Ezhi monument, War memorial in Khimki, Russia
The Ezhi monument is a war memorial in Khimki, Russia, made up of three large tank barriers built from concrete, iron, and stone, placed at the entrance to Moscow. They stand along Leningrad Highway at the spot where city defenders stopped enemy tanks from advancing.
The monument was opened in 1966 to mark the place where Soviet forces stopped a German advance toward Moscow in November 1941. That defensive line represented one of the closest points enemy troops reached to the city during the war.
A stone plate at the memorial shows a map of the defense lines around Moscow and lists the names of fallen soldiers. Visitors can read these inscriptions and get a sense of what happened in this area during the winter of 1941.
The memorial sits along Leningrad Highway and is easy to reach by bus from Rechnoy Vokzal metro station. Since it is an outdoor site, it can be visited at any time of day or night without any access restrictions.
The name Ezhi means hedgehogs in Russian, a word that describes the crossed-beam shape of the tank barriers used as obstacles against armored vehicles. In the evening, red and white light beams illuminate the structures and make them visible from as far as nearby Sheremetyevo Airport.
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