Solovyovo – Memorial Sites and the Taipale Redoubt

On May 26, 2015, a solemn burial ceremony for the remains of 62 members of the Red Army took place at the military mass grave in Solovyovo. They had fallen during the Soviet-Finnish War at the Taipale bridgehead. The Taipale Redoubt is located around 700 m northwest of Solovyovo and is also known as the Ulytsky or Ulla Redoubt.

The 2015 burial ceremony commemorates 62 members of the Red Army who fell at the Taipale bridgehead.

The remains of 87 members of the Red Army’s 150th and 49th Rifle Divisions were also buried at a military cemetery near Solovyovo. They had fallen in battles in 1939–1940. Alongside the precisely dated event of 2015, the two divisions and the period of the battles thus serve as distinct historical points of reference in the area around the village.

The Ulytsky Redoubt, also called the Taipale Redoubt or Ulla Redoubt, is a square earthwork with a ditch and an octagonal gun emplacement. At the center of the redoubt is an undeveloped parade ground.

The outer ramparts measure 64 × 64 m; the gun emplacement is listed as 190 × 190 m. The ramparts are about 8 m high from the bottom of the ditch. These figures refer to different structures and measurements: the height is measured from the ditch floor, while the two sets of dimensions refer to the ramparts and the gun emplacement. The redoubt lies around 700 m northwest of Solovyovo.

The Vepsian Forest Nature Park lies in the far east of Leningrad Oblast. It encompasses seven reserves with particularly strict protection rules and numerous lakes. The largest is Lake Lerinskoje, in the reserve of the same name.

Among the nature park’s special features are well-preserved old spruce and pine forests in the “Vepsskiy les” and “Ashchozyorskiy” reserves. They are important for numerous organisms that can survive only in forests undisturbed by economic activity. Wildlife is also part of this natural landscape: brown bears are found in greater numbers in the park, and the wolverine, extremely rare in the region, has also been recorded. Wildlife sightings are not guaranteed.

The Vepsian people, a small ethnic group in Russia with their own culture and traditions, have traditionally lived in the Vepsian Forest Nature Park.

The ecological trails described also showcase the different landscapes of Leningrad Oblast. The Toksovskiye vysoty Natural Monument has a circular ecological trail. It passes over sand hills and the hollows between them, as well as through old spruce and pine forests.

In the “Gryada Varyamyansel'kya” protected area in Priozersk District, an ecological cycling trail runs through a landscape of lakes, marshes, and dry, old-growth pine forest. Descriptions of both trails date from 2019. Check current trail conditions before your trip.

Discover more destinations: Udaltsovo, Orekhovo, Vesnino, Gromovo.

When did the burial ceremony in Solovyovo take place?

It took place on May 26, 2015. The remains of 62 members of the Red Army who had fallen at the Taipale bridgehead during the Soviet-Finnish War were buried.

What other names does the Taipale Redoubt go by?

It is also called the Ulytsky Redoubt or Ulla Redoubt and lies about 700 m northwest of Solovyovo.

What is the trail at the Toksovskiye vysoty Natural Monument like?

The circular ecological trail passes over sand hills and hollows, as well as through old spruce and pine forests. The description dates from 2019; check current trail conditions before your trip.

See the broader travel overview: Priozerskiy rayon.