The monument is a 40-metre semi-circular cement monolith resting on eight massive pylons. It is a symbol of the operation that is remembered as the Demyansk Pocket, a bridgehead which the Volkhov Front seized after 18 months of fierce fighting. Sculptures in bas relief on the inner part of the semi-circular structure depict scenes from the war. A cement quadrangle in the centre of the monument contains the Eternal Flame and a memorial plaque with the following inscription: “For 500 days the soldiers of the North-Western Front shed their blood for Russian land. Bow your heads in their sacred memory.”
