The Monument to the Heroes of the Red Army, also known as the Heroes' Monument of the Red Army, is a significant memorial located on Schwarzenbergplatz in Vienna's third district. It was erected to commemorate the soldiers of the Soviet Red Army who fell during the Vienna Offensive in the spring of 1945, which led to the city's liberation from National Socialist rule.

The monument was unveiled in August 1945, just a few months after the end of the Second World War in Europe. Its construction was initiated and carried out by the Soviet military administration in occupied Austria. The site was strategically chosen on a large, prominent square that was renamed in 1946 to honor a senior Soviet military commander, further cementing the monument's symbolic presence in the post-war cityscape.

The memorial complex is centered around a figure of a soldier holding a Soviet flag and a golden shield, standing atop a towering, 20-meter high column. The column rises from a semicircular colonnade, which encloses a space containing figurative sculptures and inscriptions. The architectural and sculptural ensemble is designed in a monumental, classicizing style typical of Soviet memorials of that era, intended to convey both solemn remembrance and triumphant victory.

Beneath the central column lies a crypt, which serves as the final resting place for several hundred Soviet soldiers who died in the battle for Vienna. Their names are inscribed within the memorial, and the site functions as a war cemetery, adding a layer of somber reality to the symbolic structure above.

For decades, the monument has been a focal point of diplomatic and historical memory. It is maintained by the Austrian authorities under the terms of the Austrian State Treaty of 1955, which restored the country's sovereignty and established its permanent neutrality. The treaty includes obligations for Austria to preserve and care for the graves of Allied soldiers, including those at this site.

The monument's presence in the heart of Vienna has made it a constant subject of public discourse, reflecting the complex historical legacy of the 20th century. It stands as a physical reminder of the heavy cost of war, the end of the Nazi regime, and the subsequent period of Allied occupation. Official ceremonies, particularly around the anniversary of the end of the Second World War on May 8th, are sometimes held at the site.

Today, the monument remains one of the most prominent and recognizable Soviet war memorials outside the former Soviet Union. It is a protected historical landmark, and its imposing silhouette on Schwarzenbergplatz continues to be a notable feature of Vienna's urban environment, representing a pivotal chapter in both Austrian and European history.