Russian Monument, War memorial in Schellenberg, Liechtenstein
The Russian Monument is a small memorial stone in Hinterschellenberg, a settlement in the Schellenberg municipality, set beside the Wirtschaft zum Löwen tavern about 100 metres from the Austrian border. Its inscription, in Russian, records that on the night of 2–3 May 1945 about 500 fully armed men of the 1st Russian National Army under Major General A. Holmston-Smyslowsky crossed into Liechtenstein seeking asylum. It was erected with funds from Schellenberg residents and unveiled on 3 May 1980 in the presence of Holmston-Smyslowsky.
Around 500 soldiers led by General Holmston-Smyslowsky crossed from Austria into Liechtenstein in early May 1945 requesting asylum. The principality granted them protection and refused Soviet demands for their return.
The stone is listed on the tourist map handed out free in Vaduz, and the Wirtschaft zum Löwen tavern stands directly behind it. The first talks that led to asylum took place in that tavern, and the Austrian border lies about 100 metres beyond the memorial.
The monument stands beside the Wirtschaft zum Löwen tavern in Hinterschellenberg, about 100 metres from the Austrian border. Bus 50 runs daily from Vaduz to Hinterschellenberg. The site is marked on the free tourist map available from the Liechtenstein tourist information service in Vaduz.
Visitors can also visit the historic Wirtschaft zum Löwen, a traditional inn nearby where initial asylum talks took place. The old tavern gives a sense of how events unfolded in May 1945 at the local level.
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