The People's Feat: Monuments of the Great Patriotic War

[Zoya]

From the exhibition: THE ANNALS OF THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR REFLECTED IN WAR MEMORIALS

"YOUR NAME IS UNKNOWN, BUT YOUR FEAT IS IMMORTAL"


The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier near the Kremlin wall. Here the remains of an Unknown Soldier, transferred from a common grave 41 km down the Moscow-Leningrad highway, were put to rest. A dozen of marble urns contain sacred earth from the hero-cities and from the fortress of Brest. The memorial was unveiled on May 8, 1967. The authors are sculptor N. Tomsky and architects D. Burdin, V. Klimov, Y. Rabayev and M. Shvekhman.

"THIRST"


The Great Patriotic War broke out on June 22, 1941 at the ancient fortress of Brest. Here fierce battles flared on for about a month before the fortress fell to the superior enemy. Within hours after Nazi troops crossed the Soviet border, the fortress's 3.5-thousand-strong defenders were surrounded by Germans. Despite lack of food, water, medicines and ammunition, they managed to hold back a whole division supported by artillery, tanks and combat aviation. They rebuffed the enemy attacks and launched successful counterattacks. In 1970 the fortress was transformed into a war magnificent memorial. Avove is Thirst - a sculptural composition depicting one of the episodes of the fortress's defense. The sculptors are A. Kibalnikov, A. Bembel.

"MOTHERLAND WILL NEVER FORGET HER SONS"


Dominating the entry to Zelenograd 41 km away from Moscow is a war memorial to Moscow defenders. The monumental bronze wreath bears an inscription: "Motherland will never forget her sons". Architects are I. Pokrovsky and Y. Sverdlovsky, and sculptors A. Shteiman and E. Shteiman-Derevyanko.

More to come...

[Zoya]

During the battle for Moscow, Political instructor Vasily Klochkov-Diev tied a rope of grenades round his waist and saying "Russia is large, but there is no place to retreat. Moscow is behind us." threw himself under one of the tanks. Other soldiers followed suit. When the battle was over, there were only 5 survivors.
30 years later their feat was immortalized in war a memorial: 6 soldiers of different nationalities stand amid a vast field. In front of them is a band of concrete slabs symbolizing a cordon the enemy was unable to cross. Sculptors: N. Lyubimov, A. Postol, and V. Fedorov, architects: V. Datyuk, Y. Krivuschenko and I. Stepanov, and engineer: S. Khajibaronov.

ANTI-TANK HEDGEHOGS


a memorial to Moscow defenders. Erected in 1966 on the 23-d km down the Leningrad highway. Architects A. Mikhe, A. Agafonov, I. Yermishin, and engineer K. Mikhailov.

A TRIBUTE TO LENINGRAD'S DEFENDERS


A memorial to Leningrad's defenders on Victory Square. Erected on May 9, 1975. Sculptor: M. Anikushin, and architects: S. Speransky and V. Kamensky.

[Korps Steiner]

The biggest and most impressive statue / monument i've ever seen " The Motherland " on the Mamayev Kurgan , Stalingrad.

[Korps Steiner]

Another one of Motherland and yes those ants at her feet are people !!!

[Zoya]

How did they make something so big???
Magnificent!

[Zoya]

"THE SOLDIERS' FIELD"


A memorial complex was erected near the Volgograd-Moscow highway. The remains of the soldiers killed in the fighting, which were found during the clearing operations, were buried in a communal grace. The shell hole next to the grave was filled with fragments of mines, shells, and grenades picked on the field. sculptors: L. Levin and A. Krivolapov.

THE HEROIC DEFENDERS OF THE CAUCASUS


The battle for the Caucasus (July 25, 1942 - October 9, 1943) ended in the crushing defeat of a major enemy grouping and disrupted the enemy's plans to wipe out Soviet troops in the Caucasus, capture the rich grain regions and oil deposits and penetrate the Middle East. In 1975 a monument was unveiled at the Elkhotovo Gates in honor of their defenders. Architect: Z. Kazbekov and sculptor: V. Totiev.

TO THE HEROES OF THE BATTLE OF KURSK


All along the line of fighting in 1943, between Oryol and Belgorod, stand monuments and obelisks to military glory. In 1954, on the 624th kilometer of the Moscow-Simferopol highway, not far from the settlement of Prokhorovka in Belgorod Region, the famed Soviet T-34 tank was established on a postament to commemorate the heroic tankers who had participated in the Battle of Kursk. 1973 saw the opening of a memorial complex. Architect: A. Bozhko, artists: V. Kozak, V. Leous and A. Grebenyuk.

[Korps Steiner]

A few facts and figures " Motherland " is 52 metres high and 5,500 tons of concrete and 2,400 tons of metal were used to build it, it was designed by scultor Yevgeni Vuchetich and took 8 years to build 1959 -1967.

It is the high point " literally " of the memorial complex on the Mamayev Kurgan.

Other monuments are

Fight to the death and Generations will remember

Paul

[Zoya]

They're great Paul!
You've got to admit, the Soviets do these memorials so magnificently!
Sometimes it seems we (as in the UK) are ashamed as a nation to be so patriotic in honouring our war dead

[Zoya]

TO THE HEROIC SOLDIERS WHO CRUSHED THE ENEMY ON THE DNIEPER RIVER


During the battle for the Dnieper, in August-December 1943, the main units of the Nazi South army groups and part of the Center army groups suffered a crushing defeat. On November 26-29, 1943, Soviet troops forced a crossing over the Dnieper . On October 14, 1968, a monument - an eight-meter figure of a warrior on a pedestal imitating a log raft - was erected on the site where the crossing began. Sculptor: B. Rappoport and architect: Yu. Yegorov.

LENINGRAD VICTIMS OF FAMINE


The Piskaryovo memorial cemetery of St Petersburg, formerly known as Leningrad, is where more than 470,000 civilian victims of frost and famine, as well as Soviet troops, were buried in common graves in 1942 and 1943.

ZHODINO MONUMENT


I find this one really sad. A monument in the village of Zhodino which lies by the Moscow-Minsk highway honors Anastasiya Fominichna Kupriyanova who went down this highway to see five sons off to the front and waited there in vain to welcome them back home. The youngest of her sons - Pyotr - covered with his body the embrasure of an enemy fire emplacement. It is the youngest son who is looking back at his mother. Soviet troops who went to free Europe from the Nazi invasion took that same highway in 1944.

[Korps Steiner]

Yes the Russians do know how to do a monument and aren't afraid to make them as big as possible to remember the GPW.

Over here in modern Britain we are to pc and frightened if we remember our dead we might offend somebody !!! The Russians clearly don't and have never given a fig for that sort of nonsense !!