The Memorial to the Fighters of the Revolution, also known as the Monument to the Fallen Fighters of the Revolution, is a significant historical site located in the center of the Field of Mars (Marsovo Pole) in Saint Petersburg, Russia. This expansive open square, historically used for military parades, public gatherings, and recreational purposes since the city's founding in the early 18th century, was transformed into a revolutionary pantheon following the events of 1917. The memorial serves as a communal burial ground and commemorative structure honoring those who perished during the February and October Revolutions of 1917, as well as victims of the subsequent Russian Civil War and efforts to consolidate Soviet power from 1917 to 1933. It symbolizes the shift from tsarist autocracy to Bolshevik rule and stands as a testament to the sacrifices made in the name of proletarian freedom.
The origins of the memorial trace back to the immediate aftermath of
the February Revolution, which overthrew the Romanov dynasty in early
1917. The Petrograd Soviet selected the Field of Mars as the burial site
for the revolution's victims, rejecting initial proposals for Palace
Square. This decision was influenced by prominent figures like the
writer Maxim Gorky, who advocated for the location partly because it was
envisioned as a vantage point for the future Constituent Assembly. On
April 5, 1917 (Old Style: March 23), 184 bodies were interred in four
large L-shaped communal graves, created by blasting trenches into the
frozen ground. The funeral procession, attended by an estimated 800,000
to 1,000,000 people, was a massive public event marked by secular
rituals—no clergy were permitted, making it Russia's first major outdoor
secular ceremony. Participants sang revolutionary anthems like "La
Marseillaise" and "You Fell Victim to a Fateful Struggle," while cannon
fire from the Peter and Paul Fortress punctuated the lowering of each
coffin. The event was declared a city holiday, underscoring its symbolic
importance.
The accepted death toll from the February Revolution in
Petrograd was around 1,382, including 869 mutinous soldiers and 237
workers, but only a fraction—86 soldiers, 9 sailors, 2 officers, 32
workers, 6 women, 23 of undetermined status, and 26 unknown—were buried
at the site. Burials continued sporadically, expanding to include
prominent Bolshevik leaders and groups killed in related conflicts. The
first individual burial was that of V. Volodarsky (real name Moisey
Goldstein), a Bolshevik propagandist assassinated in 1918. Later that
year, Moisei Uritsky, head of the Petrograd Cheka (secret police), and
Semyon Nakhimson, killed during the Yaroslavl Uprising, were added.
Victims of the October Revolution were interred shortly after, and on
the first anniversary of the Bolshevik takeover, the square was renamed
"Victims of Revolution Square." Further additions included Civil War
commanders like A. S. Rakov (1919) and Semyon Voskov (1920), eight
Finnish Communist Party members killed in the 1920 Kuusinen Club
Incident, seven officers who defected during a 1919 mutiny, and Latvian
Riflemen from the 1920 Yaroslavl Uprising. The final burial occurred on
October 8, 1933, with Ivan Gaza, a party secretary and armored train
fighter.
During World War II, the site took on practical roles amid
the Siege of Leningrad (1941–1944), serving as a vegetable garden and
even hosting an artillery battery. Postwar reconstruction began in 1947,
with the original name "Field of Mars" restored in 1944. A major
redesign in the late 1950s paved the central area, and the monument
underwent further maintenance in 1998–2001 and 2014 to preserve fading
inscriptions.
Designed by architect Lev Rudnev and unveiled on November 7, 1919
(the second anniversary of the October Revolution), the memorial
features four low, L-shaped walls made of grey and red granite, forming
an enclosed square around the central graves. The granite was repurposed
from dismantled storage yards at Salniy Buyan. Originally, the interior
was a circular lawn with floral arrangements designed by Ivan Fomin in
1921, but this was replaced with a paved square during the 1950s
reconstruction, overseen by Solomon Maiofis. Surrounding the walls are
12 granite plaques listing the names of prominent buried individuals.
Eight large granite tablets at the ends of the walls bear poetic
epitaphs written by Anatoly Lunacharsky, the People's Commissar for
Education. These inscriptions, designed by artists Vladimir Konashevich
and Nikolay Tyrsa, evoke themes of heroism, sacrifice, and proletarian
struggle. Examples include:
"Not victims - heroes lie under this
grave. It is not grief, but envy that brings forth your destiny in the
hearts of all grateful descendants. In the terrible red days, you lived
gloriously and died beautifully."
"From the bottom of oppression,
need and ignorance, you, proletarian, rose, gaining freedom and
happiness for yourself. All of humanity you make happy and tear from
slavery."
"Against wealth, power and knowledge for the few, you led
the struggle and fell with honour, so that wealth, power and knowledge
would become the common lot."
These texts, overseen in
construction by Lev Ilyin, emphasize the revolutionary narrative of
class warfare and immortality through sacrifice.
A key feature is the
eternal flame, installed at the center on November 6, 1957, on the eve
of the October Revolution's 40th anniversary. Lit from the open-hearth
furnace at the Kirov Factory, it was Russia's first such flame and has
since been used to ignite others across the country, including at the
Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery (1960), in Novgorod (1965), and at
Moscow's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (1967). The flame was relit in 2003
using the same source after maintenance.
The site functions as a necropolis for revolutionary heroes, blending
anonymous mass graves with named individuals. Beyond the initial 184
unnamed victims, prominent figures include:
V. Volodarsky
(1885–1918): Bolshevik propagandist and Commissar for Printed Works,
assassinated.
Moisei Uritsky (1873–1918): Head of the Petrograd
Cheka, assassinated.
Semyon Nakhimson (1885–1918): Killed in the
Yaroslavl Uprising.
Ivan Gaza (1894–1933): Party secretary and Civil
War veteran.
Groups such as the eight Finnish Communists (e.g., Jukka
Rahja, Liisa Savolainen) from the Kuusinen Club Incident and Latvian
Riflemen (e.g., Indrikis Daibus, Karl Liepin) from the Yaroslavl
Uprising.
Other named burials encompass Civil War commanders,
mutineers, and party officials like Dmitriy Avrov, Mikhail Lashevich,
and Nikolay Tolmachyov. A plaque summarizes: "Here are buried those who
died in the days of the February Revolution and the leaders of the Great
October Socialist Revolution who fell in battles during the Civil War."
The memorial embodies the Bolshevik narrative of heroic struggle against oppression, serving as a focal point for Soviet commemoration. Its secular funerals under the Provisional Government highlighted emerging democratic ideals, while later additions reinforced the cult of revolutionary martyrs. The eternal flame's role in inspiring national memorials underscores its influence on Soviet remembrance culture. Proposals in the 2000s for underground parking beneath the site were rejected due to its sacred status, reflecting ongoing reverence. Today, it remains a quiet, reflective space amid the bustling city, attracting visitors interested in Russia's revolutionary history.