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Vasily Saisev, Hero of the Soviet Union, a top-notch sniper who restored Russia’s morale and spirit during difficult times. Captain Vasily Grigoryevich Saisev. Anyone who has seen the movie *Enemy at the Gate*, starring Jude Law, will surely exclaim, “Ohhhhhhh!” Vasily, or “Vasya” as he was nicknamed, was born on March 23, 1915, in the Orenburg Governorate —now Chelyabinsk Oblast in the Ural Mountains region. As a child, Vasya was trained in marksmanship by his grandfather and older brother through hunting wolves and deer. By the age of just 12, Vasya was already bringing home trophies from marksmanship competitions When he reached conscription age, Vasya was assigned to serve as a sailor in the Pacific Fleet in Vladivostok in the Far East. When World War II broke out and Germany launched a surprise invasion of the Soviet Union Vasya and his friends volunteered to be sent to the front lines in Stalingrad, which at the time was a major industrial city named after the leader of the era, Joseph Stalin At that time, Stalin hoped to develop Stalingrad into a world-class industrial hub worthy of bearing his name. On the other side, Hitler—who had initially marched his forces in hopes of capturing Moscow—sought to utterly destroy Stalin’s crown jewel in 1942 – 1943 by reducing Stalingrad to rubble to vent his fury and gain access to oil fields in Chechnya and Azerbaijan. For his part, Stalin was compelled to defend the city bearing his name by any means necessary, so as not to lose face before the people of the world At a time when the Soviet Union was struggling, Stalingrad was a battleground where neither side could gain a clear advantage; both sides took turns seizing control and used every weapon at their disposal to inflict as much devastation on the other as possible. Although the battle lasted only 200 days, the two sides suffered approximately 2 million casualties, making it one of the bloodiest battles in world history. Vasya made a name for himself by killing German soldiers and employing unique hunting techniques—hiding in pipes or lying in wait for days on end without moving—and ultimately 225 people with his Mosin-Nagant sniper rifle. The Soviet authorities publicly honored and publicized the exploits of this hero from the Ural Mountains, making him known to the Soviet people and serving as a source of morale in the fight against the enemy, until he became widely recognized Just a few days before the Battle of Stalingrad ended, Saisev was wounded by a mortar shell and required urgent eye treatment. That same year, Vasya joined the Communist Party, and after recovering from his injuries, he volunteered to fight on the Eastern Front in Germany, eventually being promoted to captain. After the war Vasya moved to Kyiv, where he continued his studies in the textile industry and became a textile engineer. He worked his way up until he became the director of a textile factory in Kyiv. After retiring, Vasya remained in Kyiv until his death at the age of 76 on December 15 December 1991, just ten days before the collapse of the Soviet Union. On January 31, 2006—approximately 15 years later—Vasya’s remains were reinterred near the Mother of Russia Monument in Volgograd (the new name for Stalingrad) alongside other heroes of Stalingrad, with full honors. The city of Stalingrad itself had been completely devastated by the fierce fighting, so reconstruction began in 1946 It took many years for the city to regain its former status as an industrial center. Eventually, during the leadership of Nikita Khrushchev, the city was renamed from Stalingrad to Volgograd—meaning “City on the Volga River”—in 1961, as part of a policy to erase all traces of Stalinism One landmark in Volgograd that cannot be overlooked is the Mother of Russia Monument, erected to commemorate the Russian sons and daughters who sacrificed their lives for their country and to defend their homeland. Construction of the Mother of Russia Monument began in 1959, and by the year
Last weekend (September 9), Russia held a major celebration to mark the 870th anniversary of the founding of Moscow, with numerous events taking place at various locations throughout the city. President Vladimir Putin, who attended a charity concert held in Red Square to mark the occasion, spoke about the celebrations as well as the construction and renovation projects underway in various parts of the city aimed at improving the quality of life for Muscovites. Today, Moscow is the largest city in Russia and one of the largest capital cities in Europe, with a population of 12 million. But before reaching this point, Moscow has weathered many events, both good and bad. Let’s take a trip back in time to get to know Moscow —both the former and current capitals of Russia. “Come to me, Brother, to Moscow” is the message that Prince Yuri Dolgorukiy wrote to Prince Sviatoslav Olgovich, his relative and ally, in A.D. 1147. This was the first recorded mention of the city of Moscow Later, in 1156, Prince Yuri built a wooden fortress on the site of today’s Kremlin, and is thus regarded as the founder of Moscow, even though people had already been living in the area before that. At that time, Moscow At that time, it was still a small town before it began to develop into an important commercial center. During the reign of Dmitry Donskoi, white limestone was used to build the walls, earning Moscow the nickname “White Stone City” (Belokamennaya). As time passed, the white limestone began to crumble. During the reign of Ivan III the Great, the Kremlin was renovated once again under the supervision of an Italian architect. This time, used red brick for the walls—the color we associate with the Kremlin today. By the time of Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible, he adopted the title “Tsar” to refer to “Caesar” or “Emperor” and to assert himself as the third successor to the Roman Empire following the fall of Constantinople. During his reign, St. Basil’s Cathedral was built, one of Russia’s most important landmarks. The cathedral was constructed to celebrate the victory over the Khan of Kazan and the expansion of the empire to the east. In the 17th century, during the Time of Troubles, Moscow was occupied by the Poles until Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky rallied forces to liberate the city from Polish rule (monuments to both men stand in front of St. Basil’s Cathedral) This was followed by the rise to power of Mikhail Romanov in 1613, marking the beginning of the Romanov dynasty’s rule over Russia for more than 300 years. Tsar Peter the Great moved the capital to St. Petersburg in
It is a new public park worth visiting in the heart of Moscow. On September 9, Moscow recently unveiled a new park not far from Red Square. Originally, this area was occupied by the five-star hotel Rossiya. Before the hotel closed in 2006, this area was renovated and is now set to be developed into a hotel, apartments, and a large parking lot. However, this plan was later halted, and in 2013 it was announced that this area would be used as a new public park, Zaryadye Park. It is the first public park in Moscow in 50 years and the largest park in almost 70 years. On the opening day, President Putin and Sergey Sobyanin, the mayor of Moscow, attended the opening ceremony. With an area of 10 hectares (about 60 acres), this park can be divided into several sections: the 25,200-square-meter concert hall, with up to 430 parking spaces under the building; the green area is divided into 4 zones based on the four main landscapes of Russia: the mixed forest zone, the steppe zone, the tundra zone, and the alpine zone. Grassland zone There are also many other interesting things to see: the ice cave that remains frozen all year round, allowing tourists to experience the cold in the northern and Arctic regions; a learning center for conferences and scientific demonstrations; and a new highlight: a curved bridge that extends into the Moskva River, with a view of St. Basil's Cathedral. It is likely to be another new selfie and photo-taking spot in Moscow; another interesting part is a 4D cinema that shows the film “Flight above Russia”. This tour will take us to see various parts of Russia, ranging from the far east to the north, the Ural region, the Caucasus, the Baltic Sea, including Moscow. There is also a cinema showing the film “Time Machine” that takes us back in time to the past. When President Putin opened this park, he watched both the 4D film and the history of Moscow, which tells the story from the founding of the city by Prince Yuri Dolgoruky in 1147 to Napoleon’s invasion of Moscow in 1812. The park began construction in 2014 and was completed in 2017. And was launched on the same day as the celebration of the 870th anniversary of Moscow.
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