Cemetaries And Military Memorials.

[medals73]

A denial of history seems very common these days, perhaps more so in some areas of the former Soviet Union than in other areas. Just look at the Baltic States. With teh fall of the USSR, lots of things have crawled from their hiding places under rocks.

Orwell, 1984: "He who controls the present controls the past and he who controls the past controls the future."

[EricFG]

I read an article yesterday about a photographer in Uzbekistan that was jailed because the authorities felt her photos denigrated the country somehow. I'm guessing the current government is a bit fundamentalist.

[Auke]

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." - George Santayana, The Life of Reason, 1905.

[Kirchgoens]

Originally Posted by EricFG

I read an article yesterday about a photographer in Uzbekistan that was jailed because the authorities felt her photos denigrated the country somehow. I'm guessing the current government is a bit fundamentalist.

It has nothing to do with fundamentalism if you mean religion. It's very secular. It and Belarus and the closest to what once was in so many ways.

[Henry Sakaida]

If there is one place you must visit for all you collectors, it is Volgograd
(Stalingrad)! As far as statues go, this is the 4th tallest in the world, standing 85 meters. Our Statue of Liberty is 45m tall.

I fell in love with Mother Russia when I first saw her! I bought this metal table statue on ebay over ten years ago. I placed a replica HSU in her outstretched hand, and that powder horn was presented to Buryat HSU Vasily Khantaev (daughter presented it to me as a gift) when I visited her in Siberia.

Marshal Vasily Chuikov, who defeated the Germans in the Battle of Stalingrad, is buried there. Also buried there is famous Soviet sniper Vasily Zaitsev. There is the Stalin Hotel within walking distance to the statue, and it was reasonably priced. They have a restaurant downstairs and the people were very friendly. They get foreign visitors there from all over the world.

According to one internet source, "In May 2009 it was reported that rising water levels had caused the monument's foundations to subside and that the statue was leaning to such a degree (by around 20 cm (8 inches)[4]) it was in danger of collapse.

My suggestion to you is, go see Mother Russia before she goes down. Put it on your bucket list. Russia is very commercialized now and they have tour companies. The trip is doable.

[UQWozza]

In September I visited Warsaw for a work-related conference. It was not a city I had visited before, and I was unsure what to expect. However, I really enjoyed my time in city and was able to visit many interesting military sites including the Russian/Polish Memorial, the site of the ghetto, the Uprising Museum and the Polish Army museum. I also had a day trip to Krakow and Auschwitz.

Over the next few weeks I will try to post some of my photos from the trip.

Simon

[UQWozza]

More photos of the memorial.

[UQWozza]

More photos of the memorial 2.

[UQWozza]

More photos of the memorial 3.

[UQWozza]

More photos of the memorial 4.