The Motherland Calls The Motherland Calls The Motherland Calls () is the compositional centre of the monument-ensemble "Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad" on Mamayev Kurgan in Volgograd, Russia. It was designed by sculptor Yevgeny Vuchetich and structural engineer Nikolai Nikitin, and declared the tallest statue in the world in 1967. It is the tallest statue in Europe and the tallest statue (excluding pedestal) of a woman in the world. The work of sculptor Yevgeny Vuchetich and engineer Nikolai Nikitin is an 85 metre figure of a woman stepping forward with a raised sword. The statue is an allegorical image of the Motherland,
The Motherland Calls posed for the sculpture. It is also believed that the statue has parallels with the figure of the "Marseillaise" on the Triumphal arch 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. 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