Victory Day 64th anniversary
The Victory Day is the date of the final surrender of Nazi Germany to the U.S.S.R. in 1945, marking the end of World War II. It is a day of memory and sorrow because millions of people died during this terrible war (only in the U.S.S.R. approximately 27 million people of different nationalities perished). This war became a harsh trial for our country and a great test of our national spirit, our unity, and our armed forces.
Almost every family in the U.S.S.R. lost relatives during the Great Patriotic War (as WWII is called here). We know about this war from hearing real stories passed down from our parents and grandparents. This terrible war and the people who died defending our motherland will never be forgotten.
It is known all over the world that one of the major events for the celebration of Victory Day in Russia (one of the main republics of the former U.S.S.R.) is the Victory Parade in the Red Square. Although the history of the military parade is quite interesting, it is a bit too long to fit into this news article. I would, however, like to mention several important facts that in my opinion are interesting and important to know. The national holiday of Victory Day was established right after the final surrender of Nazi Germany to the U.S.S.R. on May 8th, 1945. It was evening in Berlin, but in Moscow it was already the early morning of May 9th and this day became the Day of the Great Victory. The first military parade in the Red Square occurred with the destruction of symbols and flags of Nazi Germany near Lenin's Mausoleum on the rainy day of June 24, 1945, when all the divisions of the Soviet army were able to return back from Germany.
The full story describing how I spent Victory Day 2009 with my repeat clients from Belgium can be read on the page with my HOT News.
On the celebration of the 64th anniversary of the Great Victory, thousands of people came to the Victory Park by metro (subway or tube). Of course, with my article about this holiday I must show you several pictures of this majestic, modern station that was opened just 6 years ago, in 2003. It is worthy of the memory of our heroes and Moscow also desparately needed this station to solve the problems of transportation for the residents of the western neighborhoods. The main purpose in building this station, however, was to provide easy access to the Poklonnaya Gora (Low Bow Hill) located near Victory Park war memorial dedicated to the Victory of the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945).
The idea to build the station near the Park Pobedy (Victory Park) began at the start of the construction of the great memorial complex in the beginning of the 1980s. The project to build this station was then launched in 1987. At the end of the 80s and the beginning of the 90s, when it was a time of great changes in our country, the city could not afford to spend huge sums of money even for this very important project. Construction of the metro station was halted along with the main part of the memorial complex. In 1995 construction of the Victory Park memorial complex was completed. At that time the military parade for the commemoration on this day was not at Red Square, but here near Poklonnaya Gora on Kutuzovsky Prospect. Construction of the metro station was only resumed in 2000 and it was completely finished and opened for the public in 2003.
The history and completion of this metro station reflects not only investment problems which occurred, but also the challenges that were faced. The station "Pobedy Park" (in English: Victory Park) also became the deepest station not only in the capital of Russia with its famous underground system, but also in the world! As a result of the depth of this metro station and the fact that it is located in an area with a high water table, the latest safety technologies had to be utilized in order to be able to safely complete the construction under water. The lowest point of this station is at a depth of 97 meters (or 318 feet).
According to the statistics fo the Moscow metropolitan area, approximately 50,000 people descend to the station's platform every day.
More photos and information about "Victory Park" metro station:
Photo # 376 "Russian Victories in WWII" - part of an enameled panel in the southern hall of the metro station "Victory Park".
PS: To be continued with more photos and some other interesting facts about this sation.
With BEST Regards,
Arthur Lookyanov
Posted on: May 13th, 2009
Last Edited on: May 14th, 2009
Park Pobedy, Victory Park, metro sation, Moscow Metro
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