January Thunder memorial, War memorial in GostiLitskoye rural settlement, Russia.
The January Thunder memorial is a stone monument on the Izhora Heights, in the Gostilitskoe rural area of the Leningrad region in Russia. It stands in an open field with no surrounding buildings, facing the low rolling terrain of the northwestern countryside.
In January 1944, Soviet forces launched an offensive from the Izhora Heights that ended the siege of Leningrad after roughly 900 days. The monument was later placed on this spot to mark where that push began.
The memorial takes its name from Operation January Thunder, the Soviet offensive launched in January 1944 to break the siege of Leningrad. Visitors can read inscriptions on the stone that name the units involved and the ground they fought over.
The memorial sits in a rural area with no nearby facilities, so it helps to arrive prepared with water and suitable footwear for uneven ground. The site is open at all times and is best visited in dry weather since there is no cover.
The Izhora Heights where the memorial stands rise only about 500 feet (160 m) above the surrounding plain, yet that modest elevation was enough to give whoever held them a clear view over the flat land below. That advantage made the position one of the most contested in the fighting around Leningrad.
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