Hi all!
You might have seen my previous “appreciation posts”, if not – feel free to check:
Stalingrad
Berlin
Stalingrad Tractor Plant
This post is dedicated to the city of Rzhev as we see it in Enlisted.
Foreword
Why missed opportunity?
I am incredibly impressed by the level of detail that level designers put into Enlisted maos (especially historical sites like Stalingrad, STZ, Berlin and npw Rzhev) and I truly believe those unsung heroes don’t get the credit they deserve for their research and dedication.
However, whoever is in charge of the decisions to allow high BR content like Tiger 2 (1944) into Stalingrad (1942) and Rzhev (1942) must be ashamed of themselves for cancelling out the wonderful work done by level designers.
Rzhev could have been the perfect opportunity to teach players about this bloody yet forgotten battle, by at least limiting it to low BRs and recreating the atmosphere of the early years of the war helped by gorgeously recreated city center.
Alas, the work of the level designers gets the “Panther disguised as American M10” treatment instead.
A real shame.
Now, to the city of Rzhev.
Here is its ingame map:
1 - Salvation Church; 2 - Cathedral of the Assumption; 3 - Chapel of Our Lady of Iver; 4 - Cathedral Arch; 5 - City Council; 6 - Gratsinsky Monument; 7 - Nativity Cathedral; 8 - Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary; 9 - Market (Soviet Square); 10 - Elevator.
Perhaps the most famous photographer of the Russian Empire, Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky, made this photo of Rzhev in 1910:
Here is the same view recreated in Enlisted
The areal photo of the left bank of the Volga was made from the right bank, specifically from the bell tower of the Salvation Church
Also present (in a similar appearance) in Enlisted:
However, this church was demolished in 1936, so it could not appear during the German offensive in 1942-43, you can not see it on the right bank
First mistake
Second mistake
The Cathedral of the Assumption, simply called “Church” in the game as an objective, on the right hand side of the aerial shot with its bell tower.
After the Russian Revolution religion was gradually banned, and churches were being closed.
In 1931 the bell tower was struck by lightning and damaged.
The authorities decided to not restore it, but to demolish, and to remove the dome from the cathedral as well.
In this photo from 1942 we see the Germans crossing the Volga, and the cathedral is merely a boxy shape:
As such, the Cathedral of the Assumption as seen in Enlisted is anachronistic:
However, the Chapel of Our Lady of Iver as well as the cathedral arch are recreated splendidly:
According to local history sources, in the 1930s the chapel was closed together with the cathedral. For a while it was a “Red Corner Club” of one of the enterprises in Rzhev. Later the chapel was even turned into a pre-trial detention cell of the local police department, and demolished in 1957.
The arch stood there until 1972 when it was also demolished
To the left side of the arch on the aerial photo we see another iconic building – another ingame objective called “Administration Building” or City Council, if you will:
It is also wonderfully recreated in Enlisted
Inside we can still find remaining files and documents from peaceful life
Right outside the City Counsil we see a column, which is again historical – it is the monument to military commissar V. Gratsinsky, erected in 1918:
The large semi-destroyed building behind the monument is the Nativity Cathedral.
You can see it in Enlisted beautifully recreated in its war-time state.
The actual cathedral was finally demolished in 1952.
Third mistake
Moving deeper into the city, passing the Gratsinsky monument and having the Nativity Cathedral on the right hand side, we find probably the worst offender - “Market” as it’s called in Enlisted as an objective.
This courtyard-shaped building indeed existed in Rzhev and served as “Gostinyi dvor” (historic Russian term for an indoor market or shopping centre, translated from Russian either as “guest court” or “merchant yard”, although both translations are inadequate)
However, the entire complex was demolished in the 1930s as part of the transformation of the area from Market Square to Soviets Square.
It would be really interesting to chat with the level designers and to find out whether they decided to keep the Market complex for some strange reason or didn’t find corresponding historical information?
I texted the helper but got no reply so far.
You can see that the area in the center was flattened out and a monument to Lenin was erected.
One could speculate that this semi-destroyed (Stalin?) statue is representative of Lenin. The location seems to be correct
When the Germans occupied the city they destroyed the Lenin monument in the center of the square and erected gallows to hang any and all civilians who oppose German rule.
Now if we walk along side the Nativity Cathedral we will find another church – this is the Church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Somewhat similarly recreated in the game, it also features some peculiar interior:
As other numerous churches after the Revolution, in the game’s realities this one was also turned into a “Anti-religion propaganda museum” as it says at the entrance.
The sign reads: “Science doesn’t believe in anything, it verifies everything. What is established by science can be counted, measured, weigh, calculate, prove”.
And inside it has some red banners with slogans like “Religious upbringing is crime against children” and others in a weird language, possibly Azerbaijani or another Turcic (no idea why, would love to ask the artist), something like “jasasьn mədənii ьnqьlap” most likely a translation of “Long live cultural revolution” (as it says in Russian on the other banner).
The lions decorating the bridge that connects the two banks of the Volga feature Rzhev’s coat of arms
One of the mysteries of Rzhev in Enlisted is the elevator area with the silos
No matter how hard I tried to google, I was not able to find any references – may be full artistic freedom by the level designer, or secret documents.
Conclusion/TLDR:
- The map is awesome. The designers did an incredible job. Solid 9/10.
- To be true to 1940s, Salvation Church (point 1), the bell tower of the Cathedral of the Assumption (point 2) and the Market (point 9) ought to be removed (all demolished before 1941).
- Would be interesting to chat to the level designer(s) about the elevator area.
- Devs should have some decency and limit Rzhev to BR 1-3.
Thank you for reading.
