Obelisks at WWII memorial complexes. WWII monuments: production and restoration. Mamayev Kurgan - a monumental monument to the Great Patriotic War

There is no family in Russia where they will not tell you about the tragic loss of a loved one during the Great Patriotic War. We owe those events not only terrible losses, but also an unprecedented rise in national self-awareness. Grief and suffering have always made people sensitive to injustice. Remember the films of the post-war years - Hollywood, with its sky-high budgets, will never come close to those masterpieces with their truthfulness and nobility.

The way a country lying in ruins rose from its knees in a matter of years inspired justified fear in geopolitical enemies, and respect and admiration for friends in the socialist camp. History has not preserved such collective feats. And every testimony of those years, every monument to the Great Patriotic War revives the genetic memory of those who are not indifferent, causing noble rage, as in a song, to boil at the sight of arrogant adversaries trying to belittle the contribution of the Russian people to the victory over world evil.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

The legendary Eternal Flame, sung in hundreds of works, burning in the Alexander Garden, personifies all those millions of nameless lives thrown into this symbolic flame of war. And the fact that this is the most famous of all memorials, that it is located in the heart of the country, that modern heroes stand guard around the clock, speaks of the significance of the sacrifice and the gratitude of the survivors.

And how many feelings the short inscription evokes - “Your name is unknown, your feat is immortal.” When you read these words, everything inside freezes - this heart responds, remembering the great grief, feelings become numb, imagining the scale of the tragedy, and the imagination draws pictures of burned villages and roads lined with bodies - the corpses of those whose names will never be known. Monuments dedicated to the Great Patriotic War have this effect on all descendants of those terrible days. That is why it is difficult to look at the bloody events in fraternal Ukraine and at all the unjust conflicts in the world, of which there are an alarming number.

Mamayev Kurgan - a monumental monument to the Great Patriotic War

Height 102 - this is how those who shed blood on the Stalingrad front remember this strategic point on the officer’s tablet. Received its name during no less difficult times, Mamayev Kurgan even during the Tatar invasion served as a stronghold for the defenders of their native land. And as if created to be a stronghold of defense, the mound confirmed its calling during the years of a new invasion of evil spirits.

The dry military language, along with the thunder of guns, became a thing of the past, and Hill 102 became the Mound of Glory. Why don’t modern monuments dedicated to the Great Patriotic War evoke the same awe and reverence that comes when looking at the creations of the period of the country’s restoration from the fascist invasion? Probably, you need to experience this historical event, with its pain, death and inevitability, in order to be able to convey the significance of the war and the phenomenon of universal unification.

Motherland

The central figure on Mamayev Kurgan is the colossal figure of a mother leading the sons and daughters of war into battle. Anything less grandiose would not be worthy of serving as a reminder of more than six months of battle and 34.5 thousand fallen. This monument to the Great Patriotic War reaches a height of 85 m, and its weight ranges between 8 thousand tons. But it’s not only the scale of the architecture that makes you stand with respect at height 102. Something in the faces and figures of the statues does not allow you to raise your voice, and your thoughts cannot routinely go through household problems - unusual thoughts about heroism and self-sacrifice creep into your head.

Tribute to the fallen on the Kursk Bulge

And although it is difficult to create a monument in the same way as an artist who has walked through the battlefields, this does not mean that we need to forget about new creations glorifying the exploits of our fathers. Especially when we are talking about such an event as the battle on the Kursk Bulge. For a month and a half in the bloody year of 1943, Russia and Ukraine fought together for survival in the Kursk region. With an incredible number of losses, the command managed to put the enemy to flight.

And do not listen to those who talk about the unpreparedness of the generals and that so many casualties could have been avoided. We were up against superior, well-trained units with the best equipment and weapons. We were attacked on the sly, stabbed in the back, and we alone dealt with the monster. No one has the right to judge us as long as we remember and build new monuments to the heroes of the Great Patriotic War.

Despite strange attempts to distort history and whitewash Nazism, we remember the heroes and build new monuments to them of the Great Patriotic War. Children and adults, everyone who follows us, will be left with a majestic arch crowned with the figure of St. George the Victorious. Together with the statue of Zhukov and the tomb of the unknown soldier of the Kursk land, it will preserve the sacrifices of the victors in the hearts of their children for hundreds of years.

Victory Park on Poklonnaya Hill

No matter how much they scold our memory of the war years, there are countless monuments to those times in Russia. Although I would like more such outstanding ones as Victory Park on Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow. This monument to the Great Patriotic War occupies 135 hectares, including a museum dedicated to the exploits of soldiers, a Victory Monument and three churches. The main attraction is the obelisk 141.8 m high. This figure has a sacred meaning - the most terrible and bloody war in history lasted 1481 days. The obelisk is accompanied by the figures of Nike - the goddess of victory and St. George the Victorious by the hand of Z. Tsereteli.

Marshal Pokryshkin

The rich history of monuments to the heroes of the Great Patriotic War includes hundreds of figures and busts dedicated to specific individuals who contributed to the cause of victory. One of them is a bust of three times Hero of the Soviet Union, Air Marshal Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin, installed in his homeland - Novosibirsk. Having started the war as a young lieutenant, on August 19, 1944, Pokryshkin became the country's first three-time hero.

Monument to Zhukov in Moscow

The most famous commander, who was repeatedly depicted in stone, was the indomitable Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov. Marshal of the Soviet Union, four times war hero and holder of two orders of victory, he was not just a commander - the soldiers called him father. He could live in the trenches with ordinary soldiers, steadfastly, as in the regulations, enduring all the hardships. Like no one, often to the detriment of their own comfort, cared for the rank and file, which often caused discontent among the officers.

A monument to the Great Patriotic War dedicated to Zhukov can be found in almost every city in Russia. Isn't this evidence of his merits and people's respect? But the most impressive and famous is located on Manezhnaya Square in Moscow. This is a majestic figure by the hand of master Klykov. It is not surprising that a person like Zhukov was honored that so often the names of monuments to the Great Patriotic War contain this legendary surname.

Is it worth remembering

The history of World War II monuments maps the loss and suffering of humanity. Wars have always been an everyday occurrence for humans, and the fact that today only those countries that can guarantee to erase the enemy from the map with atomic weapons is safe suggests that peace is a myth. People quickly get used to good things. But as history shows, war is necessary for development - the greatest leaps in the development of nations occur during times of greatest tension. And the countless monuments to the heroes of the Great Patriotic War serve as the best reminder and warning of this.

Memorial of Glory.
(Orsk)
The Memorial of Glory is located in the Leninsky district on Victory Square near Mira Avenue.
Opened on May 9, 1965. In 1967, the Eternal Flame was lit. The memorial was built on the mass grave of soldiers of the Soviet army who died during the Great Patriotic War in Orsky hospitals (1941-1945). On April 27, 1965, the remains of 216 soldiers were reburied from a closed city cemetery at the site of the future memorial in 12 urns. Initially, a block of unpolished Orsk variegated jasper and a bronze plaque was installed, on which a monument to a Soviet soldier in Berlin's Treptower Park was depicted in relief. A bowl with the Eternal Flame was installed in front of the stone. The entire structure was placed on a concrete pedestal. The authors of the monument are Orsk architects E.Ya. Markov, B.G. Zavodovsky, A.N. Silin. In 1975, the monument was reconstructed: the mass grave was lined with polished red Orsk jasper.
In its center is the Eternal Flame, above which hangs a bronze wreath of Glory. Behind the grave there is a wall of black stone with an inscription "Motherland! The Russian land, watered with the blood of its soldiers, honors their memory forever". Behind the wall there were spruce trees. Authors: Orsk architects P.P. Priymak, G.I. Sokolov, V.N. Yakimov. During the reconstruction of the memorial in 1988, the lining of the military grave was replaced with a green-black coil; marble slabs with the names of soldiers who died in Orsky hospitals, Orchan soldiers who died on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War, and those who died in Afghanistan were installed along the perimeter of the memorial.
The black stone inscription is transferred to white marble slabs in the center of the memorial.
In 1995, additional memorial pylons were installed with the names of Orchans who died in 1941-1945, in the Afghan war of 1979-1989, in hot spots of Russia (North Caucasus) in the 1990s.
In April - August 2000, the Glory Square was reconstructed, a second line of pylons was installed, where more than 8,000 additional names of Orchan residents who died in hostilities were added. The main part of the memorial complex is equipped with lawns, flower beds and plantings of deciduous and coniferous trees.
On May 8, 2008, on the eve of Victory Day, the opening of the Alley of Heroes took place on the territory of Glory Square. The memorial has changed its appearance for the fourth time and is becoming better and more significant.
The idea of ​​this project appeared back in the eighties of the last century. Then, taking into account the wishes of war veterans, the chief artist of Orsk P. Priymak worked on a project for the reconstruction of the square and envisaged opening the Alley of Heroes. But it was only now possible to install nine bronze busts of Heroes of the Soviet Union and two Heroes of Russia, thanks to the decision of the current head of the city.
Preparations for the implementation of the alley project began in 2008, when the necessary photographic materials were sent to Chelyabinsk. The busts of the Orchan heroes were sculpted by a creative group of Chelyabinsk sculptors under the leadership of the chairman of the Chelyabinsk branch of the Union of Artists of Russia E. Vargot. Professionals managed to convey not only the external similarity of the defenders of the Motherland, but also their character. As the sculptors themselves assure, the images were created based on the personal history of each hero. The bronze busts, weighing about 2 tons each, were installed on granite pedestals by specialists from the Requiem municipal unitary enterprise.
On the pylons erected on both sides of the alley are the names of the heroes of the Orsk land who won the Victory and defended the freedom of not only Russians, but also other peoples.

Literature

1. Memorial of Glory // Orsk City Encyclopedia. - Orenburg, 2007. - P. 219.
2. Post No. 1 // Orsk City Encyclopedia. - Orenburg, 2007. - P. 234 - 235.
3. Memorial of Glory: photograph // Orsk: photo album. - M. 1995. - P. 87.
4. Ivanov, A. Bust of the Hero joined the Walk of Fame / A. Ivanov // Orskaya Gazeta. - 2008. - September 5. - P. 2.
5. Svetushkova, L. “Heritage” - to the city / L. Svetushkova // Orskaya Chronicle. - 2008. - September 5. - P. 2.
6. Goncharenko, V. Ten busts of War Heroes are installed on columns / V. Goncharenko // Orskaya Chronicle. - 2008. - April 22. - P. 1, 2.
7. Rezepkina, N. The living need this / N. Rezepkina // New Vedomosti. - 2007. - May 9. - P. 3.
8. Efimova, T. without the past there is no future / T. Efimova // Orskaya Chronicle. - 2000. - August 31. - P. 2.
9. Karandeev, A. Orchan residents laid flowers at the renovated memorial / A. Karandeev // Orskaya Chronicle. - 2000. - May 13. - P. 2.

According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the human losses of the Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War amounted to 26.6 million people. In memory of fallen soldiers, major victories of the Army and the feat of the Soviet people in the war, numerous war memorials and monuments were erected not only in Russia, but also abroad.
Here are photos of WWII monuments that I took during our travels since 2007. to 2015

1. Russian Federation, Volgograd. The main element of the ensemble “To the Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad” on Mamayev Kurgan is the sculpture “The Motherland Calls!”

2. Russian Federation, Volgograd. Gerhardt's Mill is a building destroyed during the Great Patriotic War, left in ruins as a memory to descendants of the brutal battles of the Battle of Stalingrad

3. Russian Federation, Vladivostok. Monument to the sailors of the merchant fleet 1941 -1945.

4. Russian Federation, Veliky Novgorod. The "Victory Monument" was installed on "Catherine Hill" in memory of the victory of the Soviet Union over the fascist invaders

5. Russian Federation, Republic of Tatarstan, Elabuga. On Memory Square there is a bust of Marshal of the Soviet Union - Leonid Aleksandrovich Govorov.

6. Russian Federation, Moscow region, Odintsovo district. Troitskoe village. Monument to the fallen Soviet soldiers who defended the approaches to Moscow. The names of fallen soldiers are carved on the plaques of the memorial, including the name of my husband’s great-uncle.

7. Russian Federation, Moscow region, Zvenigorod. Memorial to those killed in the Great Patriotic War.

8. Russian Federation, Kaliningrad region, Baltiysk. Mass grave on the street. Red Army.

9. Russian Federation, Kaliningrad region, Zelenogradsk. Grave of Hero of the USSR Tkachenko I.F.

10. Russian Federation, Republic of Karelia, Medvezhyegorsk. Burial of Soviet soldiers.

11. Russian Federation, Republic of Karelia, Medvezhyegorsky district. Mass grave 9 km from the village of Povenets.

12.RF, Republic of Karelia, Medvezhyegorsky district. village Kadmaselga. Mass grave.

13. Russian Federation, Kaluga region, Kondrovo. Monument to the heroes of the Great Patriotic War

14. Russian Federation, Kaluga region, regional center Przemysl. Monument to Soviet soldiers who died in the Great Patriotic War.

15. Russian Federation, Kaluga region, Ugra National Park, Sukovsky bridgehead.

16. Russian Federation, Kaluga region, Yukhnov. Monument to soldiers who died in battles for their homeland

17. Russian Federation, Kaluga region, Yukhnov. Monument to prisoners of fascist concentration camps

18. Russian Federation, Kaluga region, Kozelsk. Memorial complex Heroes of Kozelsk Square, Motherland monument.

19. Russian Federation, Voronezh region, p. Kochetovka. Military memorial "Memory", mass grave No. 305

20. Russian Federation, Moscow region, Kubinka. Memorial in the military-historical Museum of armored weapons and equipment of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.

21. Russian Federation. Moscow region, Dmitrov. Monument to the Counteroffensive Line

22. Russian Federation, Vladimir region. Murom. Alley of Heroes of the USSR in Oksky Park.

23. Russian Federation, Nizhny Novgorod. Memorial "Gorky Front"

24. Russian Federation, Rostov-on-Don. Memorial complex "To the soldiers for the liberation of the city from the Nazi invaders"

25. Russian Federation, Yaroslavl region, Rybinsk. Memorial complex "Fire of Glory"

26. Russian Federation, Smolensk.

27. Russian Federation, Pskov. The tank monument symbolizes the military glory of the tank crews who participated in the liberation of Pskov in 1944

28. Poland. Concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau (Auschwitz)

29. Slovakia. Bratislava. Mount Slavin is a monument erected in honor of Soviet soldiers who died in battles with the Nazis for Bratislava in 1945

30. Belarus. Brest. Brest Fortress. Sculpture "Thirst"

31. Hungary. Budapest. "Monument to Soviet Soldiers-Liberators"

32. Poland, Warsaw. Monument to the Heroes of Warsaw

33. Lithuania. Klaipeda. Monument to fallen soldiers

34. Estonia. Narva. Obelisk dedicated to the soldiers of the Soviet Army who fell in the Second World War

35. Bulgaria. Nessebar.

36. Norway. The grave of seven unknown soldiers of the Soviet army, near the town of Nesna.

37. Estonia. Tallinn. Bronze soldier

During the Great Patriotic War, it became one of the most significant themes 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 "Motherland is calling!" 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. Near the "Alyosha" the Eternal Flame is burning 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 a 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 former does not stand out in any way, but the latter has on its territory a large number of buildings that are monuments to the 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.

Of course, one of the greatest cities that showed heroic defense and no less heroic counter-offensive 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 to the Second World War of 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 and ordinary people who died during the Second World War. It was inaugurated on September 25, 1970. Not far from the Kurgan you can see the Eternal Flame, and in the park itself it was also built where thousands of warriors are buried. Among other monuments in 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.