The Cross of Sorrow ( fi, 'Surunristi', russian: Крест скорби, "Krest skorbi") is a memorial in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

dedicated to the thousands of soldiers of both sides who perished in the

Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...

of 1939–1940 when the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

attacked

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. It is located in

Pitkyarantsky District Pitkyarantsky District (russian: Питкяра́нтский райо́н; krl, Pitkänrannan piiri; fi, Pitkärannan piiri) is an administrative district (raion), one of the fifteen in the Republic of Karelia, Russia.Constitution of the Repub ...

Karelia Karelia ( Karelian and fi, Karjala, ; rus, Каре́лия, links=y, r=Karélija, p=kɐˈrʲelʲɪjə, historically ''Korjela''; sv, Karelen), the land of the Karelian people, is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for ...

, near the crossroads

Pitkyaranta Pitkyaranta (russian: Питкяранта; olo, Pitkyrandu; fi, Pitkäranta) is a town and the administrative center of Pitkyarantsky District of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located on the northeastern coast of Lake Ladoga. Population: H ...

–

Suojarvi Suoyarvi (russian: Суоя́рви; krl, Suojärvi; fi, Suojärvi) is a town and the administrative center of Suoyarvsky District of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located northwest of Petrozavodsk. Population: History It is known that ...

Petrozavodsk Petrozavodsk (russian: Петрозаводск, p=pʲɪtrəzɐˈvotsk; Karelian, Vepsian and fi, Petroskoi) is the capital city of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, which stretches along the western shore of Lake Onega for some . The population ...

–

Vyartsilya Vyartsilya (russian: Вя́ртсиля; fi, Värtsilä) is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) under the administrative jurisdiction of the town of republic significance of Sortavala in the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located near ...

, 19 km off Pitkyaranta. It is the first monument to the Winter War in Russia. It is a

cast-iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...

cross with Finnish and Russian mothers leaning to it from the opposite sides in sorrow for the dead. It is located on an artificial mound, on which groups of stones are placed to symbolize the perished soldiers. It was unveiled on June 27, 2000 in the presence of government delegations of Russia and Finland. Its construction was planned according to the joint Russian-Finnish agreement about the cooperation in preserving the memory of those who perished in the war, adopted in 1992. The author of the monument is Karelian sculptor Leo Lankinen, who won the contest of the projects. Because of his death, the monument was finished by Karelian sculptor Eduard Akulov, with overall planning of the site carried out by architect Lia Karma, with the help of Finnish landscape experts Seppo Hiekala and Seppo Rosenberg from

Kuopio Kuopio (, ) is a Finnish city and municipality located in the region of Northern Savonia. It has a population of , which makes it the most populous municipality in Finland. Along with Joensuu, Kuopio is one of the major urban, economic, and cult ...

, Finland, where a committee in support of the construction of the monument was established. The project was financed by many contributors from Karelia, Moscow and Kuopio. Composer Viktor Kramarenko wrote the requiem ''Cross of Sorrow''. The monument was erected in an area of heavy fighting. When on December 10, 1939, the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

captured Pitkyaranta, the Finnish side prepared a strong resistance, and the battles which continued until February were extremely fierce. The Red Army lost at least 35,000 soldiers, its heaviest losses of World War II in northern areas of the Eastern Front. The Finnish side lost an estimated 6,000 soldiers. The surrounding area, locally known as "the valley of death", constitutes the historic-memorial complex "The Valley of the Heroes" (Долина Героев), with graves and remnants of fortifications.

Gallery

File:Крест скорби, мемориальная доска.JPG, Memorial plaque File:Крест скорби, место для отдыха.JPG, Rest place "Glade of Sorrow"

References

{{coord, 61.6756, N, 31.4514, E, source:wikidata, display=title Winter War Monumental crosses 2000 establishments in Russia Monuments and memorials in Karelia Memorial crosses Pitkyarantsky District