Monday, October 22, 2012

Родина-мать зовёт


In Volgograd, Russia “The Motherland Calls” is one of the tallest statues in the world standing at 85 m (279 ft) from top to bottom. The statue is made of concrete and the sword is 33 m (about 108 ft) made of stainless steel. The designer was Yevgeny Vuchetich who also designed the Soviet War Memorial in Berlin. Nikolai Nikitin was the engineer who worked with 7,900 tonnes of concrete to construct the massive statue. The statue is considered to be an engineering challenge due to the posture of the lady. The lady is standing in a twist position that has a large torsion effect due to natural forces such as wind. It was built to commemorate the Battle of Stalingrad and is one of many memorials on Marmayev hill.  The battle of Stalingrad occurred during World War II and was a Soviet Union triumph over the Germans. Many believe the battle was a turning point in the war since it was the first large scale defeat of the German army. The battle was a bloody one with casualty numbers from both sides combined being estimated at 1,530,000. The battle lasted 200 days which is remembered by there being 200 stairs leading to the statue.

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