The work of sculptor Yevgeny Vuchetich and engineer Nikolai Nikitin is an figure of a woman stepping forward with a raised sword. The statue is an allegorical image of the Motherland, which calls on its sons and daughters to repulse the enemy and return to the attack. The Motherland Calls is highly complex from an engineering point of view, due to its characteristic posture with a sword raised high in the right hand and the left hand extended in a calling gesture. The technology behind the hollow statue is based on a combination of prestressed concrete with wire ropes, a solution which can also be found in another work of Nikitin's, the Ostankino Tower in Moscow. The sculpture is hollow. Inside, the entire statue consists of separate cells or chambers, like rooms in a building. The concrete walls of the sculpture are thick. The construction of the monument was started in May 1959 and completed on 15 October 1967. It was the tallest sculpture in the world at the time of creation. Restoration work on the main monument of the monument complex was done in 1972, when the sword was replaced by another entirely consisting ofstainless steel. It is most likely that Vuchetich sculpted the figure from the discus throwerNina Dumbadze, and the face from his wife Vera. According to various sources, Valentina Izotova or Ekaterina Grebneva posed for the sculpture. It is also believed that the statue has parallels with the figure of the "Marseillaise" on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, and that the statue's pose was inspired by the statue of Nike of Samothrace. At night, the sculpture is illuminated by floodlights. It was specially illuminated as part of a light show titled "The Light of the Great Victory", marking the 72nd anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany.
Measurements
When the memorial was dedicated in 1967 it was the tallest statue in the world, measuring from the tip of its sword to the top of the plinth. The plinth measures another, and is installed on a concrete foundation with a depth of. The figure measures, and the sword. The monument weighs over. The statue contains tonnes of concrete and tons of metal structures, the sword itself weighs. The rigidity of the frame is supported by 99 metal cables constantly in tension.
The sword was originally made of stainless steel, trimmed with titanium sheets. The huge mass and high windage of the sword, due to its colossal dimensions, caused a strong swinging of the sword under the influence of wind loads, which caused excessive mechanical stress in the place where the hand holding the sword was attached to the body of the sculpture. Deformations in the design of the sword also caused the movement of sheets of titanium plating, creating pitched sound of thundering metal. Therefore, in 1972, the blade was replaced by another – entirely consisting of stainless steel – and in the upper part of the sword, holes were provided that made it possible to reduce its windage. In 2009, reports said the statue was leaning due to changes in groundwater level causing movement of the foundations. The statue is not fixed to its foundations and is held in place only by its weight. An anonymous official claimed that it had shifted and was not expected to move much farther without collapsing. A program of monument restoration was developed in 2008–2009, and conservation and restoration work started in 2010. In spring 2017, a comprehensive restoration program of the monument at a cost of two billion rubles began. The ropes inside the statue were replaced to ensure its stability, the interior and all formed cracks were repaired and more than of concrete surfaces were restored. The restoration of the statue was completed by April 2020.
Facts
The sculpture is depicted on the postage stamp of the GDR 1983.
