Field of Mars (Saint Petersburg)
Encyclopedia
The Field of Mars or Marsovo Polye is a large park named after the Mars - Roman god of war
Mars (mythology)
Mars was the Roman god of war and also an agricultural guardian, a combination characteristic of early Rome. He was second in importance only to Jupiter, and he was the most prominent of the military gods worshipped by the Roman legions...

 situated in the center of Saint-Petersburg, with an area of about 9 hectares. Bordering the Field of Mars to the north are the Marble (Mramorny) Palace
Marble Palace
Marble Palace is one of the first Neoclassical palaces in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is situated between the Field of Mars and Palace Quay, slightly to the east from New Michael Palace....

, Suvorova Square and Betskoi’s and Saltykov’s
Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin
Mikhail Yevgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin , better known by his pseudonym Shchedrin , was a major Russian satirist of the 19th century. At one time, after the death of the poet Nikolai Nekrasov, he acted as editor of the well-known Russian magazine, the Otechestvenniye Zapiski, until it was banned by...

 houses. To the west are the Barraks of the Pavlovsky Regiment. The Moyka river forms the boundary to the south.

History

The history of Field of Mars goes back to the first years of Saint-Petersburg. At that time it was called Grand Meadow. Later there were organised solemnities in the honour of the victory in the Great Northern War
Great Northern War
The Great Northern War was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in northern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedish alliance were Peter I the Great of Russia, Frederick IV of...

 and the Field was renamed Pleasure Field (Poteshnoe Pole). In the 1740s Pleasure Field for a short while was turned into a walking park with paths, lawn and flowers. Its next name – Tsarina’s Meadow – appears after the royal family commissioned F.B. Rastrelli
Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli
Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli was an Italian architect naturalized Russian. He developed an easily recognizable style of Late Baroque, both sumptuous and majestic...

 to build the Summer Palace for Empress Catherine I
Catherine I of Russia
Catherine I , the second wife of Peter the Great, reigned as Empress of Russia from 1725 until her death.-Life as a peasant woman:The life of Catherine I was said by Voltaire to be nearly as extraordinary as that of Peter the Great himself. There are no documents that confirm her origins. Born on...

. But near the end of the 18th century Tsarina’s Meadow became a military drilling ground where they erected monuments commemorating the victories of the Russian Army and where parades and military studies took place regularly.
In 1799 the Rumyantsev
Pyotr Rumyantsev
Count Pyotr Alexandrovich Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky was one of the foremost Russian generals of the 18th century. He governed Little Russia in the name of Empress Catherine the Great from the abolition of the Cossack Hetmanate in 1764 until Catherine's death 32 years later...

 obelisk was placed in the center of the Field and in 1801 the monument to A. Suvorov
Alexander Suvorov
Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov , Count Suvorov of Rymnik, Prince in Italy, Count of the Holy Roman Empire , was the fourth and last generalissimo of the Russian Empire.One of the few great generals in history who never lost a battle along with the likes of Alexander...

 was placed in the south section by M. Kozlovsky
Mikhail Kozlovsky
Mikhail Ivanovich Kozlovsky was a Russian Neoclassical sculptor active during the Age of Enlightenment....

. A great military leader was represented as Mars (Roman god of war). In 1805 Tsarina’s Meadow was officially renamed Field of Mars. After the suggestion of Carlo Rossi
Carlo Rossi (architect)
Carlo di Giovanni Rossi, was an Italian architect, who worked the major portion of his life in Russia. He was the author of many classical buildings and architectural ensembles in Saint Petersburg and its environments...

 the monument of A. Suvorov was moved to Suvorova Square. After the February Revolution
February Revolution
The February Revolution of 1917 was the first of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. Centered around the then capital Petrograd in March . Its immediate result was the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, the end of the Romanov dynasty, and the end of the Russian Empire...

 in 1917 the Field of Mars finally lost its significance as a military drilling ground and became a memorial. In summer 1942 the Field of Mars was completely covered with vegetable gardens to supply the besieged Leningrad
Leningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...

.

After February Revolution

On 23 May 1917 the participants of February Revolution
February Revolution
The February Revolution of 1917 was the first of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. Centered around the then capital Petrograd in March . Its immediate result was the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, the end of the Romanov dynasty, and the end of the Russian Empire...

 were buried there. 184 of 1382 citizens who were killed during the Revolution were buried in the common grave. In 1917-1919 a monument “To Fighters of Revolution” (architect – L. Rudnev
Lev Rudnev
Lev Vladimirovich Rudnev was a Soviet architect, and a leading practitioner of Stalinist architecture.-Biography:Rudnev was born to the family of a school teacher in the town of Opochka . He graduated from the Riga Realschule and entered the Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg...

) was erected above the graves. In 1918 the square was renamed to “The Place of the Victims of Revolution” but in 1944 it was renamed back.

Historical burial places

  • Avrov D.N. (1890–1922), revolutioner
  • Volodarsky V.
    V. Volodarsky
    V. Volodarsky was a Marxist revolutionary and early Soviet politician. He was assassinated in 1918.-Early years:Moisei Markovich Goldstein V. Volodarsky was a Marxist revolutionary and early Soviet politician. He was assassinated in 1918.-Early years:Moisei Markovich Goldstein V. Volodarsky was...

     (1891–1918), revolutioner
  • Voskov S.P. (1888–1920), revolutioner
  • Gaza I.I. (1894–1933), military commander
  • Grigor’ev N.S. (1890–1919), Bolshevik
    Bolshevik
    The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....

  • Eremeev K.S. (1874–1931), revolutioner, military commander
  • Kotlyakov I.E.. (1885–1929), Bolshevik
    Bolshevik
    The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....

  • Kupshe A.I.. (?-1919), Red army
    Red Army
    The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...

     commissar
  • Lashevich М.М. (1884–1928), military commander
  • Likhtenshtadt-Mazin V.O. (1882–1919), revolutioner
  • Mgebrov-Chekan К. (1913–1922), revolutioner
  • Mikhailov-Politikus L.M. (1872–1928), revolutioner
  • Nakhimson S.M. (1885–1918), revolutioner
  • Rakov A.S. (1885–1919), Red army
    Red Army
    The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...

     commissar
  • Rakh’ya I.A. (1887–1920)
  • Sivers R.F. (1892–1918), military commander
  • Tolmachev N.G. (1895–1919), military commander
  • Uritsky M.S. (1873–1918), revolutioner
  • Tsyperovich G.V. (1871–1932), revolutioner

Eternal Flame

On 6 November 1957 in the center of the Field was lit an Eternal Flame
Eternal flame
An eternal flame is a flame or torch that burns day and night for an indefinite period. The flame that burned constantly at Delphi was an archaic feature, "alien to the ordinary Greek temple"....

. It was the first in Russia. From here the Flame was delivered to Moscow in 1967 and was placed near Kremlin
Kremlin
A kremlin , same root as in kremen is a major fortified central complex found in historic Russian cities. This word is often used to refer to the best-known one, the Moscow Kremlin, or metonymically to the government that is based there...

 wall on the Tomb of Unknown Soldier
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Moscow)
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a war memorial, dedicated to the Soviet soldiers killed during World War II...

. The Flame from the Field of Mars also burns on Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery and on other memorials in Saint-Petersburg.

External links

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