One of the most notable symbols of victory in the Battle of Stalingrad is a black-and-white photograph taken on one of the January days of 1943 by photographer Georgy Zelma. The photographer succeeded in capturing an image of a Red Army soldier bearing a banner. The photograph depicts a combatant on the balcony of a building situated within the area designated as the Square of the Fallen Fighters. By late January, the Battle of Stalingrad was approaching its conclusion. The last German troops defending the approaches to the square were forced to withdraw on 30 January, with units of the 38th Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 64th Army advancing through Krasnoznamenskaya, Surskaya and Lomonosov Street. This enabled them to reach the Square of the Fallen Fighters. The following day saw the surrender of the headquarters of the southern group of German forces, which marked the liberation of the city centre. That morning, approximately 6,700 German soldiers and officers surrendered in the immediate vicinity of the square.

The author of the photograph, Georgy Anatolievich Zelma, was a news photographer for the Izvestia newspaper during the Battle of Stalingrad. Between July 1942 and February 1943, he documented the events in Stalingrad, creating a unique photographic record of the battles for the city.