Fodor's Expert Review Alyosha Monument

Nearly totally destroyed in World War II while holding back the Nazi attack, Murmansk was given "hero city" status within the Soviet Union. In memorium to the brutal warfare and the soldiers, sailors, and airmen that fought, The Alyosha Monument, the country's second-largest statue, was erected in 1974. Standing guard from a hill north of city center, the 116-foot granite soldier faces west toward the scene of the fiercest fighting. In front of the statue burns an eternal flame and a few steps away, an elongated trianglular building mimics a flag at half mast.