The Motherland Calls

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Coordinates: 48°44′32.5″N 44°32′13″E / 48.742361, 44.53694

The Motherland Calls in Volgograd. For scale, note the person at the base of the statue.

The Motherland Calls, (Russian: Родина-мать зовёт! "Rodina Mat' Zovyot!"), also called Mother Motherland or simply The Motherland, or The Mamayev Monument is a statue in Mamayev Kurgan in Volgograd, Russia commemorating the Battle of Stalingrad.

When the memorial was dedicated in 1967 it was the tallest sculpture in the world, measuring 85 meters (279 feet) from the tip of its sword to the top of the plinth. The figure itself measures 52 meters, and the sword 33 meters. 200 steps which symbolise the 200 days of the Battle of Stalingrad lead from the bottom of the hill to the monument. The lead sculptor was Yevgeny Vuchetich (the famous Russian sculptor of Serbian descent), and the significant structural engineering challenges of the 7900 ton sculpture were handled by Nikolai Nikitin. It appears on both the current flag and coat of arms of Volgograd Oblast.

The model who posed for Mother Motherland, Valentina Izotova, a native of the city, is still recognized for her resemblance to the statue^[1]. She was recruited by Lev Maistrenko, an artist who was working on the memorial complex in the early 1960s. According to some sources the statue was partially inspired by Winged Victory of Samothrace, with somewhat more extended drapery. Marshal of the Soviet Union Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov is buried in the area of the monument.