Ten outstanding memorial complexes of Russia. Monuments to those who died in the Great Patriotic War What monuments were erected in honor of the Second World War
Few people know that one of the most famous and high Soviet sculptures - "The Motherland Calls!", Which is installed in Volgograd on Mamaev Kurgan, is only the second part of the composition, which consists of three elements at once. This triptych (a work of art, consisting of three parts and united by a common idea) also includes the monuments: “Rear to Front”, which is installed in Magnitogorsk and “Warrior-Liberator”, located in Treptow Park in Berlin. All three sculptures are united by one common element - the Sword of Victory.
Two of the three monuments of the triptych - "The Warrior-Liberator" and "The Motherland Calls!" - belong to the hand of one master, monumental sculptor Evgeny Viktorovich Vuchetich, who three times in his work addressed the theme of the sword. The third Vuchetich monument, which does not belong to this series, was installed in New York in front of the UN headquarters. The composition entitled "Let's beat swords into plowshares" shows us a worker who forges a sword into a plow. The sculpture itself was supposed to symbolize the desire of all the people of the world to fight for disarmament and the triumph of peace on Earth.
The first part of the trilogy "Rear to Front", located in Magnitogorsk, symbolizes the Soviet rear, which ensured the country's victory in that terrible war. In the sculpture, a worker hands over a sword to a Soviet soldier. It is understood that this is the Sword of Victory, which was forged and raised in the Urals, later it was raised by the "Motherland" in Stalingrad. The city in which there was a radical turning point in the war, and Nazi Germany suffered one of its most significant defeats. The third monument of the "Liberator Warrior" series lowers the Sword of Victory in the very lair of the enemy - in Berlin.
The reasons why Magnitogorsk was given such an honor - to become the first Russian city in which a monument to home front workers was erected, should not surprise anyone. According to statistics, every second tank and every third shell during the war years was fired from Magnitogorsk steel. Hence the symbolism of this monument - a worker of a defense plant, standing in the East, hands over a forged sword to a front-line soldier who is sent to the West. Where the trouble came from.
Later, this sword forged in the rear will lift up in Stalingrad on Mamaev Kurgan "Motherland". The place where the turning point in the war took place. And already at the end of the composition, the "Warrior-Liberator" will lower the sword on the swastika in the very center of Germany, in Berlin, completing the defeat of the fascist regime. A beautiful, concise and very logical composition that unites the three most famous Soviet monuments dedicated to the Great Patriotic War.
Despite the fact that the Sword of Victory began its journey in the Urals and ended it in Berlin, the triptych monuments were built in the reverse order. So the monument "Warrior-Liberator" was installed in Berlin in the spring of 1949, the construction of the monument "Motherland Calls!" ended in the fall of 1967. And the first monument of the Rear to the Front series was completed only in the summer of 1979.
"Rear - Front"
Monument "Rear - Front"
The authors of this monument were the sculptor Lev Golovnitsky and the architect Yakov Belopolsky. Two main materials were used to create the monument - granite and bronze. The height of the monument is 15 meters, while outwardly it looks much more impressive. This effect is created by the fact that the monument is located on a high hill. The central part of the monument is a composition that consists of two figures: a worker and a soldier. The worker is oriented to the east (in the direction where the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works was located), and the warrior looks to the west. Where the main fighting took place during the Great Patriotic War. The rest of the monument in Magnitogorsk is an eternal flame, which was made in the form of a flower star made of granite.
An artificial hill was erected on the bank of the river to install the monument, the height of which was 18 meters (the base of the hill was specially reinforced with reinforced concrete piles so that it could withstand the weight of the erected monument and not collapse over time). The monument was made in Leningrad, and in 1979 it was installed on the spot. The monument was also supplemented with two man-height trapeziums, on which the names of the inhabitants of Magnitogorsk, who received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union during the war years, were listed. In 2005, another part of the monument was opened. This time the composition was supplemented with two triangles, on which you can read the names of all the inhabitants of Magnitogorsk who died during the hostilities in 1941-1945 (a little more than 14 thousand names are listed in total).
"Rear - Front"
Monument "Motherland is calling!"
Monument "Motherland is calling!" is located in the city of Volgograd and is the compositional center of the monument-ensemble "To the Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad", which is located on Mamayev Kurgan. This statue is considered one of the highest on the planet. Today she ranks 11th in the Guinness Book of Records. At night, the monument is effectively illuminated by spotlights. This sculpture was designed by sculptor E. V. Vuchetich and engineer N. V. Nikitin. The sculpture on Mamaev Kurgan is a figure of a woman standing with a sword raised up. This monument is a collective allegorical image of the Motherland, which calls on everyone to unite in order to defeat the enemy.
Drawing some analogy, we can compare the statue "Motherland is calling!" with the ancient goddess of victory, Nike of Samothrace, who also called on her children to repel the forces of the invaders. Subsequently, the silhouette of the sculpture "Motherland is calling!" was placed on the emblem and flag of the Volgograd region. It is worth noting that the peak for the construction of the monument was created artificially. Prior to this, the highest point of the Mamaev Kurgan in Volgograd was the territory, which was located 200 meters from the current peak. Currently, there is the Church of All Saints.
"Motherland is calling!"
The creation of the monument in Volgograd, excluding the pedestal, took 2,400 tons of metal structures and 5,500 tons of concrete. At the same time, the total height of the sculptural composition was 85 meters (according to other sources, 87 meters). Before starting the construction of the monument, a foundation was dug on Mamayev Kurgan for a statue 16 meters deep, and a two-meter slab was installed on this foundation. The height of the 8000-ton statue itself was 52 meters. In order to ensure the necessary rigidity of the frame of the statue, 99 metal cables were used, which are in constant tension. The thickness of the walls of the monument, made of reinforced concrete, does not exceed 30 cm, the inner surface of the monument consists of separate chambers that resemble the structures of a residential building.
Initially, the 33-meter sword, which weighed 14 tons, was made of stainless steel in a titanium sheath. But the huge size of the statue led to a strong swaying of the sword, this was especially noticeable in windy weather. As a result of such impacts, the structure gradually deformed, the sheets of titanium plating began to shift, and when the structure swayed, an unpleasant metal rattle appeared. To eliminate this phenomenon, in 1972 the reconstruction of the monument was organized. In the course of the work, the blade of the sword was replaced with another one, which was made of fluorinated steel, with holes made in the upper part, which were supposed to reduce the effect of the windage of the structure.
"Motherland is calling!"
Once the main sculptor of the monument, Yevgeny Vuchetich, told Andrei Sakharov about his most famous sculpture, “The Motherland Calls!” “The bosses often asked me why a woman’s mouth was open, it’s ugly,” Vuchetich said. The famous sculptor answered this question: “And she screams - for the Motherland ... your mother!”
Monument "Warrior-Liberator"
On May 8, 1949, on the eve of the fourth anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany, a grand opening of a monument to Soviet soldiers who died during the storming of the German capital took place in Berlin. The Warrior-Liberator monument was erected in Berlin's Treptow Park. Its sculptor was E. V. Vuchetich, and the architect was Ya. B. Belopolsky. The monument was opened on May 8, 1949, the height of the warrior sculpture itself was 12 meters, its weight is 70 tons. This monument has become a symbol of the victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War, it also personifies the liberation of all European peoples from fascism.
The sculpture of a soldier with a total weight of approximately 70 tons was produced in the spring of 1949 in Leningrad at the Monumental Sculpture factory, it consisted of 6 parts, which were then transported to Germany. Work on the creation of the memorial complex in Berlin was completed in May 1949. On May 8, 1949, the memorial was solemnly opened by the Soviet commandant of Berlin, Major General A. G. Kotikov. In September 1949, all responsibilities for the care and maintenance of the monument were transferred by the Soviet military commandant's office to the magistrate of Greater Berlin.
"Warrior Liberator"
The centerpiece of the Berlin composition is a bronze figure of a Soviet soldier standing on the ruins of a Nazi swastika. In one of his hands he holds a lowered sword, and with the other hand he supports the rescued German girl. It is assumed that the real Soviet soldier Nikolai Maslov, a native of the village of Voznesenka, Tisulsky district, Kemerovo region, served as a prototype for this sculpture. During the storming of the German capital in April 1945, he saved a German girl. Vuchetich himself created the monument "Warrior - Liberator" from the Soviet paratrooper Ivan Odarenko from Tambov. And for the girl, 3-year-old Svetlana Kotikova, who was the daughter of the commandant of the Soviet sector of Berlin, posed for the sculpture. It is curious that on the sketch of the monument, the soldier held a machine gun in his free hand, but at the suggestion of Stalin, the sculptor Vuchetich replaced the machine gun with a sword.
The monument, like all three monuments of the triptych, is located on a mound, a staircase leads to the pedestal. Inside the pedestal is a round hall. Its walls were decorated with mosaic panels (author - artist A. V. Gorpenko). The panel depicted representatives of various nations, including the peoples of Central Asia and the Caucasus, who lay wreaths at the grave of Soviet soldiers. Above their heads is written in Russian and German: “Now everyone recognizes that the Soviet people, by their selfless struggle, saved the civilization of Europe from fascist pogromists. This is the great merit of the Soviet people to mankind. In the center of the hall was a cubic-shaped pedestal made of black polished stone, on which was placed a golden casket with a parchment book bound in red morocco. The names of the heroes who fell in the battles for the German capital and were buried in mass graves were inscribed in this book. The dome of the hall was decorated with a chandelier with a diameter of 2.5 meters, which is made of crystal and rubies, the chandelier reproduces the Order of Victory.
"Warrior Liberator"
In the fall of 2003, the sculpture of the "Warrior-Liberator" was dismantled and sent for restoration work. In the spring of 2004, the restored monument returned to its rightful place. Today, this complex is the center of commemorative celebrations.
Sources of information:
http://ribalych.ru/2014/08/04/unikalnyj-triptix
http://www.pravda34.info/?page_id=1237
http://defendingrussia.ru/love/pamyatniki_pobedy
http://www.tgt.ru/menu-ver/encyclopedia/tourism/countries/dostoprimechatelnosti/dostoprimechatelnosti_155.html
https://en.wikipedia.org
In the Moscow region, there are about three thousand monuments and monuments dedicated to the battles of the Great Patriotic War. Some are famous all over the world, others, small, but personifying significant events, are not known even to local residents. On the eve of the Victory Day, we have selected for you several places with an unusual history.
"Feat 28"
Olga Razgulyaeva / Moscow region today
The memorial complex in Dubosekovo was created in May 1975, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Victory. On the commemorative plate is carved: "Defending Moscow in the harsh days of November 1941, at this turn in a fierce battle with the fascist invaders, 28 Panfilov heroes fought to the death and defeated." Six ten-meter figures personify representatives of six nationalities who fought here.
According to the official version, when the German offensive began on Moscow, 28 soldiers from the personnel of the 4th company of the 2nd battalion of the 1075th rifle regiment, led by political instructor Klochkov, defended the junction near the village of Dubosekovo. During the four-hour battle, they destroyed 18 enemy tanks, while all were killed. Historians note a host of inconsistencies in this story; many are sure that there were more fighters, and that not all of them died. However, to this day, the story of the 28 Panfilovites remains one of the most famous stories about the war.
By the way, the famous phrase “Russia is great, but there is nowhere to retreat - behind Moscow” is attributed precisely to political instructor Klochkov.
"Peremilovskaya height"
Wilberus/Wikimedia.org
This place within the boundaries of modern Yakhroma received its current name in 1941. The Germans had no doubt that they would easily take this line, because the famous 7th Panzer Division, which immediately captured Paris, was on the offensive. Our soldiers had almost nothing to fight back: the company holding the defense along the western outskirts of Yakhroma did not even have hand grenades in its arsenal. The Germans captured the city, crossed the channel to them. Moscow, entrenched on its eastern shore and rushed to Peremilovo. Soldiers of the 3rd Battalion of the 29th Infantry Brigade, led by Lieutenant Lermontov, stood in their way. A fierce battle broke out: German tanks, accompanied by infantry on one side, and a handful of soldiers with two guns on the other.
At that time, the commander of the First Shock Army, Lieutenant General Kuznetsov, was in Dmitrov. At his disposal were only a rifle brigade, one armored train, a Dmitrovsky construction battalion and a Katyusha division with one ammunition load. With this stock and decided to go to the rescue. The first battle did not bring results, but on the morning of November 29, under the cover of darkness, Soviet soldiers broke into the village. The enemy, having lost several dozen soldiers from the 14th Motorized Division and 20 tanks of the 7th Panzer Division, retreated in disarray to the western bank of the canal. There was no more chance of a swift attack on Moscow from the north.
In 1966, in the year of the 25th anniversary of the Battle of Moscow, a bronze monument was erected at the Peremilov height. And later, the poet Robert Rozhdestvensky, at the request of the residents of Yakhrom, wrote a six-line poem, the lines of which are now carved on a granite pedestal:
Remember:
From this threshold
In an avalanche of smoke, blood and adversity,
Here in the forty-first the road began
In victorious
Forty-fifth year.
Monument to Podolsk cadets
wikipedia.org
It was erected in honor of the feat of the commanders and cadets of the military schools of Podolsk, who, together with the 43rd Army, defended the southwestern approaches to Moscow.
In 1939-1940, artillery and infantry schools were established in Podolsk. Before the start of the war, more than three thousand cadets studied there. On October 5, 1941, almost two thousand cadets of the artillery and one and a half thousand cadets of the infantry school were alerted and sent to the defense of Maloyaroslavets. For several days they held back the advance of the Germans, which were many times superior in strength. On October thirteenth, enemy tanks approached with red flags, but the deception was discovered, and the attack was repelled. Soon, German troops captured the defensive lines at the Ilyinsky combat site, and almost all the cadets who held the defense there were killed. Only on October 25, the rest were taken from the battlefield and sent on foot to complete their studies in Ivanovo. By that time, almost 2.5 thousand people had died.
Tank T-34 in Kalinovo
Tomcat / pomnivoinu.ru
A memorial in the Serpukhov region was erected in memory of the tanker Dmitry Lavrinenko and his crew. After the battles near Mtsensk, the 4th tank brigade was transferred near Moscow, to the Volokolamsk direction. However, 105 kilometers from the capital, one tank was missing: Lavrinenko's crew, which had previously been left to guard the headquarters of the 50th Army, arrived only a day later. It turned out that, although the tankers were released to catch up with the brigade, they failed to reach their own along the road clogged with vehicles.
When the crew arrived in Serpukhov, a large reconnaissance detachment was already on its way to the city - a battalion of Germans on motorcycles, three vehicles with guns and one command vehicle. The city had only a fighter battalion in reserve, in which the elderly and teenagers served. And then one of the soldiers remembered - there are tankers in the city! The commandant set Lavrinenko the task of stopping the enemy.
Having disguised the car at the edge of the forest in the area of present-day Protvino, the tankers began to wait for the Germans. They were so sure of themselves that they did not even send intelligence. Letting the lead car up to 150 meters, Lavrinenko shot the convoy at close range. Two guns were immediately destroyed, and the third German gunners tried to turn around, but Lavrinenko gave the command to ram. The tank jumped out onto the road and, crashing into trucks with infantry, crushed the last gun. The commandant of Serpukhov was handed over 13 machine guns, six mortars, 10 motorcycles with sidecars and an anti-tank gun with full ammunition and several prisoners. The German staff bus Firsov allowed to be taken to the brigade. There were documents and maps, which were immediately sent to Moscow.
Monument to Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya on the Minsk highway
histrf.ru
Installed near the village of Petrishchevo, where the partisan detachment of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya was discovered by the Germans, and Zoya herself was tortured and killed. The body of the girl hung in the middle of the village to intimidate the inhabitants for more than a month (according to other sources, three days). She was buried in a nearby forest. In May 1942, the ashes of Zoya were transferred with military honors from Petrishchevo to the Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow; By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, she was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Now her memorial museum is open in Petrishchevo.
Anti-tank hedgehogs in Khimki
Snezny Bars/Wikimedia.org
Installed on December 6, 1966 at the 23rd kilometer of the Leningradskoye highway in honor of the 25th anniversary of the defeat of the Nazi army near Khimki. To put up this memorial of iron, stone and reinforced concrete, the swamp had to be drained on the spot and piles driven in. The composition is dedicated to four Moscow and one Ivanovo-Voznesensk divisions of the people's militia, which defended the capital in the autumn days of 1941.
Monument to the Soldier-Liberator in Serpukhov
memory-map.prosv.ru
The author's 2.5-meter model of the famous Vuchetich monument, installed in the German Treptow Park. The sculptor recalled how, after the Potsdam Conference, he was summoned by Klement Voroshilov and offered to prepare a project for an ensemble dedicated to the victory. Someone suggested that the declaration was signed by Stalin, which means that he should be in the center, the sculptor decided. He made a project, but he was dissatisfied with it. And then he decided, as an experiment, to create a second one - a Russian soldier carrying a German girl out of the fire in his arms. With his machine gun he breaks the swastika.
They say that Stalin studied both layouts for a long time. “Listen, Vuchetich, aren't you tired of this ... with a mustache?” He said, pointing to the main project with his mouthpiece. And chose the second one. He only advised me to give the soldier something more eternal, more symbolic than a machine gun. So the warrior-liberator got a sword.
In 1964, a model of the sculpture was brought from Berlin to Serpukhov, where since 2008 it has been installed on Cathedral Hill near the mass grave. There are also smaller copies of the monument in Vereya, near Moscow, in Sovetsk, Kaliningrad Region, and in Tver.
Vasily Terkin in gold
DeerChum/Wikimapia.org
The gilded monument to a soldier with an accordion in Orekhovo-Zuyevo actually represents a very specific person. This is Vasily Terkin, who, with the light hand of Tvardovsky, became the personification of a simple Russian guy in the Great Patriotic War. Tvardovsky began work on the poem and the image of the protagonist in 1939-1940, as a correspondent for the newspaper of the Leningrad Military District "On Guard of the Motherland" during the Finnish campaign. The name of the hero and his image were invented jointly by the editorial board of the newspaper. In particular, Samuil Marshak also helped. In 2015, the Russian Reporter magazine ranked the poem 28th in the Top 100 Most Popular Poems in Russia.
The connection of people with their past, with their history is memory. One of the best ways to perpetuate the memory of an outstanding person or an important historical event is. For the vast majority of Russians, one of these events is the Great Patriotic War. Now there are monuments of the Great Patriotic War in almost every city, especially in the European part of Russia.
Despite the abundance of memorials and small memorials, new ones are still being erected, because after that war there were many “dark spots”, many heroic stories that deserve to be immortalized. If you are interested WWII monuments, production such facilities can be ordered from our company. We guarantee a professional approach, attention to every detail, favorable prices.
How Fresh Look works
These memorial structures are a separate category, not just or an architectural composition. This is an opportunity to show the respect of current generations for the heroic past of their people, their country, their ancestors. By ordering, dedicated to the dead of the Second World War, you can perpetuate the memory of an important historical era and its heroes for centuries.
The manufacture and installation of new memorial structures is a common practice today. Not only government organizations order monuments to the victory of the Great Patriotic War, but also relatives of the dead, relatives of veterans, and simply caring people. Monuments are erected at the places of hostilities, on mass graves. Svezhy Vzglyad company is a high-class specialists who approach the execution of the order with full responsibility. Some principles of our work:
- Designers, in which they strive to convey as accurately and vividly as possible the character traits of the heroes of the Second World War, the spirit of the events of that time. All artistic images are intertwined to create certain accents required by the customer.
- Great practical experience allows us to successfully fulfill orders of any complexity, creating unique architectural and sculptural compositions. The company's staff includes real professionals in stone processing, historians, experts in symbolism.
- Attention to all details - careful selection of materials, determination of the color design and dimensions of the structure, type and location of inscriptions. We are talking about complex work, which is carried out in strict accordance with the wishes of the customer.
We create memorial complexes of the Great Patriotic War in constant interaction with the client. He can control the manufacturing process, make adjustments at the design stage. All solutions proposed by designers are included in the project only after agreement with the customer. You can choose one of the typical options, which you only need to adapt to certain people and events.
Services for the restoration of monuments of the Great Patriotic War
Unfortunately, over time, memorial structures begin to deteriorate, especially if there is no proper regular maintenance. But these are still objects of memory, and it is possible to return them to their original appearance - for this it is enough to carry out restoration work. Our specialists can carry out the restoration of any monuments of the Great Patriotic War, of any design and from any materials. We will restore the monument to its beauty!
To place an order, contact the Fresh Look company!
75 years ago, on June 22, 1941, the Great Patriotic War began. The 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 on the territory of 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 "To the Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad", Mamaev Kurgan, Volgograd. This is perhaps the most famous memorial dedicated to the Great Patriotic War, majestic and symbolic. It was built for 8.5 years: from 1959 to 1967. The chief architect is Evgeny Vuchetich.
200 steps lead from the foot to the top of the mound. This number was not chosen by chance: it was how many days the Battle of Stalingrad lasted, which put an end to the offensive of the Nazi troops. The center of the memorial is the sculpture "The Motherland Calls!" - for many years it 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 stood to death, the Hall of Military Glory, the Square of Sorrow, and the Ruined 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, on Mamaev Kurgan, a capsule was laid for the participants of the war to descendants, which should be opened on May 9, 2045, on the day of the centenary of the Victory. Since 2014, Mamaev Kurgan has been a candidate for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
2. Museum-reserve "Prokhorovskoye field", Belgorod region, Prokhorovka settlement. On July 12, 1943, the vicinity of the Prokhorovka railway station became the site of the largest tank battle in history.
Aeronautics Federation of Belogorye / belaero.ru
More than 1,500 tanks of the Red Army and fascist invaders fought in it. This battle turned the tide of the Battle of Kursk and the war as a whole. In memory of the Battle of Prokhorovka, the Prokhorovka Field Museum-Reserve was created. Here, the observation post was reconstructed, from which General Pavel Rotmistrov, commander of the 5th Guards Tank Army, gave orders. A memorial sign in the bend of the Psel River was erected in honor of the feat of Senior Lieutenant Pavel Shpetny. All nine people who were part of 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 strikes three times an hour, recalling the historical role of the three military fields: Kulikovsky, Borodinsky 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 the names of 7382 soldiers who died in these bloody battles are inscribed
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 the Leningrad highway. The monument consists of a tombstone covered with a bronze battle banner, on which lie a soldier's helmet and a laurel branch. And in the center burns the Eternal Flame of Glory. He was brought in 1967 from the Champ de Mars. At the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the fire was lit by Leonid Brezhnev, Secretary General of the CPSU Central Committee, having received a 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, a guard of honor 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. Krivtsov 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, the Soviet troops were able to advance 20 km, but then they 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 Krivtsov 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 the fallen soldiers, in the form of a 15-meter pyramid, and a square of 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 "Defenders of the Soviet Arctic during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945." It was founded in 1969 on the Zeleny Mys hill, where anti-aircraft batteries were located, which 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 most fierce fighting took place on the right bank of the Western Litsa River, later renamed the Valley of Glory. Alyosha's gaze is directed precisely there. Until now, there is no exact data on the number of deaths in the defense of the region. Murmansk "Alyosha" is the highest monument in Russia after Mamaev Kurgan. Its height together with the pedestal is 42.5 meters. The ensemble of the memorial includes the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Eternal Flame, a granite stele to the Defenders of the Arctic. Two capsules are immured at the foot of the monument - one with sea water from the site of the sinking of the ship "Fog", the second - with earth 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 "Warrior-Liberator" in Berlin.
As conceived by the authors, the sword, forged by home front workers in the Urals, is raised by the Motherland on Mamayev Kurgan, and is already lowering it 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 - to the west, where the hostilities took place. Nearby is an eternal flame. The monument was made in Leningrad, and then erected on a fortified hill in Magnitogorsk. Later, on granite trapezes, the names of the city residents who received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union in World War II and died were carved - more than 14 thousand in total.
7. Monument to the Sailor and the 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 recognized as unsuccessful, and in the late 80s the possibility of dismantling the monument was seriously discussed. Subsequently, the supporters of the monument won, and money was allocated for the restoration, but it was not possible to complete the initially approved project. Now the monument to the Soldier and the Sailor is a must-visit place for tourist groups, although there are many of its critics among the locals.
8. Poklonnaya Hill, Moscow. For the first time in 1942, on the site of a hill between the Setun and Filka rivers, it was proposed to erect a monument to the national feat of 1812. However, in the difficult conditions of the Great Patriotic War, it was not possible to implement the project.
Victory Park on Poklonnaya Hill
Subsequently, a sign was installed on Poklonnaya Hill promising that a monument to the Victory would appear on this site. A park was laid out around it, which also received a similar name. The 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 the heads of 55 states. On the territory of Victory Park there are temples of three confessions (Orthodox, a mosque and a synagogue), which symbolize the multinationality of the liberators' army. 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 counterpart, which record the fate of Soviet soldiers who defended their country from the Nazis. There is also an exhibition of military equipment in the park. Well, the center of the monument is the Victory Monument.
9. Piskarevsky Memorial Cemetery, St. Petersburg . This is the largest burial place for the victims of the Second World War, in 186 mass graves about 420 thousand residents of besieged Leningrad who died of hunger, cold and disease, 70 thousand soldiers who fought heroically for the northern capital were buried.
Taryn/flickr.com
The grand opening of the memorial took place on May 9, 1960. The dominant feature of the ensemble is the monument "Motherland" with a granite stele on which Olga Bergholz's epitaph with the famous line "No one is forgotten and nothing is forgotten" is engraved. The poetess wrote this poem specifically for the opening of the Piskarevsky memorial. From "Motherland" there is a 300-meter alley, on which red roses are planted. It ends at the Eternal Flame. Here, at the Piskarevsky cemetery in the military museum, there is a diary of Tanya Savicheva.
10. Cranes, Saratov. Yuri Menyakin, the creator of the memorial complex in memory of the Saratov people who died in the war, was inspired by the song "Cranes" to the verses of Rasul Gamzatov.
Therefore, the main theme of the monument was bright memory and bright sadness. A wedge of 12 silvery cranes flying west symbolizes the souls of fallen soldiers. In the center of the monument there are three five-pointed stars covered with gold leaf, made by analogy with the highest award of the USSR - the Hero of the Soviet Union. Five flights of stairs lead to the monument, on which cities are carved, in the protection and liberation of which Saratov residents took part. The area around the complex is paved with paving stones. It symbolizes the beginning of the war, when the soldiers from the parade on Red Square went straight to the front.
