Soviet War Memorial (Vienna)

The semi-circular white marble colonnade partially enclosing a twelve-metre figure of a Soviet soldier was unveiled in 1945.

[2] Near the end of World War II in Europe, Soviet forces of the 3rd Ukrainian Front were ordered by Joseph Stalin to capture Vienna, both for strategic military purposes and for use as a post-war bargaining chip with the Allies.

The agreement mandated the creation of four occupation zones (American, British, French and Soviet) in Vienna, similar to Berlin.

[6] The memorial includes a triumphal arch and is dominated by the figure of a soldier with a PPSh-41 submachine gun on his chest.

[2][note 1] Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the memorial in 2007 to lay flowers and specifically give thanks to Austria for maintaining it.

The Red Army soldier depicted carries a PPSh-41 submachine gun and holds a Soviet flag and a golden emblem of the Soviet Union .
Detail of stone tablet with the text of the order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief I.V. Stalin in connection with the capture of Vienna on April 13, 1945.