IN different corners Belarus, which lost every third resident in 1941-1945, has created symbolic memorial complexes and erected monuments dedicated to the events of the most tragic and bloody war on this long-suffering land.
Today there are about 9 thousand monuments and burial places in the country Great Patriotic War . They are included in military historical routes and excursions, but the main thing is that they are holy place for honoring the dead, an eternal reminder of how peace is priceless…
Minsk, Victory Square
Architectural and sculptural complex "Minsk - Hero City"
Stele "Minsk is a hero city", erected in 1985 in honor of 40th anniversary of the Great Victory, today is part of the grandiose ensemble. In 1974, Minsk received the title Hero Cities for the courage and bravery of its inhabitants during fascist occupation which continued 1100 days and nights. Crowned with a 45-meter obelisk Hero Star, and at the foot there is a text engraved about conferring an honorary title on the city. The ensemble is complemented by a bronze sculpture of a woman with a fanfare raised high - a symbol Motherland. Today at the stele "Minsk-hero city" There is a grandiose military parade and procession on the main national holiday.
Minsk, Pobediteley Avenue
More than 5 thousand Belarusian villages was wiped off the face of the earth during Great Patriotic War. Among them Dalva, June 19, 1944, repeating the tragic fate Khatyn. Today, on this site there is a memorial to the victims, concrete crowns of log huts and a small museum. The initiator of the creation of the complex, the person who devoted his whole life to it, was Nikolai Girilovich, miraculously survived that tragic day. The remaining residents of the village - 44 people, 29 of whom were children, were herded into one house and burned alive. The Nazis carried out a brutal punitive operation just 10 days before the arrival of the Red Army troops...
Minsk region, Logoisk district
Minsk region, Smolevichi district
Minsk district
Brest
In the heart of the memorial dedicated to to the heroes-liberators of Pinsk – mass grave, where the ashes of 244 soldiers rest, monument to the armored boat BK-92 and symbolic sign, installed at the landing site of the Dnieper flotilla. The famous one has been restored nearby "Dot Molchanova": in 1944, the major's command post was located here Georgy Molchanov, who commanded the 1323rd Infantry Regiment. It was from here that the first message about the liberation of Pinsk came. Today, the interior of the legendary headquarters has been recreated, and in exposition you can see plans of military operations, maps, a journal in memory of soldiers... Afterwards, a museum appeared in the memorial complex military equipment open air.
Brest region, Pinsk
Mogilev
Memorial complex "Dugout"
Huge guerrilla "dugout" made of concrete, as well as stele with a commemorative inscription appeared in 1982 on the 1st kilometer of the highway – Chausy. In these places at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War there was headquarters Western Front . Here July 1, 1941 with the participation of marshals Soviet Union K. Voroshilov and B. Shaposhnikov held the first meeting on the protection and creation of underground detachments behind enemy lines. And a few days later it began, on the outskirts of which 23 days and nights stood 172nd(General M. Romanov) and 110th(Colonel V. Khlebtsev) rifle divisions 61st Rifle Corps of the 13th Army, other Red Army units advancing from the west, and people's militias who stood up to defend their hometown.
Mogilev district
Memorial complex "In memory of the burned villages of the Mogilev region"
Memorial ensemble in the village Borki The Kirov region preserves the memory of the Mogilev region villages burned during the Great Patriotic War. It so happened that there are hundreds of places in Belarus that shared the fate of the world-famous one. Tragic stories many of them formed the basis of the famous documentary book "I am from the fiery weight" Belarusian authors Ales Adamovich, Yanka Bryl and Vladimir Kolesnik, who recorded for posterity true story more than 300 witnesses of those days... On the bloody list and Borki, which went down in the history of one of the most massive punitive operations of the war. On June 15, 1942, the Nazis burned the inhabitants of the village and surrounding villages - a total of 1,800 people... Decades later, buildings were built here Memory Wall and six plates with the names of destroyed settlements, bells and chapel in honor of the icon Mother of God"Recovery of the dead."
Mogilev region, Kirov district, Borki village
Memorial of Military Glory "Ludchicka Height"
Symbolic figure guslar, glorifying the exploits of warriors, rises above a high earthen mound. As if frozen in the air, an eternal song of courage glorifies the heroism and bravery of the fallen soldiers. At the foot of the mound there is a wall-stele with six bas-reliefs of Heroes of the Soviet Union: Vladimir Martynov, Sundutkali Iskaliev, Gulyam Yakubov, who gave their lives during the storming of the Ludchitsa Heights in June 1944, as well as Ivan Borisevich, Pyotr Vinichenko and Galaktion Razmadze, who participated in the liberation of the Bykhov land. Symbol of memory of the war - Eternal Flame- burns at the monument, and the names of the soldiers who died in the battles for the heights are inscribed on the memorial at the mound of military glory...
Mogilev region, Bykhovsky district
Dedicated to the soldiers and partisans who took part in the decisive stage of the liberation operation in June 1944. The 40,000-strong German Army Group Center was defeated. In 1967, local residents immortalized the feat of the liberating heroes in Mounds of Glory, inside of which are capsules with soil from 70 mass graves. A sculptural composition of two soldiers rises on an 18-meter pedestal, and next to it there are 6 steles with statues dead Heroes Soviet Union: Ivan Orel, Nikolai Kolodko, Alexander Chernysh, Mikhail Seleznev, Ivan Maslovsky and Nikolai Izyumov. In our time, the memorial has been supplemented Gate of Glory and 13 memorial plaques in honor of the Heroes of the Soviet Union who died during the liberation of the region.
Mogilev region, Bobruisk district, Sychkovo village
Memorial complex "Victory Square" in Vitebsk
Memorial in honor of Soviet soldiers and partisans of the Vitebsk region, called citizens "Three bayonets", located on the river bank Dvina in the heart of the city. Each of the three 56-meter obelisks-bayonets is crowned with a cast relief - "Warriors", "Underground", "Partisans". The eternal flame, lit on the star-podium, illuminates the inscription of the unifying inner ring of the monument - “Glory to the Heroes”. In addition to the main memorial, the complex includes 2 large pools with fountains, 10 pylons and sculptural compositions with images of Soviet soldiers and civilians. In Pobediteley Park there is also Walk of Military Glory And exposition of military equipment from the Great Patriotic War.
On the banks of the Dnieper, there is a monument to the BM-13 rocket artillery combat vehicle, which Soviet soldiers called "Katyusha". Its structure and the stunning effect of a fire tornado for many years remained a mystery to the Germans. And precisely in Orsha July 14, 1941 sounded the first combat salvoes of the Katyusha: experimental battery of seven vehicles under the command of Captain I. Flerov attacked enemy trains at the railway station and positions at the river crossing. The memorial unites 6 skyward "mortar launchers" made of concrete, and in the center on a pedestal is installed exact copy of "Katyusha" model 1941. At the entrance to the complex there is a black cube with a commemorative inscription about the first strike of the famous weapon.
Vitebsk region, Orsha, st. Mogilevskaya
Memorial complex "Curse of Fascism"
Vitebsk region, Dokshitsy district, Shunevka village
Memorial complex "Breakthrough"
The impressive complex was created on the site of the fascist blockade by partisans of the Polotsk-Lepel zone - one of the largest in occupied Belarus. Real partisan republic with a center in Ushachi existed since the fall of 1942, and in the spring of 1944 the Germans threw 60 thousand punitive forces, aviation, tanks, and artillery against 17 thousand partisans. And yet, on the tragic night of May 4–5, the partisans defeated the enemy, leading 16 thousand civilians out of encirclement... Hundreds of soldiers were buried in the mass grave of “Breakthrough,” and even more names were immortalized on the slabs. Memorial opens bronze card defense, and then arrow road passes between huge boulders, indicating the direction of the main attack, where a fearless warrior “runs” with a machine gun in his hands. Nearby are 16 oak trees as a symbol of the steadfastness of 16 partisan brigades. The memorial complex also includes a “partisan village” - a series of dugouts with wartime utensils - and an exhibition of army equipment.
Vitebsk region, Ushachi district, Paperino village
Memorial complex "Mound of Glory" in Gomel
Gomel "Mound of Glory" created in 1967 in honor of the feat of soldiers and partisans who died at the fronts Great Patriotic War. At the foot of the memorial were laid capsules with earth from more than 200 places in Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, where the largest military battles took place, including famous hero cities: Moscow, Kyiv, Leningrad, Odessa and the main citadel of Belarus - . In 2013, during a large-scale reconstruction To 70th anniversary of the liberation of Gomel appeared at the Mound of Glory Eternal Flame. Per year centuries October Revolution The message to descendants, placed in the "Kurgan" during its construction, was opened and a new one was laid - so that 50 years later, in 2067, it would be read by successors.
Gomel
Memorial complex dedicated to Operation Bagration
TO 70th anniversary of the liberation of Belarus from Nazi invaders
in the Svetlogorsk region the world's first memorial complex was founded, dedicated to one of the greatest military operations in the history of mankind. It is here, near the village of Rakovichi on the 71st kilometer of the Bobruisk-Mozyr highway, June 23, 1944 A large-scale offensive by Soviet troops began, which lasted more than two months. As a result of the operation, code-named in honor of the hero Patriotic War of 1812 commander Peter Bagration, were liberated Belarus, partly territory Baltics and Poland, and most importantly, a crushing blow was dealt to the German Army Group Center, which completely weakened Germany. ...The first object of the complex was a 7-meter one, which ensured the success of the operation...
The memorial complex also includes a dugout-like museum dedicated to Operation Bagration, a chapel with a memorial book, and an exhibition of military equipment and weapons.
Gomel region, Svetlogorsk district, Rakovichi village
Memorial complex "Loev"
Memorial complex in Loev dedicated to the heroes of one of the largest battles Great Patriotic War– operations in October 1943. Back in 1966, an 18-meter obelisk was installed in the center of the urban village - a small copy of the Victory Monument in Minsk. After to 70th anniversary of the Great Victory the entire central square turned into a memorial ensemble. On the open exhibition area Museum of the Battle of the Dnieper on both sides of Walk of Fame samples of military equipment participating in the battle have been identified. Hundreds of names are immortalized on memorial plaques. For incredible courage in the battles on the Loyev bridgehead 323 warriors were awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union- a unique fact in the history of the Great Patriotic War.
Gomel region, town Loev
Memorial complex "Memory"
Dobrush, whose residents, together with the soldiers of the Red Army, bravely defended the city, was liberated from the occupation of the Nazi invaders on October 10, 1943. In 2005, on the site of a mass grave on the banks of the Iput River, memorial complex "Memory", where the names of 700 soldiers who gave their lives during the defense of the city are immortalized.
Gomel region, Dobrush
Memorial ensemble in honor of soldiers of the Belarusian border district
Memorial erected in 2004 in the central part Grodno, dedicated to Soviet soldiers who heroically defended borders of the country from the very first days Great Patriotic War. In the background border pillars– symbols of the 15 union republics – rises a bronze sculpture of three warriors who, securely covering the border with their bodies and clutching weapons in their hands, pass through the fiery walls of defense. The leitmotif of the composition was the inscription: “To the dead, but not defeated, border guard soldiers of the Belarusian border district.” The ensemble is complemented granite slabs, symbolizing the mass graves of those courageous soldiers who June 21, 1941 were the first to engage the enemy.
Grodno
Memorial complex "Shaulichi"
Memorial "Shaulichi"- another of the largest monuments in Belarus, dedicated to the tragedy of the “villages of fire”, erased from the face of the Earth in the years. During the punitive operation in the morning July 7, 1943 the Germans shot here 366 people, including 120 children, and burned 77 houses. After this bloody massacre Shaulichi village, which is called the “little sister,” was not revived, and the memory of the tragedy was immortalized in the memorial complex. An obelisk and a sculptural composition appeared next to the mass graves of killed civilians "The Warrior and the Underground Woman", two mournful crosses... During the war, 40 wooden log houses-symbols, granite slabs and memorial plaques with the names of the victims were installed on the site of the burned houses. In the heart of the memorial, a sad ringing reminds of hundreds of lost lives...
Grodno region, Volkovysk district
Memorials at the sites of death camps and ghettos
Created by the Nazis, bloody camp "Trostenets" became the largest on the territory of the Soviet Union and fourth in Europe after the notorious Auschwitz, Majdanek and Treblinka. According to official data, on "factory of death" in the surrounding area Minsk 206.5 thousand people died, but there is evidence that there were much more victims. "Trostenets" united several places of brutal massacre: a labor concentration camp near the village Maly Trostenets, tract Blagovshchina, where mass executions took place, tract Shashkovka, where the bodies of the dead were burned in a huge “pit-oven”... On the territory of the former death camp there was a grandiose one - a symbol of national and universal memory of the victims of Nazism.
In Trostenets, the Nazis exterminated civilians and prisoners of war, prisoners of the Minsk ghetto, members of the underground and partisans, Jews taken from Poland, Austria, Germany, Czechoslovakia and other European countries...
Minsk
Memorial "The Pit" dedicated to the victims of the Holocaust
Memorial "Yama" in Minsk- a tragic reminder of the inhumanity of the Nazis, a symbol of eternal pain and sorrow. During the Great Patriotic War, in the occupied Belarusian capital, it was created for the extermination of Jews: by the end of October 1943, they were exterminated here more than 100 thousand Human. Among the numerous murders and pogroms, the bloody massacre of March 2, 1942, when the Nazis shot more than 5 thousand Jews, including 200 orphans from orphanage together with teachers and medical staff... Thousands of bodies of people killed in Minsk ghetto, dumped into a pit where an impressive memorial now stands. In its center is a memorial black marble obelisk, installed back in 1947, and a staircase-composition leads to a deep pit paved by hand "The Last Journey": 27 bronze figures, like faceless shadows, descend to be killed...
Near the “Pit” there is an alley of the Righteous Among the Nations, where the names of Belarusians are immortalized, who saved people of Jewish nationality under pain of death. In total, during the war years there were over 100 ghettos on the territory of Belarus, where Jews from Germany, Poland, Austria and other countries were brought for liquidation...
G. Minsk, st. Melnikayte
Gomel region, Zhlobin district, Krasny Bereg village
Memorial complex "Ozarichi"
...The cruel one lasted only two weeks, but during this time the Nazis managed to exterminate at least 20 thousand people. In March 1944 it was created by order Hitler in the vicinity of the village Ozarichi on Polesie, in order not only to torture prisoners, but also to weaken the advancing Red Army. Here - in edge of the swamps- brought sick typhus and other infections that could quickly spread among local residents and Soviet soldiers. On the territory Ozarich death zone, which united several places, there were no buildings: women, children and the elderly were kept in the open air, and the approaches to the camp were mined. From this horror liberators rescued over 30 thousand prisoners, among which more than half are children. In 1965, a memorial was created that unites three white steles - symbol of the Ozarich camps– on which prisoners are depicted and names are carved.
Opened in 2004 Museum of Memory of the Victims of the Ozarich Death Zone, where unique materials are collected: memories and recordings of eyewitnesses, documents, photographs, correspondence with former prisoners and liberators...
Gomel region, Kalinkovichi district
Memorial complex "Lupolovsky prisoner of war camp"
In August 1941, on the outskirts of the Lupolovo suburb, the Nazis created camp for Soviet prisoners of war. Prisoners were starved, interrogated and brutal torture: daily behind barbed wire through which was passed electric current, up to 250 people died. In total, about 80 thousand prisoners of war died in the camp, and only the names of 389 of them are known. One of the prisoners was General Mikhail Romanov- commander of the famous 172nd rifle division, who heroically defended the city in July 1941. In memory of those who died at the site of the death camp, the first monument appeared in 1948, and in 1984, in honor of the 40th anniversary of the liberation of Mogilev, it was opened memorial complex.
On the site of the Lupolovsky concentration camp there is also mass grave soldiers of the 238th and 369th rifle divisions of the 2nd Belorussian Front, who participated in liberation of Mogilev in June 1944.
Mogilev
Military museums
Halls and exhibitions dedicated to Great Patriotic War, are open in all historical and local history museums of Belarus. Priceless rarities, military chronicles cities and villages, tragedies of broken lives, stories about the feats of people who contributed to the long-awaited Victory - every region of the country keeps the memory of those terrible years...
Rare exhibits are also found in school museums, where for decades post-war generations have been collecting evidence of hard times, memories of soldiers, partisans and underground fighters, camp prisoners and civilians...
Traveling around Belarus, you can not only visit numerous local exhibitions, but also truly see unique military collections.
The main repository of rarities – first in the world, which was founded precisely in Minsk. TO 70th anniversary of the liberation of Belarus From the Nazi invaders, the museum opened in , and became an interactive historical complex. Today the Belarusian museum is also one of the largest collections on the planet dedicated to events World War II.
Also large-scale military collections of Belarus represent:
Vitebsk Regional Museum Hero of the Soviet Union Minai Shmyrev;
Museum of the Battle of the Dnieper in Loev.
It was here in July 1942 that the Moscow Komsomol 85th Guards Mortar Regiment “Katyusha” was formed from Komsomol volunteers, as the inscription on the pedestal says. On the territory of the complex there are: an eternal flame, an 85-mm 52-K anti-aircraft gun, a BM-13 Katyusha multiple launch rocket system, a T-34/85 tank, a monument to Izmailovsky Park workers who died in the war, as well as 6 memorial steles in memory of those who fought in the Great Patriotic War.
Izmailovsky Park
Volumetric metal structures, which today stand on the 23rd kilometer of the Leningradskoye Highway in Khimki, are one of the most recognizable symbols of the defense of Moscow and the Moscow region during the war. Anti-tank hedgehogs, for their manufacture using beams intended for the construction of the Palace of the Soviets, were one of the simplest and most effective defense means.
Khimki, Leningradskoe highway, 23 km
The monument to four times Hero of the Soviet Union, Marshal Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov was erected on Manezhnaya Square on May 8, 1995 in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Victory. The sculpture, made in the style of socialist realism, was created by sculptor Vyacheslav Klykov.
Manezhnaya Square
The tallest monument in Russia, the center of Victory Park on Poklonnaya Hill, has a height of 141.8 meters for a reason: every 10 centimeters of the obelisk symbolizes one day of war. The triangular bayonet is mostly covered with bronze bas-reliefs, and at 104 meters a 25-ton bronze sculptural group is attached to the obelisk, depicting the goddess of victory Nike carrying a crown and two cupids trumpeting victory.
Victory Square, 3
Initially, the memorial architectural ensemble was conceived as a monument to the defenders of Moscow, but in fact it became the main memorial to all soldiers of the Great Patriotic War.
The main element of the memorial is a tombstone with a battle flag, a soldier's helmet and a laurel branch. The inscription “Your name is unknown, your feat is immortal” is carved on the slab in front of the tombstone; the Eternal Flame of Glory burns from a bronze five-pointed star in the center. To the left of the grave there is a wall made of Shoksha crimson quartzite; on the right is a granite alley with blocks of dark red porphyry.
The names of the hero cities are written on the blocks: Leningrad, Kyiv, Stalingrad, Odessa, Sevastopol, Minsk, Kerch, Novorossiysk, Brest Fortress, Tula, Murmansk, Smolensk, Moscow. Each block contains capsules with the soil of these cities.
Alexander Garden
The memorial stone was installed next to the bunker, where in 1941 defensive fortifications were prepared against enemy troops.
St. Obrucheva, 27
The forty-meter tetrahedral obelisk “Moscow is a Hero City” made of gray granite was opened on May 9, 1977 in honor of the celebration of the 32nd anniversary of the Victory. The monument is topped with a gilded star, repeating the shape of the star of the Hero of the Soviet Union.
Drogomilovskaya Zastava Square
The cemetery was founded in 2013. Today there are 14 graves here. According to plans, the pantheon will be the main cemetery in Russia for the next 200 years, and about 40 thousand burials of military personnel and other citizens will be placed on its territory Russian Federation who died defending the Fatherland. The territory of the cemetery is 55 hectares.
Moscow region, Mytishchi district, Sgonniki village
Monument to Avtozavodskaya street was installed on May 6, 1980 in honor of the 35th anniversary of the Victory. The banner depicts a group of warriors and militia in high relief.
Avtozavodskaya Square
Memorial to soldiers from the rifle division under Major General Ivan Vasilyevich Panfilov, who participated in the defense of Moscow in 1941. During a 4-hour battle in the area of the Dubosekovo junction, the war destroyed 18 enemy tanks, after which they died.
st. Heroes of Panfilov
Photo: photo.thebestofrussia.ru, www.mosgubernia.ru, panpredator.ru, img-fotki.yandex.ru, www.aqualogo-engineering.ru, wikimapia.org, img-2005-10.photosight.ru
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 and home front workers is immortalized in numerous memorials throughout the country. We have collected 10 significant memorials, where hundreds of people come to honor the memory of the heroes who are in every Russian family.
Monument-ensemble "Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad"
One of the most famous memorials dedicated to the Great Patriotic War - majestic and symbolic - is located in Volgograd. It was built over eight and a half years: from 1959 to 1967. The chief architect is 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 one and a half times more Statues Freedom 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 accurate calculations architect. 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 Wall Ruins 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 for 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.
Museum-Reserve "Prokhorovskoye Field"
In the vicinity of the Prokhorovka railway station in the Belgorod region, on July 12, 1943, the largest disaster in history occurred. tank battle. More than 1,500 tanks of the Red Army and fascist invaders took part in it. This battle turned the tide of the Battle of Kursk and the war as a whole. In memory of this battle, the Prokhorovskoe 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 were killed, knocking out seven enemy tanks in the process.
In 2010, the Museum of Military Glory “The Third Military Field of Russia” was opened in Prokhorovka. The main monument of the memorial is a 59-meter belfry with a bell that rings three times an hour, recalling the historical role of three battlefields: Kulikovsky, Borodino and Prokhorovsky. The architectural dominant feature of the complex is the Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, on the walls of which are inscribed the names of 7,382 soldiers who died in these bloody battles.
Every year at the beginning of July the festival “The Third Battlefield of Russia” takes place here.
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
The memorial was opened in May 1967 after the burial of the ashes of an unknown soldier who died in the Battle of Moscow near the Kremlin wall. The remains were transferred from a mass grave at the 41st kilometer of the 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 Secretary General Leonid Brezhnev, having received the torch from the hands of the legendary pilot Alexei Maresyev. Nearby is the inscription “ your name 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.
Krivtsovsky memorial
At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, a stronghold of a group of fascist troops was located in the Oryol region. In 1942, the Bolkhov operation was carried out, with the bloodiest battle in the Krivtsovo-Chegodaevo-Gorodishche area. After the offensive Soviet troops were able to advance 20 kilometers, but then stopped. This did not allow the enemy to transfer forces to Battle of Stalingrad.
In 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 Not official name 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.
Murmansk "Alyosha"
The monument “Defenders of the Soviet Arctic during the Great Patriotic War” 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 was able to get no further than 30 kilometers from state border. 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 second 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.
Rear to front
The monument in Magnitogorsk is considered to be part of a triptych of monuments, which includes the “Motherland Calls” memorials in Volgograd and the “Liberator Warrior” memorials in Berlin. According to the authors' idea, the sword, handed over by home front workers, is raised by the Motherland, and only lowered after the victory of the soldiers in Berlin. The 15-meter-high monument is located on a hill. 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.
Monument to Sailor and Soldier
This 40-meter monument in Sevastopol has 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. Construction proceeded slowly, then it was mothballed, as the project was considered unsuccessful, and in the late 80s they considered the issue of dismantling the monument. Over time, supporters of the monument achieved its preservation, and money was allocated for restoration, but the initially approved project was never completed. Now the monument to the Soldier and Sailor is visited by tourists, although many local residents criticize it.
Piskarevskoye Memorial Cemetery
The largest burial site of victims of the Second World War is located in St. Petersburg. About 420 thousand residents are buried in 186 mass graves besieged Leningrad who died from hunger, cold and disease, 70 thousand soldiers who heroically fought for Northern capital. 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, where there is the famous line “No one is forgotten and nothing is forgotten.” The poetess wrote this poem for the opening of the Piskarevsky memorial. From the “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.
Cranes
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 fond memory and light sadness. A wedge of 12 silver 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 - Hero of the Soviet Union. Five flights of stairs lead to the monument with cities engraved on them, in the defense 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 soldiers from the parade on Red Square went straight to the front.
Poklonnaya Gora
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 harsh conditions The Great Patriotic War failed to implement the project. Subsequently, a sign was installed on Poklonnaya Hill with the promise that a Victory monument would appear in this place. A park of the same name was built around it. 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. 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, which record the fate of Soviet soldiers who defended their country from the Nazis. There is also an exhibition of military equipment on the territory of the park. The Victory Monument became the center of the architectural ensemble.
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. 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. 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 for 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. On July 12, 1943, the vicinity of the Prokhorovka railway station 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 battle turned the tide of the Battle of Kursk and the war as a whole. 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 - 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 “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, which record the fate of Soviet soldiers who defended their country from the Nazis. There is also an exhibition of military equipment on the territory of the park. Well, the center of the monument is the Victory Monument.
9. Piskarevskoye Memorial Cemetery, St. 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.
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 the 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 of the 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.
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 first does not stand out in any way, but the latter has on its territory large number buildings that are monuments to soldiers of the Great Patriotic War. Among them, the ones that stand out are the monuments-busts of the Twice Heroes. Socialist Labor, natives of the city. 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 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 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 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.
