The Society for Co-operation in Russian and Soviet
Studies (SCRSS) is proud of its significant role in establishing
the Soviet War Memorial in London. The Memorial commemorates the
sacrifice of 27 million lives by the citizens and armed forces
of the former Soviet Union in its joint struggle with the United
Kingdom, the United States and France to defeat fascism during
World War II. It is the only monument of its kind in the UK.
The Soviet War Memorial is located in Geraldine Mary Harmsworth
Park, London Borough of Southwark, adjacent to the Imperial War
Museum.
Events
Since its unveiling, the SCRSS has been proactive with the Trust
responsible for the Memorial in organising educational events
and remembrance ceremonies marking Holocaust Memorial Day (27
January, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz by the
Red Army), Victory Day (9 May, the day on which most republics
of the former Soviet Union celebrate the defeat of Nazism in Europe)
and Remembrance Sunday (November).
History
Following a decision taken at an SCRSS AGM, a meeting of interested
parties led to the formation of the Soviet Memorial Trust Fund
(SMTF) in 1997. The SCRSS was a founder member. The SMTF was instrumental
in organising the fundraising necessary to create the Memorial,
as well as its official unveiling.
The Soviet War Memorial was unveiled on 9 May 1999 by the British
Secretary of State for Defence, the Rt Hon George Robertson MP,
and HE the Russian Ambassador, Yuri Fokine, in the presence of
HRH the Duke of Kent. This was a major inter-governmental event
in which veterans and other organisations from Britain and the
former Soviet Union participated.
The Soviet War Memorial is located in Geraldine Mary Harmsworth
Park, Lambeth Road, London SE1 6HZ (adjacent to the Imperial War
Museum), on land donated by the London Borough of Southwark. The
memorial was designed by Russian sculptor Sergei Shcherbakov.
The granite memorial tablet was made by British stonemason Gary
Breeze.
In 2018 the SMTF was transformed into the Soviet War Memorial
Trust (SWMT), a HMRC-registered charity (Reference Number EW91910).
Contact
For more information, contact the SWMT Honorary Secretary:
Soviet War Memorial Trust
320 Brixton Road
London SW9 6AB
Email: sovietwarmemorialtrust@gmail.com
Website: www.sovietwarmemorialtrust.com
Articles from the SCRSS Digest
A selection of articles from the SCRSS Digest, relating
to the Soviet War Memorial in London and the Soviet Union's contribution
to the defeat of Fascism during World War II, are linked below:
The Victory Banner Over the Reichstag
By Jeremy Hicks, Professor of Russian Culture and Film at Queen
Mary University of London
SCRSS Digest, Spring 2021, page
7
The Poem That Caught a Nation's Pain: Pavel Antokolsky's
Son
By Dr Michael Jones
SCRSS Digest, Summer 2020, page
1
We Shall Remember Them
By Ralph Gibson, Honorary Secretary, SWMT
SCRSS Digest, Summer 2020, page
8
Churchill and Stalin: Comrades-in-Arms
By Geoffrey Roberts, Emeritus Professor of History at University
College Cork
SCRSS Digest, Spring 2019, page
1
A Tale of Two VE Days
By Dr Michael Jones
SCRSS Digest, Spring 2015, page
11
Soviet War Graves in the UK and the Impetus for the Soviet
War Memorial
By Phil Matthews, Chair, Soviet Memorial Trust Fund
SCRSS Digest, Summer 2014, page
24
The Red Army's Liberation of Auschwitz: 27 January 1945
By Dr Michael Jones
SCRSS Information Digest, Summer
2012, page 1
The Second World War in Russia Today
By Professor Richard Overy
SCRSS Information Digest, Spring 2012, page
1
Architect of Disaster? Zhukov and 22 June 1941
By Professor Geoffrey Roberts
SCRSS Information Digest, Summer 2011, page
1
The Nazi-Soviet Pact Reconsidered
By Professor Geoffrey Roberts
SCRSS Information Digest, Autumn 2009, page
1
The Soviet Union's Contribution to the Defeat of Japanese
Militarism
By Keith Bennett
SCRSS Information Digest, Spring 2009, page
1
Reflections on the 60th Anniversary of the End of the
Second World War
By Professor Geoffrey Roberts
SCRSS Information Digest, Summer 2005, page
1
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