Advertisement

Sobering memorials and Europe's tallest statue: What England fans can expect in Volgograd

The Motherland Calls statue towers over Volgograd - This content is subject to copyright.
The Motherland Calls statue towers over Volgograd - This content is subject to copyright.

In Volgograd England fans will find one of Russia’s most fascinating cities.

Ahead of the Three Lions’ opening match against Tunisia tonight, supporters have the opportunity to explore a destination that, had history swung ever so slightly another way, would likely no longer exist.

As Stalingrad, the city on the banks of the Volga, 300 miles from where the mighty river enters the Caspian Sea, was at the heart of one of the fiercest battles in history, repelling the Nazis after a gruelling winter of fighting and turning the tide of the Second World War.

The statistics of the Battle of Stalingrad are sobering. The Red Army lost an estimated 1,100,000 soldiers. Around 40,000 civilians were killed. Over 250,000 Axis soldiers died. Of the 110,000 taken prisoners, only 5,500 survived the Soviet labour camps and made it home.

It is those numbers that today shape the city of Volgograd.

England vs Tunisia, World Cup 2018 | How long until kick-off?
England vs Tunisia, World Cup 2018 | How long until kick-off?

The Battle of Stalingrad

Renamed Volgograd in 1961 as part of Nikita Khrushchev’s process of de-Stalinisation, less than 10 years after the death of the dictator, Volgograd needed to be rebuilt in near entirety after months of destruction.

Its role in the war, meant that in addition to dreary communist architecture, memorials to the Battle litter the city, none more imposing than the 85-metre tall, The Motherland Calls.

The statue - the tallest in Europe and tallest of a woman in the world, not including pedestals - towers over the city, with Mother Russia, skirt billowing in the breeze, holding aloft a sword to commemorate “the heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad”.

Twinned cities | Who is Volgograd friends with?
Twinned cities | Who is Volgograd friends with?

The construction is completely hollow and has shifted substantially with ground movement in recent years. Buried nearby is the famous Soviet sniper Vasily Zaytsev, played by Jude Law in the 2001 film Enemy at the Gates.

Two hundred steps, symbolising the 200 days of the Battle of Stalingrad, take visitors from the bottom of the hill to the statue.

There are plenty more memorials in the vicinity, the Mamayev Kurgan memorial complex, including a pantheon that marks by name more than 7,000 soldiers killed in the fighting, written on the walls around an eternal flame.

The pantheon of Volgograd's fallen soldiers - Credit: Getty
The pantheon of Volgograd's fallen soldiers Credit: Getty

What else is there to do?

“Many of Volgograd’s other main attractions are dotted along Prospekt Lenina (Lenin Avenue),” explains the Football Supporters’ Federation (FSF) World Cup guide. “These include a monument commemorating the city’s 400th anniversary and one of Volgograd’s unique buildings, the Government of Volgograd Oblast headquarters.

“Following such monuments the Stalingrad museum area is a typical further stop on the tourist route, with the Panorama Museum proving particularly popular. Amongst the plentiful exhibits there is a moving model of the devastated city following the battle, whilst for many the must see element is a panorama of the battle.”

59 amazing facts about Russia
59 amazing facts about Russia

For those with a little more time on their hands, the FSF recommends a visit to Old Sarepta, one of the few parts of Volgograd that predates the war. Once a small village, it is today a musuem exploring the culture and history of the region. Not too far away is the world’s largest Lenin statue, at 25 metres.

Anyone with a keen interest in Azerbaijan-Russia relations (who isn’t?) should head to the Volgograd-Baku Friendship Park.

In Komsomolsky Garden is the city’s first ever monument, a bust of Russian writer Nikolai Gogol, unveiled in 1910.

Volgograd Central Department Store - Credit: iStock
Volgograd Central Department Store Credit: iStock

The Volgograd Central Department Store is protected as a historical landmark and example of Stalinist architecture. Built in 1938, shopping centres of such size were rare, and the building won a number of architectural competitions before the war.

During the final days of the Battle of Stalingrad, Field Marshal von Paulus, commander of the Nazi 6th Army, took refuge in the department store.

What does Russia say about its oldest city?

Russia 2018’s official literature notes: “Over the course of the last hundred years, Volgograd has often been a prominent figure on the Russian and global stage. Many events have left their mark on the city in monuments, places and traditions.

“Over the last century the city has changed its name three times: at the beginning of the twentieth century it was called Tsaritsyn and it was a backwater place on the banks of the Volga River. Then it became Stalingrad - the fortress that played a pivotal role in World War II, and later was renamed Volgograd, having become in the process a sunny and hospitable city whose residents love fishing, football, boat rides and beaches.”

The brochure also goes out of its way to recommend the city’s “meat restaurants”, including Steak House, Bar and Grill and Poneslos (roughly translated as “here we go”).

Foreign Office travel advice for south-west Russia - Credit: FCO
Foreign Office travel advice for south-west Russia Credit: FCO

Are there security concerns?

Of the host cities, Volgograd is closest to the instabilities of Chechnya to the south, and Ukraine to the west, to which the Foreign Office warns against travel.

The proximity to areas of unrest has led to heightened security and police presence in the city and around the team hotels.

Where next for England?

Nizhny Novgorod, of course.

Previously known as Gorky, in honour of the Soviet author, the city was previously closed to foreigners during the Soviet era to protect the security of its military research centre and production factories. Even street maps were not available for sale until mid-1970s. “At the same time Nizhny Novgorod is an old Russian merchant town with timber planking and carved window frames that survived the onslaught of modern architecture,” says the official literature.

Inside the bizarre world of Soviet sanatoriums
Inside the bizarre world of Soviet sanatoriums

The city boasts a Kremlin, “the cradle of Nizhny Novgorod”, built high above the Volga. The structure seen today was built in the 16th century.