, and the idea was left in administrative oblivion.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, in 1993, the issue of the installation of the monument came to light again.
Initially, a monument designed by Vyacheslav Klykov was supposed to be erected in front of the building of the Historical Museum on Red Square; according to the sculptor, this was the only suitable place for a monument to a personality of this magnitude. But such a location proved impossible given that Red Square is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
As a result, the monument was installed across from the Museum of Russian History, on Manezhnaya Square.
Visit Moscow with us
During our tours in Moscow we visit the Red Square and we walk front of the monument to Marshal Zhukov among other places of great historical interest.
If you have plans to travel to Russia, do not hesitate to contact us and we will help you to perfectly plan each day that you are going to enjoy during your trip.
