Monuments to the heroes of World War 1. The Victory Monument is the tallest monument in Russia

Monument to the Heroes of the First World War is a monument opened in Moscow on Poklonnaya Hill on August 1, 2014 in honor of the centenary of the First World War. The authors of the monument are sculptors A. Kovalchuk, P. Lyubimov, V. Yusupov, architects M. Corsi, S. Shlenkina.

The decision to erect a monument to the heroes of the First World War in Moscow was made in April 2013. The initiator of the installation of the monument and the organizer of the competition was the Russian Military Historical Society. It was decided to install the monument on Poklonnaya Hill between the Triumphal Arch and the Museum of the Great Patriotic War. The competition began on April 15 and took place in several stages. 32 contestants took part in the first stage. On July 12, the second stage of the competition began, in which 15 works took part. Online voting was held on the competition website until August 16, in which about 200 thousand users took part. The exhibition of the finalist projects was held at the Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War. On September 18, the jury announced the winner of the competition. It turned out to be a project by sculptor Andrei Kovalchuk. According to the results of online voting, this project entered the top five, gaining about 6% of the votes. The Russian Military Historical Society collected donations for the construction of the monument. They collected 97 million rubles. Another 74 million were allocated by the Moscow authorities.

Opening

On August 1, 2014, a solemn opening ceremony of the monument took place. This was one of the main events dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Russia's entry into the First World War. Russian President Vladimir Putin took part in the ceremony. Among the guests were Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, and Patriarch Kirill. At the opening of the monument, the President gave a speech. “Exactly a century ago, Russia was forced to enter the First World War. And today we are opening a memorial to its heroes - Russian soldiers and officers. We open on Poklonnaya Hill, which preserves the grateful memory of the military glory of the Russian army. About everyone who, at different stages of the history of the Russian state, defended its independence, dignity and freedom,” said Vladimir Putin.

Description

According to sculptor Andrei Kovalchuk, the monument consists “of two elements: a Russian soldier who went through the war, honestly fulfilled his duty and became a Knight of St. George, and a multi-figure composition representing the flag of Russia.” At the opening of the monument, the sculptor spoke about his idea: “The main soldier is definitely a collective image, and when creating him, I deliberately did not make a young man, but wanted to show a little deeper, to reveal this theme of defending the Motherland. And here is a Russian soldier, the 20th century, this is the Russo-Japanese War, the First World War, the Civil War and the Great Patriotic War, and this person could actually go through all these wars. And such people are real heroes, heroes to whom tribute is paid today, because for many years, many decades, we did not have a single monument in our country...

A monument to the heroes of the First World War was unveiled on Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow. The ceremony was attended by President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, Defense Minister Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu, Minister of Culture VladimirRostislavovichMedinsky, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus', representatives of other religious denominations, politicians, members of military history clubs, townspeople.

A company of honor guard marched in front of the monument, and soldiers in World War I uniforms stood near the monument.

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin noted that it was no coincidence that the monument took its place on Poklonnaya Hill, a memorial complex dedicated to the Great Patriotic War. After all, some veterans of the First World War also fought in the Second, setting an example for young soldiers.

The idea to erect a monument in honor of the 100th anniversary of the entry of the Russian Empire into the First World War belongs to the Russian Military Historical Society. The design competition was won by sculptor Andrei Nikolaevich Kovalchuk.

The monument consists of two parts - it is a soldier on a high pedestal, on which the St. George Cross is depicted. Behind the soldier is a multi-figure composition: against the background of the Russian flag, the officer raises the soldiers to attack. In the group of soldiers, Cossack Kozma Kryuchkov was the first to be awarded the St. George Cross in the First World War. Nearby, a nurse is saving a wounded man. In the image of a sister of mercy, you can recognize Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna.

The monument was created with public money, and foreign patrons also made their contribution. Thus, in France, on the initiative of the chairman of the Society for the Memory of the Imperial Guard, Prince Alexander Alexandrovich Trubetskoy held a charity concert-action “Symphony of Peace”, as a result of which €22 thousand were collected.

Charity events were held in Moscow to support the construction of the monument. Moscow Art Theater named after A.P. Chekhov showed the play “The White Guard” based on the novel by Mikhail Bulgakov, the Bolshoi Theater gave the opera “Tosca” by Puccini.

The Moscow Philharmonic hosted concerts by Yuri Bashmet, Boris Berezovsky and the New Russia Symphony Orchestra. Moscow State Conservatory named after P.I. Tchaikovsky organized a charity concert “For the Heroes of the First World War,” in which the winners of the “Nutcracker” competition for young musicians and pianist Ekaterina Mechetina took part.

74 million rubles were allocated from the Moscow Mayor's reserve fund. The total cost of work to create the memorial was about 180 million rubles.

“Exactly a century ago, Russia was forced to enter the First World War. And today we are opening a memorial to its heroes - Russian soldiers and officers. We open on Poklonnaya Hill, which preserves the grateful memory of the military glory of the Russian army. About everyone who, at different stages of the history of the Russian state, defended its independence, dignity and freedom,” said Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin at the opening ceremony of the monument.

Today is a tragic date in the history of Russia. A hundred years ago, the then Russian Empire entered the First World War. According to various sources, from 700 thousand to two million soldiers and officers of the Russian army died at the front. More than a million casualties were among civilians.

In memory of the victims, services were held in churches today, and a monument in honor of war heroes was opened on Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow.

A soldier in full combat gear. Nearby is the Russian tricolor, against the background of which infantry is attacking. The fact that the monument to the heroes of the First World War should be exactly like this was decided by both members of the expert jury and ordinary people who a year ago chose this option from three dozen others on the Internet.

"This man actually could have gone through all these wars. In this case, we are talking about him as a soldier who served honestly. This is a Knight of St. George. And he went through despite everything that happened there. Probably many of his friends died , but he survived. He was tired. But he is confident that he did not lose. And these are the real heroes,” says the author of the monument to the heroes of the First World War, Andrei Kovalchuk.

The area for the monument was chosen between the Arc de Triomphe and the Museum of the Great Patriotic War. And this, it seems, also has its own symbolism - throwing a kind of historical bridge from the War of 1812 to the First and then the Second World War.

The ceremony itself was very solemn. The orchestra of the Presidential Regiment performed the march "Farewell of the Slav". Servicemen of the honor guard company marched in formation in front of the monument. In his speech, Vladimir Putin spoke about what lessons need to be learned from the history of the First World War.

“Today we are restoring the connection of times, the continuity of our history. And the First World War, its commanders and soldiers are finding their rightful place in it. Justice triumphs on the pages of books and textbooks, in the media, in films and, of course, in such memorials as we we discover today. This must continue. It is high time for humanity to understand and accept one of the most important truths: Violence begets violence, and the path to peace and prosperity is made up of good will and dialogue and the memory of the lessons of past wars, about who and why. started," the President said.

Two blocs then emerged on the political map: Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria, and on the other side - the Entente. This is Russia, England, France. Then three dozen more countries joined. The fighting will end with the fall of the leaves, they joked in Europe in the summer of 1914, when the war was just beginning. The confrontation lasted for four long years, dividing history into “before” and “after”. On the battlefield, Russian soldiers showed miracles of courage and bravery.

“For many centuries, Russia has advocated strong and trusting relations between states. This was also the case on the eve of the First World War, when Russia did everything to convince Europe to peacefully and bloodlessly resolve the conflict between Serbia and Austria-Hungary, but Russia was not heard. And she had to respond to the challenge, protecting the fraternal Slavic people, protecting itself and its citizens from an external threat. Russia fulfilled its allied duty. Its offensives in Prussia-Galicia thwarted the enemy’s plans, allowed the allies to hold the front and protect Paris. They forced the enemy to flee to the east, where it was desperate. Russian regiments fought, a significant part of their forces. Russia was able to hold back this onslaught. And then the whole world heard about the legendary Brusilov breakthrough. However, this victory was stolen from the country by those who called for the defeat of their Fatherland, their army. He sowed discord within Russia. He strived for power, betraying national interests,” Vladimir Putin recalled.

Russia emerged from the First World War after the revolution - in 1918. The Bolsheviks concluded a separate peace with Germany. The old heroes went into the shadows for a long time.

The sculptors gave one of the horsemen a portrait resemblance to the legendary hero of 1914, Cossack Kozma Kryuchkov. Later, during the Civil War, he fought on the side of the White Guards, so it is not surprising that his name was erased from history books for a long time.

Our country suffered great losses in the First World War. It is difficult to give exact data, but we are talking about approximately a million killed soldiers and officers. Many of the survivors later had the opportunity to fight on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War.

“The great values ​​of the Russian army and the heroic experience of the generation of the First World War played a big role in the spiritual uplift of our people. It suffered not only the severe trials of the First Global World War, but also a revolutionary turning point, a fratricidal civil war that split the fate of Russia. However, their their exploits and their sacrifice in the name of Russia fell into oblivion for many years,” the President said.

In memory of the heroes of the First World War, services were held in all Orthodox churches. In the morning, Patriarch Kirill celebrated the liturgy in the Church of the Great Martyr George the Victorious on Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow.

“The war provoked terrible processes within European states, which led to wars, civil wars, the creation of military blocs, the creation of the Iron Curtain, and a colossal confrontation between East and West. And this war led to the construction of states that took the path of exclusion from public life spiritual origin," the Patriarch said.

Funeral events also took place in Tsarskoe Selo near St. Petersburg, on the site of the first fraternal cemetery for soldiers of the First World War. This year the Memorial will be given the status of a historical monument.

In general, the Russian Military Historical Society is involved in an important area in perpetuating the memory of the heroes of the First World War, and a lot of work has already been done there. Just a few facts.

In Moscow, at the Belorussian station, the monument “Farewell of the Slav” was recently unveiled. A monument to the heroes of 1914-1918 was also opened in Kaliningrad. By the end of the year, it is planned to open monuments in Tula, Saransk and Lipetsk. All projects of the Russian Military Historical Society are carried out using voluntary donations from private individuals.

The monument to the heroes of the First World War was unveiled in Moscow in the most significant place of the capital - on Poklonnaya Hill between the Museum of the Great Patriotic War and the Arc de Triomphe. The celebration took place on August 1, 2014 in memory of the centenary of the beginning of this tragedy - the First World War. The decision to install such a monument in Moscow at the initiative of the Russian Military Historical Society was made in April 2013. The authors were sculptors A. Kovalchuk, People's Artist of Russia, P. Lyubimov and V. Yusupov, who won the right to realize their concept on a competitive basis. The Russian Military Historical Society was collecting funds for the construction of the monument.

The memorial consists of two, compositionally and ideologically arranged parts-elements. On a high round column in classical antique style stands a Russian soldier cast in bronze. This, according to A. Kovalchuk, is a collective image. The soldier is not young - he has probably been through more than one war. He honestly fulfilled his duty and was brave, as evidenced by the St. George's crosses adorning the hero's chest. He has a simple face - slightly tired, with the stamp of a wise attitude towards the horrors of war and losses experienced. A neatly folded roll of an overcoat and a three-line rifle are thrown over the shoulder of the stately figure of a warrior. The image of the St. George's Cross, covered with gold leaf, stands out in relief on the column.

The second part of the monument is on a low cone-shaped pedestal slightly behind the soldier. This is a multi-figure composition depicting the Russian flag with a relief coat of arms and the people. There are warriors on a granite uneven ledge. Separately, a little ahead, against the background of the flag, is the figure of an officer with a raised sword. Compositionally (by turning the head and shoulders) it is facing a dense group of armed warriors going on the attack. There is one recognizable soldier in this group. This is the Cossack Kozma Kryuchkov, who was the first to be awarded the St. George Cross in the First World War. Further - already in high relief in the next ledge of the rock - a two-figure element. This is a wounded young soldier and a nurse supporting him. The woman's appearance resembles Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna. Even further, in the next stone fold, repeating the bend of the flag, the image of battle scenes becomes relief.

The monument is designed for all-round viewing - it stands in a large free space. Therefore, there is also an image on the back of the flag. This is the cavalry going on the attack. Both people and animals are in a dynamic dynamic here.

As Andrei Kovalchuk emphasized in an interview, he wanted to cover the topic of defending the Motherland in many ways. This is a monument not only to a soldier, but rather to the entire people of a great power.

In the last couple of years, Moscow has been a city of the “front line”: the entire center has been dug up, hundreds of streets, squares, and avenues are being improved and shoveled. Everything is paved with tiles and small “Sobyanin” architectural forms. In short, now is not the time for equestrian obelisks. Money is sawn in simpler forms. But even during this difficult time for the capital, several equestrian monuments appeared in Moscow. I wrote about the monument to Rokossovsky in the last issue. Here I’ll tell you about new ones.

Monument to the Heroes of the First World War.

To my shame, I, a Muscovite, have never been able to go to Poklonka since its installation in 2014. I watched on TV as the President and his entire camarilla opened this monument. I didn’t like the monument right away, it was... in the spirit of Sovagitprop. The monument was always shown from the front, but who would have thought that on the back side of the monument there were equestrian sculptures of Cossacks. Having seen a photo on the Internet (again, I’m ashamed), I finally got out (2 years later) to photograph the subject of our reviews.

A monument opened in Moscow on Poklonnaya Hill on August 1, 2014 in honor of the centenary of the First World War. Authors of the monument - sculptors A. Kovalchuk, P. Lyubimov, V. Yusupov, architects M. Corsi, S. Shlenkina.

The decision to erect a monument to the heroes of the First World War in Moscow was made in April 2013. The initiator of the installation of the monument and the organizer of the competition was the Russian Military Historical Society. It was decided to install the monument on Poklonnaya Hill between the Triumphal Arch and the Museum of the Great Patriotic War.

The competition began on April 15 and took place in several stages. 32 contestants took part in the first stage. On July 12, the second stage of the competition began, in which 15 works took part. Online voting was held on the competition website until August 16, in which about 200 thousand users took part. The exhibition of the finalist projects was held at the Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War. On September 18, the jury announced the winner of the competition. It turned out to be a project by sculptor Andrei Kovalchuk (which I’m not at all surprised by). According to the results of online voting, this project entered the top five, gaining about 6% of the votes. The Russian Military Historical Society collected donations for the construction of the monument. They collected 97 million rubles. Another 74 million were allocated by the Moscow authorities.

Monument to St. George the Victorious.

The monument itself, in general, is not new; this sculpture was in the storerooms of the Studio of Military Artists named after. M.B. Grekova and was in front of the entrance to it. I already wrote about this.

But in the very center of Moscow in Potapovsky Lane, on the day of military glory, November 7, 2016, the Square of Commanders was opened and the sculpture was moved there. In addition to busts of various military leaders and other sculptures, a monument to St. George the Victorious by the sculptor was also moved there Alexandra Taratynova.

I don’t know what prompted the Moscow authorities to move it to the center of Moscow, and even to a “nook” sandwiched on all sides in Potapovsky Lane, except perhaps the proximity of the office of the Russian Military Historical Society, which is supervised by the current Minister of Culture Medynsky. But the whole idea and epic nature of this amazing work was completely lost here, just like all the other sculptures and busts stuck here without pattern and logic. Alas, Sobyanism-Medynism is ironing our capital and not only it.

And one more...
Monument to St. George the Victorious Archangel Michael (memorial to Kalashnikov).

“Monument to Mikhail Kalashnikov” is a monument by sculptor Salavat Shcherbakov, dedicated to the creator of the Kalashnikov assault rifle, Mikhail Kalashnikov. Located in the park at the intersection of Sadovaya-Karetnaya and Dolgorukovskaya streets in Moscow.

Soviet and Russian designer of small arms, twice Hero of Socialist Labor, Hero of the Russian Federation, Lieutenant General Mikhail Kalashnikov, primarily known for his Kalashnikov assault rifle, died on December 23, 2013 in Izhevsk at the age of 95.

As indicated on the website of the Kalashnikov concern, “the Kalashnikov assault rifle, produced by the Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant of the State Corporation Russian Technologies, participated in all armed conflicts of the second half of the last century. At the beginning of the 21st century, the Kalashnikov assault rifle still remains the most popular small arms in the world. There are more than 100 million AK units in 55 states. In Egypt, a monument was erected to him, in Afghanistan the silhouette of a weapon is embroidered on carpets, and in some African countries newborn boys are called Kalash.

In December 2014, the management of the Rostec state corporation, together with the Russian Military Historical Society, decided to erect a monument to Kalashnikov in Moscow. Initially, the monument was planned to be located at the intersection of Sadovaya-Karetnaya and Krasnoproletarskaya streets in Moscow, but then the installation site was moved closer to the park next to Dolgorukovskaya Street, which the Russian Military Historical Society proposed to name Kalashnikov.

The monument represents the figure of Mikhail Kalashnikov with a machine gun in his hands, which he holds, as journalists noted, “like a mother of a baby.” As the author of the monument, Salavat Shcherbakov, said, “many people wanted Kalashnikov to be unarmed, but we made it so that the author looks at his machine gun as a work of art, for example, as a Stradivarius violin.” The statue, 5 meters high, stands on a 2-meter pedestal, since according to Shcherbakov, Kalashnikov is “the main figure here” and “a man of great modesty,” he “was close to the people and he himself was flesh of the people.”

In the background - sculptural composition with the figure of Archangel Michael a, striking a dragon with a spear as the personification of “certain forces of evil” and driving it into the underworld against the backdrop of the silhouette of the globe. At the same time, the winged Archangel Michael sits on a winged horse, remaining similar to St. George the Victorious with a spear. The composition also includes attributes of the design bureau - a drawing board, compasses, as well as drawings and many models of the machine gun.

proof

Monument to Prince Dmitry Donskoy.

On September 27, 2013 (!!!) a monument to the Grand Duke of Moscow Dmitry Donskoy was unveiled on the territory of the First Moscow Cadet Corps. This action would have remained unnoticed by the general public if not for my interest in this topic. Well, there is a beautiful monument behind the fence, checkpoint and other obstacles. So it will remain in obscurity.

photo from the net

An equestrian sculpture of Dmitry Donskoy was created Vyacheslav and Andrey Klykov. Representatives of the famous dynasty depicted the Grand Duke on horseback, personifying his exploits and achievements during his reign. In addition to the victory in the Battle of Kulikovo, this ruler opposed the Golden Horde, liberated and united the Russian lands, and also built a white-stone Kremlin in Moscow. The height of the monument is more than 6 meters. This project was implemented thanks to the support of Anatoly Nikolaevich Kuznetsov, a member of the Board of Trustees of the First Moscow Cadet Corps.

The prince was canonized in 1988. The monument to the Grand Duke of Moscow Dmitry Donskoy was consecrated by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill. Located next to the main entrance to the cadet corps, the equestrian sculpture recalls the glorious history of Rus' and the exploits of our ancestors, thanks to which today we have something to be proud of.

To be continued....