The Motherland Calls

조국의 어머니가 부른다

The Motherland Calls is a giant concrete statue on Mamayev Kurgan, a hill in Volgograd, Russia. It shows a woman with a windswept shawl that looks like wings. She holds a sword high in her right hand and stretches out her left hand, calling people to fight. It remembers the people who died in the Battle of Stalingrad in World War II, which was fought from July 1942 to February 1943.

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At a glance

Country: Russia
Location: Volgograd, Russia
Built: 1967
Height: 85 m
Type: Statue

Quick answers

Where is The Motherland Calls?

The Motherland Calls is in Volgograd, Russia.

When was The Motherland Calls built?

The Motherland Calls was built in 1967.

How tall is The Motherland Calls?

The Motherland Calls is about 85 m tall.

A sword-raising colossus commemorating the Battle of Stalingrad, one of the tallest statues of a woman.

The statue is 85 metres tall from the base of its pedestal to the tip of the sword. When it was finished in 1967 it was the tallest statue in the world, and it is still the tallest in Europe if the pedestal is counted. It is the main part of a memorial complex with plazas and other sculptures, which was dedicated on 15 October 1967 and has been on UNESCO's tentative list since 2014.

Designing a giant

The sculptor Yevgeny Vuchetich designed it with the architect Yakov Belopolsky. The first plan was a granite statue only about 30 metres tall. In 1961 the design changed to a concrete figure of nearly double the height, inspired by the ancient Greek statue Winged Victory of Samothrace. The Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev is said to have wanted it taller than the 46-metre Statue of Liberty, and the statue alone grew to 52 metres.

Building it

Construction began in November 1963 under the engineer Nikolai Nikitin. The statue is made of reinforced concrete, with a hollow inside built from cells 3 metres wide, and an outer shell 25 to 60 centimetres thick. The head, arms and scarf were cast separately and bolted on. Steel cables inside help it stand up to wind. Cold weather and ground problems on the hill caused delays, and the sword had to be redesigned because of wind.

Keeping it standing

In 1972 the sword was replaced with one made of a better steel alloy to cut wind resistance. By 1986 the statue had tilted from its original axis, and in the early 21st century there were worries about its condition. A big restoration was carried out, and by 2020 the monument had been extensively restored.

Fun facts

When it was unveiled in 1967 it was the tallest statue in the world.
It was the world's tallest statue when it opened in 1967.
It was inspired by the ancient Winged Victory of Samothrace.
The original plan was a granite statue about 30 metres tall.
A 26-year-old waitress named Valentina Izotova was chosen as the model for the body.