Podborovye: Monument to the Road of Life

• The “Avtomashina ZIS-5” monument is part of the “Zeleny poyas Slavy Leningrada” ensemble, the Green Belt of Glory of Leningrad.
• The Road of Life ran here in 1941–1942; construction of Highway 102, a section of this road, began in Podborovye in 1941.
• The monument depicts a truck on a concrete pedestal, with a schematic drawing of a section of the road in front of it.
• The two-storey wooden Church of St. John of Kronstadt was built from 1995 to 1997.

The “Avtomashina ZIS-5” monument stands on the Road of Life, which ran here in 1941–1942. Construction of Highway 102, a section of the Road of Life, began in Podborovye in 1941. The monument commemorates the defence of Leningrad and is part of the “Zeleny poyas Slavy Leningrada” ensemble. The memory of the city’s defence and the history of a road thus come together in one place.

Its design makes the connection visible: a truck stands on the concrete pedestal, with a schematic drawing of a section of the Road of Life in front of it. The vehicle and route illustration are thus both central to the monument. Anyone interested in the specific form of a memorial will find more here than a name or dedication: the truck, pedestal and drawing are the monument’s visible elements.

An inscription on the monument reads in translation: “Here the Road of Life began. November–December 1941.” The dates are part of the inscription’s wording. Together with the depicted vehicle and drawing, they focus attention on the site’s historical connection.

The Church of St. John of Kronstadt is built of wood and has two storeys. It was built from 1995 to 1997. This sets it clearly apart from the monument, whose design is defined by a truck, a concrete pedestal and a schematic road drawing. Both the material and the architectural form are therefore useful points of comparison: a two-storey wooden building on one hand, and a monument centred on a vehicle on the other.

These two structures add different accents to a description of the place. The monument points to the history of the Road of Life and the defence of Leningrad; the church offers its own architectural point of reference. If you want to understand Podborovye primarily through its history, these themes can be considered separately without attributing them to the same structure.

In the wider travel destination of Boksitogorskiy rayon, the “Astracha, 1941” museum tells the story of events near Tikhvin in November and December 1941. At its heart are the true stories of a Russian boy and a German boy. The interactive exhibition continuously displays a chronicle of wartime on four screens; visitors can also interact with authentic wartime objects. This adds a narrative and chronological perspective to the history, while the monument in Podborovye offers a concrete image of remembrance through its truck and road.

The landscape and traditions of the wider travel destination of Boksitogorskiy rayon also have their own stories. Some worked-out quarries in Boksitogorskiy rayon have flooded, forming artificial lakes. Somino Peter’s Fair is a revived tradition of the urban settlement of Efimovskoye, once a well-known merchants’ village. These regional examples differ from Podborovye’s historical focus and can help you identify other interests for a trip around the destination.

Discover more destinations: Vyra, Syargi, Strugi, Shushary, Terebochevo, Tikhvin, Svobodnoye, Simagino.

Which historic road is associated with Podborovye?

The Road of Life ran here in 1941–1942. Construction of Highway 102, a section of this road, began in Podborovye in 1941.

What does the “Avtomashina ZIS-5” monument depict?

It depicts a truck on a concrete pedestal. In front of it is a schematic drawing of a section of the Road of Life.

When was the Church of St. John of Kronstadt built?

The two-storey wooden church was built from 1995 to 1997.

For the overview of the wider travel destination: Leningrad Oblast.