Monument to the Unknown Soldier (Moscow)

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:44

The Second World War for our country is still the most tragic and great event in our history. The memory of those who died during these years is immortalized in many monuments and monuments, which are located in all cities of Russia. A lot of unidentified soldiers were buried during the war. To honor their feat, a monument to the Unknown Soldier is erected on such graves. There is such a memorial in Moscow - in the Alexander Garden near the Kremlin wall.

The meaning of such monuments

All over the world, monuments to those who died in the war are erected so that people remember what the soldiers gave their lives for. The graves of soldiers are often unmarked, and before they did not come to honor their memory. But after one of the bloodiest wars - the First World War - a tradition was formed to perpetuate the memory of such warriors in monuments. Usually they are installed at the burial site. This is how the descendants express theirgratitude and respect to the soldiers who died in battles. The first monument to the Unknown Soldier was erected in Paris in November 1920. Something similar was created in Russia at the same time, however, this memorial symbolized the memory of the heroes who died for the revolution.

History of the Monument to the Unknown Soldier

In the Soviet Union, large-scale celebrations of the victory in the Great Patriotic War began only in 1965. At that time, our capital, like many other cities, was given the status of a hero city, and May 9 became a national holiday. On the eve of the anniversary of the great battle for Moscow, the government of the country thought about how to create a monument that could perpetuate the feat of the defenders of the city. It was supposed to be a memorial of national importance. Therefore, we settled on erecting a monument to the unknown soldier.

Moscow was an ideal place for this, because thousands of soldiers died in the battles for the city, and a lot of them were not identified. A competition was announced for the creation of the monument. The project of the architect V. A. Klimov was recognized as the best. He believed that such a monument must be located in a park so that a person could sit next to it and think. The best place for it was chosen near the Kremlin wall - a symbol of Russia's invincibility. And in 1966, work began on the monument. It was created by architects V. A. Klimov, D. I. Burdin, and Yu. R. Rabaev. The most famous writers and poets were involved in creating the inscription on the monument. The words of S. Mikhalkov were recognized as the best:"Your name is unknown, your deed is immortal." The grand opening of the monument took place on the eve of Victory Day in 1967. In subsequent years, it was repeatedly supplemented with new elements and restored. To this day, the Monument to the Unknown Soldier remains a symbol of victory in the Great Patriotic War.

How the ashes of a warrior were buried

Before creating the memorial, they thought for a long time who to bury in the grave under the monument. After all, it must be an unidentified warrior who died in the battles for Moscow. And in 1966, forty kilometers from the city, in Zelenograd, a mass grave was discovered. A soldier was chosen in it, who was wearing a well-preserved uniform. Specialists guaranteed that he was not a deserter, otherwise he would not have been wearing a belt. This warrior could not have been a prisoner either, since there was no fascist occupation in this place. On December 2, the soldier was transferred to a coffin entwined with a St. George ribbon. A soldier's wartime helmet was placed on the lid. Until the morning, young soldiers and veterans of the war stood next to him in the guard of honor. On the morning of December 3, the coffin was taken to Moscow along the Leningradskoye Highway as part of a funeral procession. In front of the Alexander Garden, the coffin was transferred to an artillery carriage. The whole procession was accompanied by a guard of honor, alongside, to the sounds of a funeral march, war veterans walked and carried unfurled battle banners.

How the monument was created

After the burial of the ashes of the unknown soldier - a month later -began to create the memorial itself. At that time it did not look like it does now, then the composition was supplemented several times. At first, the memorial was a granite slab with the words of S. Mikhalkov, a tombstone over the grave and a bronze star with the Eternal Flame. A granite wall was made next to the monument, on which the names of all hero cities are immortalized. The opening of the monument took place in a solemn atmosphere: the national anthem was played and fireworks thundered. The Eternal Flame was also lit, which was brought from the Field of Mars in Leningrad. The memorial was supplemented in 1975 with a bronze composition - a soldier's helmet on an unfolded banner.

What is the monument now

Modern youth may not even answer what kind of monument it is and what its significance is. But this war still remains the Great Patriotic War for most people, and until now the monument to the unknown soldier is a place for laying wreaths on holidays, it is visited by foreign delegations. There are always people around him who came to honor the memory of the dead. Since 1997, Post No. 1 has been located next to the monument. The soldiers of the Presidential Regiment replace each other every hour. In 2009, the reconstruction of the complex began. At this time, the Eternal Flame was moved to Poklonnaya Hill, and after the opening of the renovated monument in 2010, it was returned back. During the restoration, a ten-meter stele was added to the memorial, perpetuating the memory of the cities of military glory.

Description of the monument to the unknown soldier

The memorial is locatedin the Alexander Garden under the Kremlin wall. Every person who comes to Moscow considers it his duty to visit the monument to the unknown soldier. His photo can be found in all books devoted to the Great Patriotic War, in newspapers and on the Internet. But it's still better to see it in reality. The composition is made of brilliant red granite and black labradorite. On the tombstone is a bronze soldier's helmet lying on an unfolded banner. In the center of a square of mirror-polished black stone is a bronze star. Eternal flame bursts out of it. On the right lies a low stele 10 meters long, on which the names of cities of military glory are engraved. And the memory of the cities of heroes is immortalized on a granite alley made of raspberry quartzite.

This memorial is known all over the world and is now one of the sights of Moscow. People come here not only on Victory Day, but simply to honor the memory of the fallen and pay tribute to the feat of the defenders of the Motherland.