Volgograd Museum fine arts them. I.I. Mashkova.
On October 15, 1967, the monument-ensemble “To the Heroes” was inaugurated in Volgograd Battle of Stalingrad».
The decision to build a memorial ensemble dedicated to the feat of the heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad (July 17, 1942 - February 2, 1943) was made back in January 1958. Construction began in May 1959 and was completed by October 1967.
The project was developed by a team of sculptors and architects under the leadership of E. V. Vuchetich. Architects: Ya. B. Belopolsky, V. A. Demin, F. M. Lysov. Sculptors: M. S. Aleshenko, V. E. Matrosov, L. Maistrenko. M., Melnik A.N., Marunov V.A., Novikov N.S., Tyurenkov A.A. Head of the engineering group Nikitin N.V.
The main military consultant of the project was Marshal V.I. Chuikov, the commander of the army that defended Mamayev Kurgan.
The total area of the architectural and sculptural complex on Mamayev Kurgan is 26 hectares.
The symbolic ruins of Stalingrad, the Square of “Those Who Stood to the Death”, the Square of Heroes, the Hall of Military Glory, the Square of Sorrow and other sculptural objects have enormous power emotional impact. Along the serpentine leading to the top of the hill, the remains of 34 thousand 505 soldiers - the defenders of Stalingrad - were reburied.
The logical center of the memorial is the sculpture “Motherland”. The work of the sculptor Vuchetich and engineer Nikitin represents a multi-meter figure of a woman quickly stepping forward with a raised sword. The statue is an allegorical image of the Motherland, calling its sons to fight the enemy. The total height of the monument is 85 m. The height of the female figure is 52 m, the length of the arm is 20 m, the length of the sword is 33 m. The weight of the sculpture is 8 thousand tons, and the length of the sword is 14 tons.
In 2008, Mamayev Kurgan was included in the “7 Wonders of Russia”.
Monument-ensemble to the heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad. Volgograd. Mamayev Kurgan: Set of 10 postcards / Photo by A. Shagin. - M.: Soviet Russia, 1967. - 1st region. (10 separate l.).
Included:
Monument “Stand to the death!”
Heroes Square
Heroes Square
Monument of Sorrow and view of the main monument
Introductory composition
Main monument
General view of the “Wall-ruins”
Detail “Wall-ruins”
Monument "Sorrow"
Detail “Wall-ruins”
A memorial monument with the inscription: “In memory of the Romanian prisoners of war of the Second World War who died in Russia” was opened in the Krasnoarmeysky district by a delegation from Romania together with officials of the Volgograd administration and Volgograd region.
The installation of the monument is connected with Romania’s initiative to perpetuate the memory of its soldiers and officers who died in the Battle of Stalingrad, the administration of the Volgograd region told the site.
Between Russia and Romania back in 1995, agreements were concluded to ensure the safety and order of maintenance of Russian military graves abroad and foreign military graves in Russian Federation, - the administration reported. - As part of these agreements, in 1996, at the request of the War Memorials association, the Volgograd administration provided a plot of land in the village of Sacco and Vanzetti in the Krasnoarmeysky district for indefinite use. It was transferred for the arrangement of the cemetery for foreign prisoners of war of the 1st department of the 108th Beketovsky camp. In 2005, an agreement was concluded between the governments of Russia and Romania that military personnel, including those captured, and people killed or died during the First and Second World Wars and in the post-war period, buried on the territory of the two countries, have the right to a worthy place of rest, the creation and maintenance of which must be properly ensured. On this basis, the Romanian side and “War Memorials” expressed a desire to erect a memorial sign in the period from May 10 to 15 of this year.
Photo: Maria Chasovitina
Representative of the association of international military memorial cooperation “War Memorials” Sergei Chikhirev told the site that the installation of a memorial stone in the Krasnoarmeysky district is due to the fact that the remains of 35 Romanian prisoners of war rest on the territory of the cemetery.
The initiative for the installation belongs to the Romanian consulate and authorities, as well as organizations involved in the care of war graves. It is difficult to single out just one. It was more of a general idea. The monument was prepared in advance and brought to Volgograd,” explained Sergei Chikhirev. - From Romania, the ambassador and his family, the consul from Rostov-on-Don, and embassy workers were present at the opening of the monument. There are about 10 people in total. Representatives from Volgograd were represented by employees of the international relations committee of the regional administration and the deputy head of the Krasnoarmeysky district. Everyone met at the cemetery, and the Romanians thanked the Volgograd authorities for the opportunity to install the monument and constructive cooperation. The whole event took 20-30 minutes. The ambassador mentioned in his speech that there are about 300 graves and monuments to Soviet soldiers on the territory of Romania. They guarantee to take care of them.
Then the Romanians went to Astrakhan to unveil a small monument. In the near future, they plan to open a prefabricated cemetery in the city of Apsheronsk, Krasnodar Territory. There they are going to perpetuate the memory of not only soldiers and prisoners of war, but also civilians who lived in the south of Russia. In Romania, there is a special program that allocates funds for the installation of such monuments.
According to a representative of War Memorials, the opening of the monument at the combined Hungarian-German-Romanian cemetery is explained primarily by pragmatic reasons.
Photo: Maria Chasovitina
Mostly Germans are buried in the cemetery in the villages of Sacco and Vanzetti. There are about 120 of them and 35 Romanians. There are fewer Hungarians there. The installation of the monument there is due to the fact that it is easier to care for the graves and the monument. The opening of the monument will help preserve the memory of prisoners and soldiers, so that contemporaries can see who is buried in this particular place. If Romanian soldiers lie here, then it is logical to indicate this with a memorial sign. Nothing more. The reason is simple - 35 Romanian prisoners of war are buried here. Therefore, the inscription on the stone speaks about this. Another monument has stood for many years in the old cemetery in the city of Uryupinsk, Volgograd Region, where there was a hospital for prisoners of war during the war.
“War Memorials” have long been engaged in the Volgograd region in the search, exhumation and establishment of the fate of foreign soldiers who fought at Stalingrad.
For recent years It was possible to discover and rebury the remains of more than 1,000 Romanian soldiers,” said Sergei Chikhirev. - They are buried at the Memorial Cemetery in Rossoshki. Two monuments have been erected to Romanians in Russia and one prefabricated cemetery has been opened in Rossoshki. There are about 300 monuments and two prefabricated cemeteries to Hungarian soldiers and prisoners of war on Russian territory. Our state takes care of them. As part of a parity partnership, the same Germans and Romanians maintain the proper burial of Soviet soldiers in their countries. Our organization provides funding and finds people who take care of foreign graves.
Photo: Maria Chasovitina
The opening of the monument in the village of Sacco and Vanzetti was carried out quietly, without the involvement of television cameras and journalists. According to Sergei Chikhirev, this is due to the difficult political situation and difficult relations with the Volgograd authorities.
Our main goal was to open the monument, not to make a fuss. Our goal was not to make this widely public. We wanted to do it quietly and calmly so as not to cause negative reaction in society. Although for for many years work, people are calm and understanding, unlike those who are trying to stir up a scandal for their own mercantile interests.
Maybe this is due to the scandal last year. Then, the Deputy Ambassador of Romania invited the governor of the Volgograd region to the reburial, where he used official letter the wording "our heroes". People were outraged. From the outside, this may seem like blasphemy, but for Romanians, naming their soldiers this way is a normal practice in their vocabulary. In Romania, this is what they call all dead soldiers, no matter what time. historical era they died. Romanians treat their military personnel with respect. We warned the diplomats, but they did not listen to us. As a result, a scandal arose. This whole story was blown out of proportion, and no one wanted to look into it. But there are agreements between countries, legal frameworks for interaction.
According to a representative of War Memorials, misunderstandings also occur on the part of local administrations.
We often encounter negativity local authorities. More more problems with the military registration and enlistment office. For example, I wrote a letter to one of the districts near Volgograd and asked them to coordinate the exhumation and search of Romanian and German military personnel on the basis of the country’s legislation. “I get the answer that this is impossible,” Sergei Chikhirev is perplexed. - The law “on perpetuating the memory of those who fell in defense of the Fatherland...” states that it is necessary to conclude an agreement between the military registration and enlistment office, “War Memorials” and the district administration. I call the administration and ask whether German and Romanian military personnel are defenders of the Fatherland or not? They are silent on the phone. They refer to the military registration and enlistment office and refuse.
There was one "outstanding political figure", one of "builders of democratic Russia" - Anatoly Alexandrovich Sobchak. Now the glory of the father has been eclipsed by the glory of the daughter, but maybe someone else remembers the father. So he, already the mayor of St. Petersburg, promoted the idea of installing a memorial to the German soldiers who died near Leningrad. According to the plan, the memorial was supposed to stand in the city of Pushkin.
And he was not alone. Several years ago in Volgograd they wanted to erect a monument to the Germans who died in Stalingrad. Germany allocated money, the authorities gave consent... and only threats to blow up this monument emanating from ordinary people, forced me to abandon its installation...
The list is, of course, incomplete, but the picture is general outline clear, right? Which monuments now need to be erected and which ones need to be demolished.
A little more time will pass and the world will quite reasonably say that the Germans did not commit atrocities in the USSR during World War II: "You see how they are still respected - they erect monuments to them and take care of them. How can this happen if we are talking about villains?..."
Upd.
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I am not at all annoyed by the monument to the fallen French on the Borodino field. And a monument to the dead Germans in World War I would not irritate. I don't know, maybe there is one somewhere.
I am not a historian and I know history at school level, as well as according to the stories of its direct participants and therefore I believe that with the Second World War the situation is fundamentally different: firstly, in previous wars the aggressors had no plans to exterminate people simply because they were born of the “wrong nationality” and secondly, there were no attempts to implement these plans. And I consider it blasphemous to erect monuments to the dead for the sake of realizing this idea.
When we talk about the monuments of Volgograd, first of all, of course, we remember the Mamayev Kurgan. This is true holy place for all Russians. After all, it was here, back in 1943, that terrible bloody battles took place that changed the entire course of the Great Patriotic War. The battle for Volgograd (in the war years - Stalingrad) was destined to become one of the most significant and most difficult pages in the history of the war. It lasted 200 long days, 135 of them on Mamayev Kurgan.
In memory of those terrible and heroic events, a huge, impressive in its scale, was erected on this site. memorial complex, dedicated to the heroes who died in the Battle of Stalingrad.
Monument-ensemble "Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad"
This majestic memorial ensemble, the construction of which began under the leadership famous architect E.V. Vuchetich back in the 50s of the last century, today it is the largest military monument in the world and at the same time the largest in the world mass grave, in which Russian soldiers are buried. According to historians, more than 35 thousand people who died during the Battle of Stalingrad are buried here. Many of them were reburied here after the war.
In 2008, the Mamayev Kurgan itself and the memorial ensemble erected on it were recognized as one of the wonders of Russia. Undoubtedly, the sculptural compositions located here are worthy of a separate description.
High relief “Memory of Generations”
Thus, on the Entrance Square there is a high relief “Memory of Generations”. This multi-figure sculpture stone wall depicts a funeral procession in honor of fallen heroes. There is also a memorial stele in honor of the 12 hero cities.
Sculptural composition “Stand to the death”
Next sculptural composition, which opens to our eyes, is called “Stand to the death.” It was with this motto that Soviet soldiers marched to decisive battle. The monument is located on the square of the same name, in the center of a round pool and is a symbol of the most difficult stages of the battle. The central figure of the composition is a sculpture carved from a huge monolithic block of a Soviet warrior, a warrior-hero who stood up to defend his native city.
Ruin walls
A granite staircase goes up from the “Fight to the Death” square, and along it there are the so-called “Ruin Walls”. This unusual memorial, 46 meters long and 18 meters high, is a kind of heroic chronicle of the Battle of Stalingrad. Particularly impressive is the soundtrack of this place with information bureau reports and songs of the war years.
And after the Ruin Walls we see the Square of Heroes.
Sculptures "Heroes Square"
On the “Heroes Square”, in the center of which there is a rectangular pool, we see six sculptural compositions of Stalingrad heroes, each of which is a symbol of courage and heroism.
"Hall of Military Glory"
Behind the “Heroes Square” is the “Hall of Military Glory”, in the center of which stands a 5-meter sculpture in the form of a hand holding a torch with fire. And around it are high pylons with images of soldiers of all branches of the Soviet troops.
Sculpture "Mother's Sorrow"
The next sculpture of the memorial complex is the sculpture of the mother, located on the “Sorrow Square”. It contains all the pain of mothers who lost their sons in the war.
Monument “The Motherland Calls!”
And finally, the central sculpture of the entire composition, which rises in the center of Mamayev Kurgan and is a symbol of the entire memorial complex, is the sculpture “The Motherland Calls!”
Truly an impressive monument that symbolizes the call of the Motherland to her sons and is one of the largest in the world. Its total height is 85 meters, and this reinforced concrete sculpture weighs 8 thousand tons.
A visit to this place makes an indelible impression and gives hope that the feat of the Volgograd residents will forever remain in the memory of descendants.
Dedicated to the events of the Great Patriotic War and other monuments of Volgograd.
Monument to Mikhail Panikakha
Thus, in the Krasnooktyabrsky district of Volgograd in May 1975, a monument was erected to the hero of the Battle of Stalingrad, Mikhail Panikakha, Hero of the Soviet Union, who, having sacrificed own life, stopped the Nazi advance and helped the 193rd Division defend its positions. Brave Ukrainian soldier Mikhail Panikakha rushed at the tank with a bottle of flammable mixture. This tragic moment is captured in the monument erected in his honor in Volgograd.
Monument "Cossack Glory" in Volgograd
Volgograd residents also remember the glorious past of their predecessors - the Cossacks, who contributed to the defense of Russia and the preservation of its unity. This is confirmed by the opening of the monument to the Cossacks “Cossack Glory” in Volgograd’s Victory Park.
This sculptural composition consists of the figure of a Cossack sitting on a horse and a beautiful Cossack woman accompanying him with an icon in her hands.
Volgograd monument to Alexander Nevsky
In Volgograd there is also a monument to such a famous figure in Russian history as Alexander Nevsky. According to historians, he was one of the first to speak about the need to build a guard fortress on the Volga, which Tsaritsyn became - today's Volgograd. The seven-meter monument to Alexander Nevsky, created by sculptor Sergei Shcherbakov, was inaugurated in February 2007 on the “Fallen Fighters Square”.
On October 15, 1967, the historical and memorial complex “To the Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad” was opened on Mamayev Kurgan in Volgograd.
During the Great Patriotic War, during the Battle of Stalingrad (1942-1943), there were stubborn battles on Mamayev Kurgan, located in the central part of Volgograd (from 1925 to 1961 - Stalingrad), especially in September 1942 - January 1943.
On front-line maps the mound was designated as “height 102.0”. It was of exceptional military importance, since it occupied a dominant position over the central part of the city; crossings across the Volga were clearly visible from above; industrial facilities and a railway station were within sight. The one who owned the mound owned the city: maintaining this height was a matter of life or death - the mound passed “from hand to hand” of the warring parties several times a day. But the Nazis were never able to completely capture the mound. The eastern slopes steadfastly and heroically defended the troops of the Red Army, repelling the furious attacks of the enemy.
For 140 days and nights, the troops of the 62nd Army under the command of Vasily Chuikov stood to the death on the slopes of Mamayev Kurgan. On January 26, 1943, on the northwestern slopes of the mound, units of the 21st Army united with the advancing 62nd Army. As a result of this connection, the Nazi group was divided into two parts and liquidated.
The fighting on Mamayev Kurgan was so fierce that even its outline changed. Immediately after the battle, from 500 to 1250 shell fragments were found on every square meter of his land. In the spring of 1943, not even the grass was green on it.
After the end of the battle, the dead from all over the city were buried on Mamayev Kurgan. According to approximate data, about 34.5 thousand people are buried there.
The idea to erect majestic monument in memory of the Battle of Stalingrad arose immediately after the end of hostilities. In 1945-1955, a competition was held in the country for his project, and as a result, he became the author and leader of the team of builders. folk artist USSR sculptor Evgeniy Vuchetich, chief architect - Yakov Belopolsky. Construction of the monument began in May 1959, and the opening took place on October 15, 1967.
The memorial complex "Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad" is a unique structure, the total length from the foot to the top is 820 meters. Total area of the complex 177,758 square meters. It represents a series of architectural and spatial links, as if strung on a single axis. As you climb the mound, more and more new elements and compositions of the memorial open up before your eyes.
The entrance to the memorial complex begins with an introductory composition located on V.I. Avenue. Lenin at the foot of Mamayev Kurgan and called “Memory of Generations”. It is a large high relief (sculpture in stone) depicting people of different generations (11 figures) who, in mournful silence, move along a dilapidated stone wall towards the stairs leading to the mound to honor the memory of the dead.
Behind the introductory composition on the square, 12 pedestals were later installed with the soil of the hero cities and Brest Fortress. From them, a wide staircase leads to the Alley of Pyramid Poplars, which is laid along the crest of an artificial earthen embankment, rising 10 meters above the entrance square - Avenue named after them. V.I. Lenin. The length of the alley is 223 meters, width is 10 meters. Its upper level is 20 meters higher than the lower one.
Heroes Square ends with a retaining wall, the area of which is about one thousand square meters. On it, in the form of separate paintings-episodes in a relief image, the story about the offensive of Soviet troops near Stalingrad, the joy of victory, the capture of the Nazis, and the rally of the winners is reproduced.
The retaining wall contains the entrance to the Hall of Military Glory. In the transition to the hall there is a model of the medal “For the Defense of Stalingrad”; inside on the ceiling there are 18 models of orders and medals of the USSR. In the center of the hall is an image of the hand of a deceased hero with a torch. Eternal Flame, a guard of honor was installed. On the walls are 34 mosaic mourning banners with 7,200 names, symbolizing all the fallen defenders of Stalingrad. At the top there is an inscription on the pictured ribbon from the medal: “Yes, we were mere mortals, and few of us survived, but we all fulfilled our patriotic duty to the sacred motherland.”
The exit from the hall is located at the level of the next terrace - the Square of Sorrow.
On the square in the pool there is a sculpture “Mother’s Sorrow”: in boundless grief and sadness, the mother bent over the body of her murdered son. There are two graves on the Square of Sorrow. One is a single grave of a twice Hero Soviet Union Marshal of the Soviet Union, former commander of the 62nd Army Vasily Chuikov.
The second is a mass grave, where 34,505 (+ 4) soldiers (from the areas of Stalingrad) were reburied during the construction of the memorial. Later, urns with the ashes of the Hero of the Soviet Union, former commander of the 64th Army Mikhail Shumilov, chairman of the City Defense Committee (during the war) Alexei Chuyanov were buried, twice Hero of the Soviet Union pilot Vasily Efremov was buried, and the famous sniper Hero of the Soviet Union Vasily Zaitsev was reburied. Along the grave there are 37 memorial slabs with the names of particularly distinguished defenders during the Battle of Stalingrad, including the slab to the Unknown Soldier.
The compositional center of the ensemble is the Motherland sculpture. The monument depicts a woman holding a sword in her hand and standing in a pose calling for fight. The figure of the Motherland dominates not only Mamaev Kurgan, but also the city; it is visible for tens of kilometers. The height of the monument is 85 meters with a sword, 52 meters without a sword. The length of the sword is 33 meters, the weight of the sword is 14 tons. The entire monument weighs 8 thousand tons. At the base, the sculpture is not secured by anything; it stands under its own weight. The inside is hollow, there is a staircase in sculpture and sword. It is made of reinforced concrete, the sword is steel.
To climb from the foot of the mound to its top, you need to walk 200 granite steps - the number of days of the Battle of Stalingrad.
Since the opening of the Mamayev Kurgan memorial complex, it has changed noticeably. In 1985, a military memorial cemetery was opened. In 2005, the memorial complex received its own church - All Saints. By 2013 (the 70th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Stalingrad) there were engraved the names of 17 thousand defenders of Stalingrad.
The memorial complex "Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad" by order of the Government of the Russian Federation was classified as an object cultural heritage federal significance, and the sculpture "Motherland" - to especially valuable objects of cultural heritage of Russia in 2016.
In 2008, according to the results of a popular vote, the monument-ensemble “To the Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad” and the sculpture “The Motherland Calls!” were included in the "Seven Wonders of Russia". In 2013, according to the results of a nationwide vote, the Mamayev Kurgan and the sculpture “The Motherland Calls!” entered the top ten winners of the multimedia project-competition "Russia-10".
In 2014, the memorial complex "To the Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad" on Mamayev Kurgan in Volgograd from the Russian Federation.
The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources