Monument-ensemble to the defenders of Stalingrad
The Nazi army concentrated about a million soldiers near Stalingrad, trying to break through to the Volga and capture an important industrial and strategic region of the country. For about two months there were battles on the outskirts of the city, and in September they broke out in the streets. One of the letters from the city’s defenders said: “By fighting today at Stalingrad, we understand that we are fighting not only for the city of Stalingrad. At Stalingrad we are defending our Motherland, defending everything that is dear to us, without which we cannot live...”
The famous Pavlov House became a symbol of the courage of the defenders of Stalingrad, in which a group of soldiers held the line for 58 days, repelling enemy attacks.
The phrase of one of the defenders of Stalingrad, sniper V.G. Zaitsev, became a catchphrase: “There is no land for us beyond the Volga!”
In the battles on the Volga Soviet army withstood such an onslaught of the enemy that no other army in the world had to experience.
Mamayev Kurgan rises 102 meters above Stalingrad. For more than four months (September 1942 - January 1943) there were bloody battles for this height. Many times the top of the mound changed hands. Many times this height was taken by selfless Soviet soldiers, but after a day or two the Nazis concentrated superior forces of infantry, tanks, aviation, and artillery and again captured the peak. Only on January 26, 1943, all the surroundings of Mamayev Kurgan, all the adjacent heights were cleared of the enemy.
But how many of their comrades were buried by Soviet soldiers in the sacred land of Mamayev Kurgan, densely strewn with fragments from mines, bombs, and shells: for each square meter there were from 500 to 1250...
Immortal images of the defenders of Stalingrad are resurrected in the monumental Victory Monument erected on Mamayev Kurgan. The authors of the ensemble are a creative team led by the People's Artist of the USSR, sculptor E. Vuchetich and architect J. Belopolsky.
Opened in 1967, the monument includes a whole complex of architectural and sculptural structures. This is what I wrote on the days of the opening of the monument, in October 1967, folk artist USSR sculptor Evgeniy Vuchetich: “...In the Stalingrad epic, the nobility of the soul and the wonderful qualities of the Soviet people were revealed with extraordinary force. Here life triumphed over death, and those who passed away did not disappear into oblivion - they seemed to remain in the ranks, and the example of their feat called others to the feat.
The heroism of the Stalingraders is the heroism not only of individuals, but, above all, mass heroism generated by the great goal of the struggle. Here everything personal was not only lost, leveled - no, not at all, but given away in the name of the common. All the thoughts and actions of people merged together, every second everyone recognized themselves as an inextricable part of a huge fighting team. Here all the warriors knew that the fate of each of them depended on the success of the actions home country, the fate of all humanity...
All the years, while the artistic image was maturing in the mind, the project was being developed and the ensemble was being built, all of us, sculptors and artists, architects and builders, people of many professions, are mine Dear friends who worked on the creation of the monument on Mamayev Kurgan, carried in their hearts the memory of the heroes of the great battle...
The monument to the heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad is a monument to the greatest historical event. This is a monument to a mass of heroes. And therefore we were looking for large-scale, especially monumental solutions and forms that, in our opinion, would allow us to most fully convey the scope of mass heroism. After all, it is absolutely clear that the concept of heroism of a people is disproportionately broader than the concept of heroism of an individual. Therefore, such content could not be embodied in the usual type of monuments representing a single- or multi-figure composition on a pedestal. It is the monument-ensemble, like highest form monumental art, opened the way to revealing the meaning and significance of the Battle of Stalingrad, with a lot of planning, diversified embodiment of specific artistic images V various types sculpture, in its synthesis with architecture and nature.
This is how the composition “Fight to the Death” was born, in which we sought to give a generalized image of the hero of Stalingrad. This is how the image of a ruined wall arose, where we wanted, as if through the haze of time, to show the episodes of the battle emerging in memory, the oath of the Soviet soldiers and the offensive of our troops. This is how the content of the six two-figure compositions on the Heroes' Square or the heavily incised drawings, dedicated to the struggle and triumph of the Stalingraders, were decided on the retaining wall at the end of this square.
The lofty goals of the struggle led our warriors to great deeds. Every day heroes died, and every day provided examples of new self-sacrifice. The warriors who became related in battle fell asleep in eternal sleep in mass graves. They are still nearby, just as they were in battle. Their names shine on the purple mosaic banners at half-mast in the hall Military glory on the Square of Sorrow.
The theme of inconsolable maternal grief was to be embodied in a 12-meter allegorical sculptural composition at the other end of the square.
The warriors laid down their heads in the name of the triumph of life, in the name of victory over the forces of evil, violence and death. This was the meaning of self-sacrifice and exploits. This is the main content of the monument, which we tried to embody in the main monument crowning the mound - “The Motherland is Calling!”
The monument-ensemble begins with an introductory composition - a high relief at the foot of Mamayev Kurgan - “Memory of Generations”.
The steps of a wide staircase lead visitors to an alley of pyramidal poplars. The sculptural compositions of the monument-ensemble open before your eyes. According to the author's intention, all this prepares the viewer to comprehend main topic monument.
The composition “Fight to the Death” reflects the most difficult period of the Battle of the Volga. As if from the greatest Russian river, a warrior-hero rises and stands in defense of his hometown. Lips’ courageous and strong-willed face was touched by a contemptuous smile. There is determination in the eyes, unquenchable hatred for the enemy, a thirst for victory that stronger than death. A warrior-hero is a deeply emotional, generalized image Soviet people.
Behind the composition “Fight to the Death” there are two destroyed city walls, as if converging in perspective.
Wall-ruins - a stone book, a heroic chronicle. "Every house is a fortress." This and many other inscriptions tell a moving story of the struggle for life. Soldiers used a shell fragment, a bayonet, or a piece of metal to leave their autographs between battles.
The theme of the soldier's oath and loyalty to it runs through all the images of the left wall. The warrior stood at his full heroic height on Stalingrad soil, covering the city with himself. A huge wound in his chest. But how much strength, how much anger, contempt for death, call for revenge in this face! He fought steadfastly to the end. Despite the dramatic content, the sculpture glorifies the life-affirming beauty of the feat. At the end of the left wall there is a symbolic image. From the stone, as if from the depths of time, ranks of fighters emerge. Their faces are motionless.
The right wall - the second part of the stone book - tells about the heroic struggle on the streets of the city. It begins with the image of a soldier, formidable and decisive, who proudly says: “I am from the 62nd!” - and rushes into battle. Dozens of inscriptions made in different handwritings different people. They were not invented by the author, they were transferred from the walls of the destroyed city, from documents of those years.
“A machine gun on your neck, 10 grenades at hand, courage in your heart - act!” - wrote the commander of the famous 62nd Army V.I. Chuikov in the instructions for assault groups.
On the next terrace is the Heroes' Square. Six sculptural compositions depict the exploits of warriors: soldiers and commanders, women fighters, brave sailors. The last, sixth, symbolic: two Soviet soldiers break the swastika and kill the snake. This is a symbol of the victory of the Soviet people over fascism.
On the retaining wall, with an area of about a thousand square meters, there is a relief depicting the advance of Soviet troops at Stalingrad, the capture of the Nazis, and the meeting of the victors.
The entrance to the Hall of Military Glory is sternly and strictly decorated. The hanging ceilings and gray concrete slabs resemble a dugout. But here sharp turn- and before your eyes is a magnificent hall sparkling with gold. It has the shape of a cylinder. Its internal dimensions are: height 13.5 meters, diameter 41 meters. Against a background of golden smalt, red banners hang along the entire perimeter of the wall; they are also made of smalt. The names of soldiers who died in the Battle of Stalingrad are inscribed on the mosaic banners. The list of the dead fills the hall from top to bottom. Above the banners there is a wide ribbon and on it the inscription: “Yes, we were mere mortals, and few of us survived, but we all fulfilled our patriotic duty to the end before the sacred Mother Motherland!” In the center of the ceiling, decorated with images of orders, there is an opening with a diameter of eleven meters.
In the square there is a bowed figure of a woman-mother. Before burying her dead son, she hugged him and plunged into boundless grief. The warrior's face is covered with a banner. The composition is made in concrete, but the sculptor seems to transform it into an elastic and almost transparent material, through which the outlines of the dead soldier’s face seem to shine through.
Above the Square of Sorrow rises a mound - the holy of holies of the monument - mass graves defenders of the city. The graves, decorated with tombstones, are located on both sides of the serpentine path leading from the square to the main monument. The entire ensemble is crowned by a sculpture of the Motherland. Raising her sword high, she calls for a fight: victory on the Volga is not yet a final victory over fascism; there were years of war ahead. The Motherland called upon the soldiers to expel the fascist invaders from Soviet soil and liberate the peoples of Europe from the Hitlerite yoke. The monument, like the entire monument-ensemble, is made of concrete. The material itself emphasizes the harsh nature of the struggle and feat of the Soviet people.
The Motherland Monument is visible from all over the city, both from a ship sailing along the Volga and from the window of a passing train. From the top of the mound a wide panorama of the revived flourishing hero city opens.
Representatives of foreign countries who came here after great battle, believed that it was impossible to revive the city. Former Ambassador USA in the Soviet Union Davis, seeing the ruins of streets and factory buildings, said: “This city is dead, and you will not restore it. What died, died. I don’t know that anyone has risen from the dead.” Western diplomats advised surrounding the ruins with wire and leaving them as a huge historical museum.
But soviet people decided otherwise. Through their efforts, the hero city was revived. It became the largest industrial and cultural center and the port of the five seas.
This text is an introductory fragment. From book encyclopedic Dictionary(A) author Brockhaus F.A.Ensemble Ensemble (ensemble) - in architecture, denotes the main mass of a building, and sometimes A. means the relationship of the parts of the building to the whole or the proportionality of the parts; A. the layout consists of symmetry internal parts, as well as in the proportional arrangement of rooms for
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Exactly 74 years ago, on February 2, 1943, victory was won in one of the bloodiest battles in human history. The Battle of Stalingrad took place under the motto from order No. 227 “Not a step back!” and was the most important turning point not only in the Great Patriotic War, but also in World War II. The main symbol of the Stalingrad victory was “Height 102” - Mamayev Kurgan, which during the battle passed from Soviet troops to the Germans and back more than once. Rambler/Travel talks about memorable places in Volgograd, which are worth visiting when you find yourself in the hero city.
Mamaev kurgan
The total losses of the Soviet and German sides in the Battle of Stalingrad exceed two million people. This is the most brutal battle in the history of mankind, and the memories that every square meter Mamayev Kurgan was soaked in blood, are not artistic exaggeration. Construction of the memorial under the leadership of architect Vuchetich lasted eight years. All elements of the memorial - squares, sculptures, bas-reliefs, monuments - are deeply symbolic. Including the path to the main monument of the memorial - the monument “The Motherland Calls!” There are exactly two hundred steps on it - just like exactly two hundred of those days that the Battle of Stalingrad lasted.
Ruin walls
The ascent to Mamayev Kurgan along the stairs past the ruin walls is accompanied by audio: the audio track includes reports from the front, which were read out by the main announcer Soviet Union Yuri Levitan, the noise of battle and war songs. The ruin walls, from 17 to 5 meters high, seem to transport you back to 1942. The left wall is dedicated to the oaths of the warriors-defenders of Stalingrad: “Not a step back!”, “On the offensive, comrades!”, “To Berlin!” The right wall depicts real battle scenes, including the defense of Pavlov's House and the heroic death of Mikhail Panikakhe.
Square of Those Who Stood to the Death
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 on ensuring 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 made 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 of 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.
Behind last 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 long 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 in what period 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.
A monument to the Romanian soldiers and officers who died in Stalingrad was erected in Volgograd. 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 administration of Volgograd and the administration of the 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, V1.ru was told in the administration of the Volgograd region. “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 the 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. Representative of the association of international military memorial cooperation “War Memorials” Sergei Chikhirev told V1.ru 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 made 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. - 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 of 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. “In recent years, the remains of more than 1,000 Romanian soldiers have been discovered and reburied,” 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. The opening of the monument in the village of Sacco and Vanzetti was carried out
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 administration of Volgograd and the administration of the 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 V1.ru.
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 the 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.
Representative of the association of international military memorial cooperation “War Memorials” Sergei Chikhirev told V1.ru 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 made 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.
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 of 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.
In recent years, the remains of more than 1,000 Romanian soldiers have been discovered and reburied,” 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.
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 a negative reaction in society. Although, over many years of 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 the wording “our heroes” in an official letter. 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 in what 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.