T-80 Tank Monument (Kamenka)

The T-80 tank monument stands at the entrance to the village of Kamenka in the Vyborgsky District of Leningrad Oblast, at the junction of the Sredne-Vyborgskoye Highway (road 41K-092) and the road to Kirillovskoye. The tank on its pedestal is one of several pieces of military equipment displayed in and around Kamenka, a village known as a military town and the base of the 138th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade.

The T-80 on its pedestal

The T-80 is mounted on a pedestal right at the junction, so it is easy to see from the Sredne-Vyborgskoye Highway. It differs from tanks in service in one visible detail: the side skirts, the rubberised panels that normally cover the upper part of the running gear, have been removed, leaving the road wheels and tracks fully exposed.

The monument is tied to the Kamenka garrison. The village is home to the 138th Separate Guards Krasnoselskaya Order of Lenin Red Banner Motor Rifle Brigade, and the vehicles on pedestals mark the approach to the military town and its training ground.

Other vehicles in Kamenka

Besides the T-80, two more vehicles are displayed in and near Kamenka.

• A UR-77 Meteorit mine-clearing vehicle, nicknamed Zmey Gorynych (the Dragon). It stands about 1.5 km north of the village, at the entrance to the training ground, on a pedestal made from half of a TMM heavy mechanised bridge. The UR-77 is built on the chassis of the Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer and carries two line charges; each one, when detonated, clears a lane roughly 90 by 6 metres through a minefield.
• An MT-LB multipurpose light armoured tractor stands in the village itself.

Together with the tank at the junction, these exhibits form a small collection spread across the area that is easy to see in one trip.

Getting there

Kamenka lies in the forests of the Karelian Isthmus, roughly halfway between Saint Petersburg and Vyborg. The tank stands where the Sredne-Vyborgskoye Highway meets the road from Kamenka to Kirillovskoye, right at the entrance to the village. The UR-77 is about 1.5 km north of the village, on the road to the training ground.

Good to know

Kamenka is an active military garrison with a training ground next to it. The roadside monuments are open to view, but the military unit and the training ground may not be entered without permission.