75 years ago, on June 22, 1941, the Great Patriotic War began. Victory in it became the greatest test and the greatest pride for our people. The memory of fallen soldiers, home front workers and civilians is immortalized in numerous memorials throughout our country. Today, you can visit each of these memorials, lay flowers and remember your heroes, who are in every Russian family.
1. Monument-ensemble "Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad", Mamayev Kurgan, Volgograd. This is perhaps the most famous memorial dedicated to the Great Patriotic War, majestic and symbolic. It took 8.5 years to build: from 1959 to 1967. Main architector- Evgeniy Vuchetich.
There are 200 steps leading from the base to the top of the mound. This number was not chosen by chance: that is how many days the Battle of Stalingrad lasted, which put an end to the offensive of the fascist troops. The center of the memorial is the sculpture “The Motherland Calls!” - for many years was the tallest statue in the world: the height is 52 meters. This is 1.5 times the size of the Statue of Liberty in New York. “Motherland” is a unique engineering structure made of iron and concrete, with thin walls (25-30 cm), which maintains balance thanks to amazingly accurate calculations. In addition to it, the memorial complex includes the Square of Those Who Fought to Death, the Hall of Military Glory, the Square of Sorrow, and the Ruin Walls. When visiting the ruin walls and the Hall of Military Glory, you can hear the voice of the legendary Soviet announcer Yuri Levitan and sound fragments specially recorded for the memorial. In 1965, a capsule of war participants was laid on Mamayev Kurgan to their descendants, which should be opened on May 9, 2045, on the centenary of the Victory. Since 2014, Mamayev Kurgan has been a candidate for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
2. Museum-reserve "Prokhorovskoye Field", Belgorod region, Prokhorovka village. Neighborhood railway station Prokhorovki on July 12, 1943 became the site of the largest tank battle in history.
Belogorye Aeronautics Federation / belaero.ru
More than 1,500 tanks of the Red Army and fascist invaders fought in it. This fight turned the tide Battle of Kursk and war in general. In memory of the Prokhorovsky battle, the Prokhorovsky Field museum-reserve was created. The observation post from which General Pavel Rotmistrov, commander of the 5th Guards Tank Army, gave orders has been reconstructed here. A memorial sign in the bend of the Psel River was erected in honor of the feat of senior lieutenant Pavel Shpetny. All nine men in his platoon, while knocking out seven enemy tanks. In 2010, the Museum of Military Glory “The Third Military Field of Russia” was opened in Prokhorovka. The main monument of the memorial is the 59-meter Belfry with a bell that rings three times an hour, recalling the historical role of three battlefields: Kulikovo, Borodino and Prokhorovsky. And the architectural dominant of the complex is the temple in the name of the holy supreme apostles Peter and Paul, on the walls of which are inscribed the names of 7382 soldiers who died in these bloody battles
3. Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Moscow. The memorial was opened in May 1967 after the burial of the ashes of an unknown soldier who died in the battle for Moscow near the Kremlin wall.
Brian Jeffery Beggerly / flickr.com
The remains were transferred from the mass grave to 41 km of Leningradskoye Highway. The monument consists of a tombstone covered with a bronze battle flag, on which lie a soldier's helmet and a laurel branch. And in the center burns the Eternal Flame of Glory. It was brought from the Campus Martius in 1967. At the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the fire was lit by the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Leonid Brezhnev, having received the torch from the hands of the legendary pilot Alexei Maresyev. Nearby is the inscription “Your name is unknown, your feat is immortal.” In 1997, by decree of the President of the Russian Federation, an honor guard post was established at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. And in 2014, the All-Russian Day of the Unknown Soldier appeared, which is celebrated on December 3.
4. Krivtsovsky memorial, Oryol region . At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, a stronghold of a group of fascist troops was located in the region. In 1942, the Bolkhov operation was carried out, with the bloodiest battle in the Krivtsovo-Chagodaevo-Gorodishche area.
After the offensive, Soviet troops were able to advance 20 km, but then stopped. This did not allow the enemy to transfer forces to the Battle of Stalingrad. During the Bolkhov operation, more than 21 thousand soldiers and officers were killed, and more than 47 thousand were injured. The Krivtsovsky memorial is located in the “Valley of Death” - this is almost the official name of the valleys of the Oka and Zusha rivers. The memorial ensemble consists of two parts: a monument to fallen soldiers, in the form of a 15-meter pyramid, and a square for mourning ceremonies with two mass graves, on which the monument “Eternal Flame of Glory” and a 9-meter obelisk are installed.
5. Murmansk "Alyosha" - a monument to the "Defenders of the Soviet Arctic during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945." It was founded in 1969 on the Cape Verde hill, where anti-aircraft batteries were located that defended the city from air raids.
The Murmansk region is the only region where the enemy did not pass more than 30 km from the state border. And the fiercest battles took place on the right bank of the Zapadnaya Litsa River, later renamed the Valley of Glory. “Alyosha’s” gaze is directed exactly there. There is still no exact data on the number of deaths while defending the region. Murmansk "Alyosha" is the tallest monument in Russia after Mamayev Kurgan. Its height together with the pedestal is 42.5 meters. The memorial ensemble includes the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Eternal Flame, and a granite stele to the Defenders of the Arctic. At the foot of the monument two capsules are walled up - one with sea water from the site of the death of the ship "Fog", the second - from the ground from the Valley of Glory and the battle area at the Verman line.
6. Rear to front, Magnitogorsk. This is the first part of a triptych of monuments, including “The Motherland Calls” in Volgograd and “The Liberator Warrior” in Berlin.
According to the authors' idea, the sword, forged by home front workers in the Urals, is raised by the Motherland on Mamayev Kurgan, and is already lowered after the victory of the soldiers in Berlin. The monument is located on a hill, its height is 15 meters. In the center of the monument there are two figures - a warrior and a worker. The worker looks towards the metallurgical plant, and the warrior looks to the west, where military operations took place. The Eternal Flame is installed nearby. The monument was made in Leningrad, and then erected on a fortified hill in Magnitogorsk. Later, the names of city residents who received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union in World War II and who died - more than 14 thousand in total - were carved on granite trapezoids.
7. Monument to Sailor and Soldier, Sevastopol . A 40-meter monument with a difficult fate. The decision to build a memorial complex at Cape Khrustalny was made back in the 70s of the last century, but construction began only decades later.
Nanak26 / flickr.com
Construction proceeded slowly, then it was mothballed, as the project was considered unsuccessful, and in the late 80s the possibility of dismantling the monument was seriously discussed. Subsequently, supporters of the monument won, and money was allocated for restoration, but the initially approved project was never completed. Now the Soldier and Sailor Monument is a must-visit for tourist groups, although there are many of its critics among local residents.
8. Poklonnaya Hill, Moscow. For the first time, on the site of a hill between the Setun and Filka rivers, back in 1942, it was proposed to erect a monument to the national feat of 1812. However, in the difficult conditions of the Great Patriotic War, the project could not be implemented.
Victory Park on Poklonnaya Hill
Subsequently, a sign was installed on Poklonnaya Hill with the promise that a Victory monument would appear in this place. A park was laid out around it, which also received a similar name. Construction of the memorial began in 1984, and was completed only 11 years later: the complex was inaugurated on May 9, 1995, on the 50th anniversary of the war. The ceremony was attended by heads of 55 states. On the territory of Victory Park there are churches of three faiths (Orthodox, mosque and synagogue), which symbolize the multinationality of the army of liberators. The Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War has a unique collection, including 1.5 thousand volumes of the “Book of Memory” and its electronic analogue, in which destinies are recorded Soviet soldiers who defended their country from the Nazis. There is also an exhibition in the park. military equipment. Well, the center of the monument is the Victory Monument.
9. Piskarevskoe memorial cemetery, Saint Petersburg . This is the largest burial site for victims of the Second World War; about 420 thousand inhabitants are buried in 186 mass graves besieged Leningrad, who died from hunger, cold and disease, 70 thousand warriors who heroically fought for the northern capital.
Taryn / flickr.com
The grand opening of the memorial took place on May 9, 1960. The dominant feature of the ensemble is the “Mother Motherland” monument with a granite stele on which is engraved the epitaph of Olga Berggolts with famous line"No one is forgotten and nothing is forgotten." The poetess wrote this poem specifically for the opening of the Piskarevsky memorial. From the “Mother Motherland” there is a 300-meter alley on which red roses are planted. It ends at the Eternal Flame. Here, at the Piskarevskoye cemetery in the military museum, there is Tanya Savicheva’s diary.
10. Cranes, Saratov. Yuri Menyakin, the creator of the memorial complex in memory of Saratov residents who died in the war, was inspired by the song “Cranes” based on the poems of Rasul Gamzatov.
Therefore, the main theme of the monument was bright memory and bright sadness. A wedge of 12 silver cranes flying west symbolizes the souls of fallen soldiers. In the center of the monument are three five-pointed stars, covered with gold leaf, made by analogy with the highest award of the USSR - Hero Soviet Union. Five flights of stairs lead to the monument, on which are engraved the cities in which Saratov residents took part in the defense and liberation. The area around the complex is paved with paving stones. It symbolizes the beginning of the war, when soldiers from the parade on Red Square went straight to the front.
13:11 — REGNUM 75 years ago, on June 22, 1941, the Great Patriotic War began. Victory in it became the greatest test and the greatest pride for Russia. The memory of fallen soldiers, home front workers and civilians is immortalized in numerous memorials throughout the country. You can visit each of these memorials, lay flowers and remember those who fell in the Great Patriotic War.
Daria Antonova © IA REGNUM
1. Monument-ensemble “Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad”, Mamayev Kurgan, Volgograd. The most famous memorial dedicated to the Great Patriotic War is majestic and symbolic. It took 8.5 years to build: from 1959 to 1967. The chief architect was Evgeniy Vuchetich.
There are 200 steps leading from the base to the top of the mound. This number was not chosen by chance: that is how many days the Battle of Stalingrad lasted, which put an end to the offensive of the fascist troops.
2. Museum-reserve “Prokhorovskoye Field”, Belgorod region, Prokhorovka village. The vicinity of the Prokhorovka railway station on July 12, 1943 became the site of the largest tank battle in history.
Galina Vanina
More than 1,500 tanks of the Red Army and the fascist invaders fought in the battle. This battle turned the tide of the Battle of Kursk and the war as a whole.
3. Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Moscow. The memorial was opened in May 1967 after the burial of the ashes of an unknown soldier who died in the battle for Moscow near the Kremlin wall.
Daria Antonova © IA REGNUM
The remains were transferred from the mass grave to 41 km of Leningradskoye Highway. The eternal flame of glory was brought in 1967 from the Campus Martius. At the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the fire was lit by the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Leonid Brezhnev, having received the torch from the hands of the legendary pilot Alexei Maresyev.
Oryol Region. At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, a stronghold of a group of fascist troops was located in the region. In 1942, the Bolkhov operation was carried out, with the bloodiest battle in the Krivtsovo-Chagodaevo-Gorodishche area.
After the offensive, Soviet troops were able to advance 20 km, but then stopped. This did not allow the enemy to transfer forces to the Battle of Stalingrad. During the Bolkhov operation, more than 21 thousand soldiers and officers were killed, and more than 47 thousand were injured.
5. Murmansk “Alyosha”— monument to the “Defenders of the Soviet Arctic during the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945.” It was founded in 1969 on the Cape Verde hill, where anti-aircraft batteries were located that defended the city from air raids.
Tara-Amingu
The Murmansk region is the only region where the enemy did not pass more than 30 km from the state border. And the fiercest battles took place on the right bank of the Zapadnaya Litsa River, later renamed the Valley of Glory. “Alyosha’s” gaze is directed exactly there.
6. Rear to front, Magnitogorsk. This is the first part of a triptych of monuments, including “The Motherland Calls” in Volgograd and “The Liberator Warrior” in Berlin.
7. Monument to Sailor and Soldier, Sevastopol. 40-meter monument with difficult fate. The decision to build a memorial complex at Cape Khrustalny was made back in the 70s of the last century, but construction began only decades later.
Sergey Sekachev
Construction proceeded slowly, then it was mothballed, as the project was considered unsuccessful, and in the late 80s the possibility of dismantling the monument was seriously discussed. Subsequently, supporters of the monument won, and money was allocated for restoration, but the initially approved project was never completed. Now the monument to the Soldier and Sailor is a must-see for tourist groups, although among local residents there are many of his critics.
Moscow city. For the first time, on the site of a hill between the Setun and Filka rivers, back in 1942, it was proposed to erect a monument to the national feat of 1812. However, in the difficult conditions of the Great Patriotic War, the project could not be implemented.
Alexander Kaasik
Victory Park on Poklonnaya Hill
Subsequently, a sign was installed on Poklonnaya Hill with the promise that a Victory monument would appear in this place. A park was laid out around it, which also received a similar name. Construction of the memorial began in 1984, and was completed only 11 years later: the complex was inaugurated on May 9, 1995, on the 50th anniversary of the war.
9. Piskarevskoye Memorial Cemetery, Saint Petersburg. This is the largest burial site for victims of the Second World War; about 420 thousand residents of besieged Leningrad who died of hunger, cold and disease, and 70 thousand soldiers who heroically fought for the northern capital are buried in 186 mass graves.
George Arutunian
The grand opening of the memorial took place on May 9, 1960. The dominant feature of the ensemble is the “Mother Motherland” monument with a granite stele on which is engraved the epitaph of Olga Berggolts with the famous line “No one is forgotten and nothing is forgotten.” The poetess wrote this poem specifically for the opening of the Piskarevsky memorial.
G. Saratov. Yuri Menyakin, the creator of the memorial complex in memory of Saratov residents who died in the war, was inspired by the song “Cranes” based on the poems of Rasul Gamzatov.
Therefore, the main theme of the monument was bright memory and bright sadness. A wedge of 12 silver cranes flying west symbolizes the souls of fallen soldiers.
An overview of outstanding memorials dedicated to the Great Patriotic War is provided Federal agency on tourism.
They keep the memory of the little people of the war. And even about God’s little creatures - camels, donkeys and pigeons who helped in the war. These are monuments to courage and a destroyed world. And hope, of course.
"We'll all come back to you"
Praskovya Eremeevna Volodichkina had nine sons go to the front in one draft. Six died in the war, three died of wounds barely returning home. And then Praskovya Eremeevna herself left - she could not stand the grief that came to her. And she didn’t even say goodbye to her youngest son, Nikolai. He was finishing active service in Transbaikalia, they were already waiting for him home, but their unit was immediately taken to the front. When he was passing the Volga, he threw a rolled-up note out of the window of the car: “Mom, dear mother. Don't worry, don't worry. Don't worry. We're going to the front. Let's defeat the fascists and we'll all come back to you. Wait. Yours Kolka.”
Isn't the film Saving Private Ryan about a similar impossible story? Such cruel coincidences, which people try not to believe (“A bomb does not fall into the same crater a second time!”) reveal the cruelty of time and fate. This is what it is - too much. But there were several such families in Russia, we just don’t know about them all. Here, in Alekseevka, a suburb of Samara, circumstances developed in a certain way. In the 1980s, school teacher Nina Kosareva, working at the same school where the Volodichkin brothers once studied, created an amateur memorial museum in one of the rooms of their former house. And the initiative to build the monument belongs to working group regional Book of Memory.
And now on the street of the former Krasnoarmeyskaya, and now the Volodichkin Brothers, a monument appeared - to Praskovya Eremeevna, Alexander, Andrey, Peter, Ivan, Vasily, Mikhail, Konstantin, Fedor and Nikolai.
Monument to the Crying Horse
It is called the “monument to the crying horse.” The orphaned, exhausted bronze horse bowed its head - mourning its rider, master, friend. These days, fortunately, we rarely see horses crying. There were many of them during the Great Patriotic War. Unfortunately, the cavalrymen were practically doomed to certain death. IN civil war, which ended (relative to the beginning of the Great Patriotic War) relatively recently - just some twenty years ago, it was the cavalry that formed the basis of the army. But between the 20s and 40s of the last century, progress, including military progress, developed at a rapid pace - much faster than army administration. And as a result, many horsemen went to the front, helpless in front of enemy tanks and planes. Ossetians have always been excellent horsemen. It is not surprising that many of the dead cavalry soldiers were among them.
Postman
Triangles of front letters. One of the symbols of the Great Patriotic War. They were read by the whole family, and in villages - sometimes by the whole street, they were kept in boxes, rivers of tears were shed over them - tears of faith, hope, love. The symbol is more rear than front. However, Corporal Ivan Leontyev, a forwarding postman of the 33rd Infantry Regiment of the 6th Red Banner Rifle Division, immortalized on this monument, died in 1944 just at the front. He was delivering mail to the front line and came under enemy artillery fire. The last letter that Ivan Leontyev himself sent home is dated January 1944. Postman Leontyev was not a special hero - and he was, of course. But he became a symbol of the profession because his military fate was typical. He was awarded a medal - like many of his fellow army postmen; Many times, under fire, he brought letters from relatives to soldiers in the trenches; they were waiting for him, along with his bag full of letters - and the weight of a front-line postman’s bag on average was equal to the weight of a machine gun. This is what employees, veterans, heads of Russian Post branches said at the opening ceremony - everyone who participated in thinking about and discussing the monument. The monument was created with the participation of the Russian Post.
Bear and Masha
The hardships of wartime are when Astrakhan steppe camels are used as draft force. But there was such a thing. In particular, the camels Mishka and Mashka took part in the legendary Battle of Stalingrad and reached from the Lower Volga region to Berlin. Now they are cast in bronze, in their usual environment - next to a military weapon and a soldier with a machine gun on his knees, who sat down to rest. And one of the camels, without hesitation, followed his example. Tired.
Bronze fashion magazine page
There is a wide bronze stele, and on it, as if on an ordinary clothes hanger, women’s clothes are hanging on hooks. There are 17 sets in total, like a bronze page from a fashion magazine. There is only one difference, and it is very significant - these are not fashionable toilets, but uniforms for women who participated in the Second World War. These are work overalls, driver's overalls, welder's protective clothing, medical uniform... Helmets, jackets, riding breeches. This monument is called very simply - Women in the Second World War.
The war changed the lives of seven million British housewives. They replaced men - and became firefighters, fighters air defense, workers of the “women’s land army” and defense factories, drivers and mechanics. And the inscription on the monument used the font from wartime food cards.
The creation of this monument was proposed by retired Major David McNally Robertson in 1997. The idea was supported by the Speaker of the House of Commons, Baroness Betty Boothroyd, who became a patron of the project and raised money for it on the TV show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” About £1 million was given by Queen Elizabeth II, who herself worked as a driver during the war. The remaining funds were provided by various charitable foundations.
Bronze Shoes Embankment
Flowers are placed not only in crystal vases, but also in bronze shoes, tightly screwed to the Danube embankment. A total of 60 pairs - men's, children's and women's, new, elegant, trampled, old-fashioned. In 1944 - 1945, there were also many pairs of shoes here, only not bronze ones, but real ones - both worn out and sewn according to the latest fashion of the forties. Made to serve their owners for a long time, to make them beautiful and elegant, so that they can walk comfortably. But the fate of these shoes - and the whole world - turned out differently. Before being shot, people driven to the banks of the Danube were forced to take off their shoes so that the shoes would not disappear. She didn't disappear - people disappeared.
All donkeys go to heaven
Not only people fought and died. This monument is dedicated to animals who participated in World War II. It is not surprising that he appeared in England - a country where the Mary Dickin Medal, the highest military award for animals, exists. It depicts carrier pigeons, a dog, camels, horses, a mule, an elephant, a wolf, a cow and a cat. And the medal - it was first awarded in 1942 - was awarded to 60 animals: dogs, pigeons, donkeys, an elephant, and one cat.
The cat who received the highest honor was named Simon (circa 1947 - November 28, 1948). He was a ship's cat from the sloop of war Amethyst of the Royal Navy. He was awarded "for boosting the morale" of sailors during the Yangtze River Incident and for keeping the ship's supplies rat-free. During a military clash, the cat was wounded.
The inscription “They had no choice” is laconic and more than eloquent. The monument was erected with private donations.
Terkin - who is he?
The most famous fictional front-line soldier is Vasily Terkin, invented and sung by Alexander Tvardovsky. Both of them - the author and his hero - are sitting on a bivouac in the center of Smolensk - Tvardovsky’s homeland - and are cheerfully joking about something. Thus, Vasily Terkin, as it were, became incarnate, from something imagined he became real - a symbol of an apt word, consolation, perseverance, humility and good spirits - everything that is so necessary in war.
Pigeons
Vitya Cherevichkin lived in Rostov,
He did very well at school.
And in my free time I always usually
He released his favorite pigeons.
This song was sung by the entire post-war country. During the occupation of Rostov-on-Don, the Germans strictly forbade civilians from breeding pigeons, equating them to radio transmitters - they were afraid of using pigeon mail. The feat of the teenager Vitya Cherevichkin was that, being an avid pigeon-keeper, he drew diagrams of the location of German units in the city, and transported them with pigeons to his brother in Bataysk. For this he was shot. According to another version, he simply defended his own dovecote from the invaders. And this in no way detracts from his merits - you need to have great courage to defend your dovecote from the enemy.
The most faithful friend
And yet man's most faithful friend is a dog. Everywhere - in warmth, and in trouble, and in sorrow, and in joy. Including at the front. There is nothing to add here.
Doll and teapot
Three children dressed warmly and very uncomfortably. A girl is holding an old, ugly, beloved doll. The boy is holding a large teapot. He is the eldest in this group, he needs to take care of the others. These are the children of besieged Leningrad. And the monument itself stands in Omsk. Why? This is indicated by the signature on the pedestal: “More than 17 thousand children were evacuated from besieged Leningrad to the Omsk region.” This is how they were brought - exhausted, pulled out from their family (if the family was still intact, alive), rescued. They were taken along the legendary Road of Life and at the risk of this very life that had just begun.
Lidice
And again - children, children, children. In total - eighty-two children; their figures are cast in bronze in life-size. This is exactly how many children - 40 boys and 42 girls - were killed by the Nazis in 1942 in the Czech mining village of Lidice. The village itself was completely destroyed. This is a very laconic, very simple, strong monument.
During the Great Patriotic War it became one of the most significant topics in Soviet art - literature, painting, cinema. The portal "Culture.RF" recalled the most important sculptural monuments dedicated to the tragedy of this time.
“The Motherland is calling!” In Volgograd
Photo: 1zoom.ru
One of the tallest statues in the world “The Motherland Calls!” included in the sculptural triptych along with the monuments “Rear to Front” in Magnitogorsk and “Warrior-Liberator” in Treptower Park in Berlin. The author of the monument was Evgeniy Vuchetich, who created the figure of a woman with a sword raised above her head. The most complex construction took place from 1959 to 1967. To make the monument, 5.5 thousand tons of concrete and 2.4 thousand tons of metal structures were needed. Inside, “Motherland” is completely hollow; it consists of separate chamber cells in which metal cables are stretched to support the frame of the monument. The height of the grandiose monument is 85 meters; it is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest sculpture-statue in the world at the time of construction of the monument.
“Let’s beat swords into ploughshares” in Moscow
Photo: Oksana Aleshina / photobank “Lori”
Evgeniy Vuchetich’s “Let’s Beat Swords into Plowshares” statues, depicting a worker beating weapons into a plow, are located in several cities around the world. The very first one was installed in 1957 at the UN Headquarters in New York - it was a gift to the States from the Soviet Union as a sign of friendship. Other original copies of the monument can be seen near the Central House of Artists in Moscow, in the Kazakh city of Ust-Kamenogorsk and in Volgograd. This work of Evgeny Vuchetich received recognition not only in the USSR, but also beyond its borders: for it he was awarded a silver medal from the Peace Council and received the Grand Prix at an exhibition in Brussels.
"To the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad" in St. Petersburg
Photo: Igor Litvyak / photobank “Lori”
The project of the monument to the “Heroic Defenders of Leningrad” was developed by sculptors and architects who participated in the defense of the city - Valentin Kamensky, Sergei Speransky and Mikhail Anikushin. Deployed towards one of the bloodiest places in the history of the battle for Leningrad - the Pulkovo Heights, the composition consists of 26 bronze sculptures of the city’s defenders (soldiers, workers) and a 48-meter granite obelisk in the center. The memorial hall “Blockade” is also located here, separated by an open ring, symbolizing the breakthrough of the fascist defense of Leningrad. The memorial was built using voluntary donations from citizens.
“To the Defenders of the Soviet Arctic during the Great Patriotic War” (“Alyosha”) in Murmansk
Photo: Irina Borsuchenko / photobank “Lori”
One of the tallest Russian monuments, the 35-meter Murmansk Alyosha, was erected in Murmansk in memory of the unknown soldiers who gave their lives for the Soviet Arctic. The monument is located on a high hill - 173 meters above sea level, so the figure of a soldier in a raincoat with a machine gun over his shoulder can be seen from anywhere in the city. Next to “Alyosha” the Eternal Flame burns and there are two anti-aircraft guns. The authors of the project are architects Igor Pokrovsky and Isaac Brodsky.
“To the Panfilov Heroes” in Dubosekovo
Photo: rotfront.su
The memorial complex in Dubosekovo, dedicated to the feat of 28 soldiers from the division of Major General Ivan Panfilov, consists of six 10-meter sculptures: a political instructor, two soldiers with grenades and three more soldiers. In front of the sculptural group there is a strip of concrete slabs - this is a symbol of the line that the Germans were never able to overcome. The authors of the monument project were Nikolai Lyubimov, Alexey Postol, Vladimir Fedorov, Vitaly Datyuk, Yuri Krivushchenko and Sergei Khadzhibaronov.
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow
Photo: Dmitry Neumoin / photobank “Lori”
In 1966, a memorial dedicated to the Unknown Soldier was built in the Alexander Garden near the Kremlin wall. The ashes of one of the soldiers buried in a mass grave and a helmet from the Great Patriotic War are buried here. The inscription “Your name is unknown, your feat is immortal” is carved on the granite tombstone. Since May 8, 1967, the Eternal Flame, which was lit from the fire on the Champ de Mars, has been continuously burning on the monument. Another part of the memorial is burgundy porphyry blocks with the image of a golden star, in which capsules with soil from the hero cities (Leningrad, Volgograd, Tula and others) are walled up.
Monument to the soldiers of the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps in Yekaterinburg
Photo: Elena Koromyslova / photobank “Lori”
Of course, the Great Patriotic War left a huge mark on the history of our Motherland. For 68 years now, we have annually honored the memory of those killed on May 9th. We all know that throughout the vastness of Russia monuments to the Great Patriotic War were built in huge quantities. Below in the article we will look at the most famous of them, which are located in the hero cities of Russia: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Murmansk, Tula, Volgograd, Novorossiysk and Smolensk. It was these cities that became most famous for their brave defense during the hostilities of 1941-43.
Let's start with Moscow. All Muscovites will certainly say that the most significant for this city is Poklonnaya Hill, on which Victory Park is located. The park was inaugurated on May 9, 1995 during the celebration of Victory Day. Monuments to the Great Patriotic War located here include exhibitions of military equipment, WWII and Holocaust museums, a memorial mosque and synagogue, and a temple. In addition to these monuments, there are other minor structures that can be seen throughout Moscow.
Next, let's move on to St. Petersburg. Like in the capital, the “Venice of the North” also has Victory Park, but here it is presented in a duplicate: Primorsky, which is dedicated to naval victories, and Moscow, which is built as a holistic memory of the victory. The first does not stand out in any way, but the latter has on its territory a large number of buildings that are monuments to soldiers of the Great Patriotic War. Among them, monuments-busts of twice Heroes of Socialist Labor, natives of the city, are especially notable. Also worth noting is the Rotunda monument, memorial crosses and plaques, various sculptures and the Temporary Chapel. In addition to these parks, it is worth mentioning the “Breakthrough the Siege of Leningrad” museum-reserve, as well as the memorial museum “Defense and Siege of Leningrad”, which highlight the severity of the battles and the “snatching” of victory from the fascist invaders.
Tula is not particularly replete with monuments, however, it is worth noting the monument to the defenders of Tula in the Second World War, which is located on the Mound of Immortality in the city of Efremov, built at the residents’ own expense.
Certainly one of the greatest cities to show heroic defense and no less heroic counter-offensive - this is Volgograd. On the most famous hill, where bloody battles took place from September 1942 to January the following - Mamayev Kurgan, there is an architectural ensemble of monuments dedicated to the Second World War. It includes perhaps the most famous monument WWII Russia “The Motherland is Calling!”, which, by the way, is one of 3 squares (Square of Sorrow, Square of Heroes, Square of Those Who Stood to Death), Monumental relief, high relief “Memory of Generations”, Military Cemetery, Ruin Walls. Construction, during which many architects were involved, lasted almost 10 years, from 1959 to 1967.
Next, we will briefly examine the monuments to the Great Patriotic War in Smolensk. In Readovka Park there is the Mound of Immortality, which was built by Smolensk residents in memory of the soldiers who died during the Second World War and ordinary people. It was inaugurated on September 25, 1970. Not far from Kurgan you can see Eternal flame, and in the park itself it was also built where thousands of soldiers are buried. Among other monuments of Smolensk, the Great Patriotic War monument “Bayonet” is worthy of mention, which was erected in memory of the soldiers of the legendary 16th Army that defended the city in July 1941.
