Mother-Motherland sculpture at the Piskarevskoye Memorial Cemetery

The Mother-Motherland sculpture is a monumental stone figure at a memorial cemetery in Saint Petersburg, depicting a woman in a defensive posture holding a weapon and shield. The grounds spread across different levels connected by pathways and steps, with areas marked by inscriptions and an eternal flame near the entrance.

The memorial opened in 1960, fifteen years after World War II ended, to honor those who died during the Siege of Leningrad. The blockade lasted nearly nine hundred days and claimed hundreds of thousands of lives among both civilians and soldiers.

The sculpture anchors a place where people come to remember loved ones and honor collective loss, creating a space for personal reflection. This memorial continues to shape how the community understands its shared past and the cost of survival.

The grounds are accessible on foot, though reaching the sculpture requires climbing multiple sets of stairs, so plan time and wear comfortable shoes. The site is open year-round and works best on quieter days to experience the memorial in the way it deserves.

The cemetery received thousands of bodies on two consecutive days at the height of the blockade's worst period, showing the brutal scale of the suffering. This grim reality illustrates how extreme conditions became and how many people perished in such a short span of time.

Location: Kalininsky District

Inception: May 9, 1960

Part of: Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery

GPS coordinates: 59.99758,30.42388

Latest update: December 7, 2025 20:23