Buinichi Field Memorial, Mogilev

Is Buinichi Field worth visiting?

Yes — it is Mogilev's most important WWII site and the one place in town that explains why the city matters in Belarusian memory. The grounds are free and you need about an hour. Add the Museum of Glory (16 BYN, 1–1.5 hours more) if you want the full story with dioramas and AR.

Skip it only if war memorials are not your thing or you have just a couple of hours in the centre: the trip out and back adds 30–40 minutes. Expect plaques in Russian or Belarusian rather than English, so read the history below before you go.

What happened at Buinichi Field

In July 1941 Mogilev's defensive line ran across this field outside the village of Buinichi. Colonel S. F. Kutepov's 388th Rifle Regiment, with artillery and a militia battalion, dug in here as German armour pushed towards the Dnieper.

The hardest day was 12 July: the tank battle lasted about 14 hours, and by evening 39 German tanks lay knocked out or burning on the field. The defenders held until 22 July — more than three weeks — at a time when the front elsewhere was falling back hundreds of kilometres.

The memorial opened on 9 May 1995 for the 50th anniversary of Victory, designed by architect Vladimir Chalenko, and has been a listed heritage site since 2002.

What to see

• The chapel — 27 m of red brick; inside, light marble walls carry plaques with hundreds of names, and a Foucault pendulum swings in the centre. The crypt below holds reburied soldiers.
• The entrance arch — bas-reliefs show a map of the defence, battle scenes and the decree awarding Mogilev the Order of the Patriotic War.
• The open-air hardware — tanks, field guns, an anti-aircraft gun, and a German tank pulled out of the Drut River in 1994.
• The Simonov stone — marks where the writer's ashes were scattered.
• The Lake of Tears — a pond symbolising mothers' grief; the path around it is the nicest walk on the field.
• The Church of the Nativity of St John the Baptist — a working Orthodox church on the field, consecrated in 2019.

Museum of Glory: tickets and opening hours

The Museum of Glory of Mogilev Region opened beside the field on 5 July 2025 as a branch of the regional history museum. Adult tickets are 16 BYN; children from 7 and full-time students pay 8 BYN, under-7s are free. A guided visit is 22 BYN (11 BYN reduced). Hours: 10:00–19:00, Tuesday to Sunday, last tickets 18:30.

The building is shaped like the Order of the Patriotic War, which Mogilev received in 1980. Its 1,800 m² of galleries cover the July 1941 defence of the city and the Dnieper line, the war across the region and post-war life, with original objects, 3D dioramas, models and augmented reality.

Paying: Belarus runs on roubles (BYN). The museum takes cards online via WebPay and the local ERIP system, but cards issued outside Belarus and Russia may be declined, so carry cash for the desk and the bus. This is unofficial — check with your bank before you travel.

Konstantin Simonov and the field

Konstantin Simonov, then a correspondent for the newspaper Izvestia, reached the field in mid-July 1941 while the wrecked tanks were still smoking. Simonov later wrote the battle into his war diaries and his best-known novel, The Living and the Dead.

He never forgot the place and left instructions for his ashes to be scattered over it. That was done in September 1979, and a memorial stone now stands at the edge of the field. For Russian and Belarusian visitors this is often the reason to come; for others, it is a rare case of a writer choosing a battlefield as his grave.

Buinichi Field vs Glory Square and the Town Hall

One day in Mogilev? Do the square and Town Hall in the morning and Buinichi Field after lunch — it is the one sight worth leaving the centre for.

Mogilev's historic sights compared

Every historic sight in Mogilev rated by YesGo. Tap a column heading to sort.

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How to do it right

• Come on a weekday morning: on 3 July (Belarus Independence Day) and 9 May there are ceremonies and crowds.
• Walk the field first, then the museum — the dioramas make more sense once you have seen the ground.
• With kids, pair it with Mogilev Zoo right across the road.
• There is no shade on the field: water and a hat in summer, a warm layer the rest of the year.
• For the classic photo, stand at the entrance arch and shoot down the alley to the chapel.
• Head back for the evening to Glory Square and the Town Hall.

Questions