Russian Monuments to See

Lenin's Tomb

• Lenin's Mausoleum (Mavzoléy Lénina) was erected in Moscow's Red Square in August 1924 after Lenin's death earlier that year. The founder of the Soviet state is the only premier to receive this honor and has been continually displayed since 1924 in a highly embalmed state. This monument is under heavy guard, but there is some debate as to whether Lenin's body should be buried and the tomb turned into a museum.
  
  

The Motherland Calls!

• The Motherland Calls! (Rodina Mat' Zovyot!) was the largest statue/sculpture in the world when it was constructed in 1967. It stands in a field in Volgagrad as perhaps the greatest example of so called "Soviet Realism," an neoclassical art style that functioned as propaganda. The immenseness of this monument is awe-inspiring as it's surrounded by an open plain that functions as a natural canvas.
  
  

Worker and Kolkhoz Woman

• Worker and Kolkhoz Woman (Rabochy i Kolkoznitsa) is perhaps the most iconic example of the aforementioned "Soviet Realism" style, which could look blocky, angular and futuristic as well as classical and Romantic. It was created for the 1937 World's Fair in Paris and was later moved to a pedestal in Moscow outside a Soviet museum glorifying achievements of workers.
  
  

Alexander Column

• Alexander Column (Aleksandrovskaya Kolonna), named for the Emperor Alexander I, commemorates the famous Russian defeat of Napoleon in 1812. It stands in Palace Square in St. Petersburg. It is a monolith, like the obelisks and columns displayed throughout western Europe. It is one of the more impressive Czarist monuments to survive the Soviet period.