Hammer and Sickle (Tornovoe)

The Hammer and Sickle is a metal monument on top of Mount Erke Pando (Эрьке Пандо) near the village of Tornovoe in the Volzhsky District of Samara Oblast. The hill rises at the edge of the Rozhdestveno Plain, by the Shelekhmet Zhiguli Hills, and the emblem can be seen from almost anywhere in the village and from the road that leads to Tornovoe off the Rozhdestveno–Shelekhmet highway.

History

The monument was put up in the 1970s. The hammer and sickle stood for the union of workers and peasants and was the main emblem of the Soviet Union; today the symbol is still used by many communist parties around the world.

In 2016 a local resident cut the monument down, believing that it looked like a swastika and carried "bad energy". The incident caused a wide public outcry, after which the hammer and sickle was restored and put back on its pedestal. Since then it has again served as a landmark around Tornovoe.

The village itself is known since 1639. Its name is linked to the blackthorn, a wild plum.

Mount Erke Pando

The name of the hill is Mordvin and means "Lake Mountain". It is explained by the water at its foot: the small lakes Kal and Opkan and the Tornovoe pond. On the summit archaeologists found a hillfort of the Early Iron Age belonging to the Gorodets culture.

What to see

Apart from the monument itself, the main thing here is the view. The hill opens a panorama of the Volga floodplain and the Rozhdestveno Plain for tens of kilometres, and on a clear day Samara can be seen across the Volga. That is why the Hammer and Sickle at Tornovoe has long drawn hikers, cyclists and photographers, and skiers climb it in winter.

Getting there

Tornovoe lies off the Rozhdestveno–Shelekhmet highway, reached by a paved side road. The monument on the hill is visible from the road, so it is easy to find. The climb is short and easy on foot, while cyclists will need some stamina on the steep slope.