The mother's monument is a well-known image that became especially often used after the Great Patriotic War. The most famous such sculptural work was installed in Volgograd on Mamaev Kurgan. However, over time, such compositions began to appear not necessarily in memory of the war, but also of other tragedies, for example, a monument to a grieving mother for the dead sailors, opened in Nakhodka.
Motherland
After all, the most famous monument to the mother was erected on the site of the Battle of Stalingrad, one of the decisive battles of the Great Patriotic War. This sculpture is the compositional center of the entire architectural ensemble on Mamaev Kurgan. Today, this is one of the tallest statues not only in Russia, but throughout Europe.
The sculpture is part of a composition of three parts. The first is in Magnitogorsk. At the Rear to Front monument, a worker hands over a sword to a soldier, which was forged in the Urals to fight fascism. The third part of the composition is a monument to the warrior-liberator, which stands in Berlin. On him, the sword, previously raised in Volgograd, is lowered.
The authors of the sculpture
Monument to mother in Volgograd - the work of sculptor Evgeny Vuchetich and engineerNikolay Nikitin. Vuchetich in the 70s was vice-president of the Academy of Arts of the USSR, he himself participated in the Great Patriotic War. He also owns the monument to the liberator in Treptow Park, and the "Let's Forge Swords into Plowshares" monument, which is installed in New York, near the United Nations building. He also installed the Motherland sculpture in Kyiv in 1981.
Nikitin's track record is also rich. He is the developer of foundations and load-bearing structures for many famous Soviet buildings. These are the Palace of Soviets, the main building of the Moscow State University on the Lenin Hills, the central metropolitan stadium "Luzhniki", the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw, the television tower in Ostankino.
Majestic monument
The monument to the mother of the work of Vuchetich and Nikitin is a figure of a woman who steps forward with a warlike look and a raised sword. This is an allegorical image. It contains the image of the Motherland, which calls its sons all together to fight the common enemy.
The erection of the statue began a decade and a half after the end of the Great Patriotic War - in the spring of 1959. It took 8 years to create it. At that time it was the tallest sculpture in the world. Until now, every night the sculpture is illuminated by spotlights.
Twice since then, the monument has needed restoration work. And for the first time quite early: 5 years after the official opening, the sword was replaced. Another major restoration took place in 1986.
Typessculptures
Was there a prototype on the basis of which the monument to the woman-mother was created? There is still no single answer, there are only a few versions.
Most researchers believe that this is a graduate of the Barnaul Pedagogical School Anastasia Peshkova, who at that time was a little less than 30 years old. Also, Valentina Izotova and Ekaterina Grebneva are mentioned among the versions.
A less popular, but also valid version says that the monument to the mother, whose photo is known to every Russian today, repeats the figure from the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Its creation, in turn, was inspired by the statue of the Greek goddess Nike.
Specifications
In terms of its height, the sculpture set a record among all existing at that time. The monument to the mother itself is 85 meters high, another two meters are the mounting plate. Under such a construction, a concrete foundation was needed, dug to a depth of 16 meters. The height of the female sculpture itself (without the sword) is 52 meters. Its total mass is very impressive - more than 8 thousand tons.
The figure is made of reinforced concrete and metal structures. It's hollow inside. Separately, it is worth dwelling on the sword. Its length is 33 meters. Weight - 14 tons. It is made of stainless steel, which is sheathed with titanium layers.
Due to the deformation of the sword, the movement of titanium layers began, because of this, an unpleasant rattle of metal was constantly heard. It is for this reason that a few years after the installation of the sculpturedecided to replace the sword. The new one was all steel.
In order for such a design to constantly remain in service, the engineer, who is also its full-fledged author, worked very hard. The mother's monument stands thanks to Nikolai Nikitin. He also calculated the stability of the Ostankino TV tower.
Threat of collapse
In fact, immediately after the completion of the monument, fears began to be expressed that the mother's monument might collapse. By and large, they have not subsided so far.
Back in 1965, the State Construction Commission issued a conclusion, according to which it was necessary to strengthen the main structures of the structure. Of particular concern was the monument "Motherland". The fact is that the foundation is set on clay soils, which can eventually slide significantly towards the Volga.
The last large-scale survey of the monument was carried out in 2013. It was made by the capital architect and sculptor Vladimir Tserkovnikov. In an open letter addressed to Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky, he reports that the foundation of the monument was made with significant errors that Nikitin made at the design stage. In his opinion, today he is in a deplorable state.
Kyiv Monument
A similar sculpture was discovered in the Ukrainian capital in 1981. It is part of the composition of the Museum of Ukrainian History about the Second World War. The architectural complex was opened on the 36th anniversary of the Victory over the Nazis;Leonid Brezhnev.
Evgeny Vuchetich, the author of the Volgograd sculpture, started working on the project. After his death in 1974, the project was headed by Vasily Boroday. Just like Vuchetich, a participant in the Great Patriotic War, People's Artist of the USSR, who worked in the genre of socialist realism.
According to the calculations of the specialists who made the description of the Motherland monument, the monument must stand for at least 150 years. It is made so reliably that it is able to withstand an earthquake with a force of even 9 points. For example, in 1987, a powerful hurricane swept over Kyiv, but the monument was not damaged.
The monument is equipped with viewing platforms and two elevators, one of which moves at a slope of 75 degrees. Technical platforms and hatches are equipped in many parts of the monument. For example, one of them is right in the head of the Motherland.
Since 2002, sightseers have climbed two viewing platforms - at a height of 36 and 92 meters. However, after the fall and death of a tourist from the upper level, non-specialists' access to the monument was significantly limited.
St. Petersburg analogue
In Russia, the majority of the question: "Where is the monument to the Motherland?" They will answer that in Volgograd. But there are several other similar sculptures. One of them is located in St. Petersburg.
The monument is located at the Piskarevsky cemetery. The female figure holds an oak wreath in her hands, which symbolizes eternity. The sculpture is located on a stone pedestal. Directly behind it is a stone wall on which the famous words of the poetess are carved. Olga Bergholz: "Nobody is forgotten, nothing is forgotten".
The work personifies a grieving mother or wife, whose face is turned to a mass grave.
The competition for this project was announced in 1945. It was decided to dedicate the memorial to the inhabitants of Leningrad, who suffered the blockade and to the memory of the dead. Construction began only in 1956. The opening took place during the celebration of the 15th anniversary of the Victory - May 9, 1960.
The group of sculptors was headed by Vera Vasilievna Isayeva, who died two weeks before the official opening of the monument. She survived the blockade of Leningrad, participated in the camouflage of the city during enemy air raids.
Grieving mother in Nakhodka
The history of the "Grieving Mother" monument in the Russian Far East is also quite sad. The memorial in Nakhodka was erected in 1979. The work is made of bronze.
The figure of a woman faces the Bay of Nakhodka and is dedicated to the memory of the fishermen of the trawler "Boksitogorsk", which was wrecked in the Barents Sea in 1965. The tragedy occurred in January during a storm, the strength of which was estimated at 10 points. 24 crew members were killed. Happily, only one managed to escape - Anatoly Okhrimenko, the mining master from Boksitogorsk.
Behind the female sculpture are two ship's sails. At the foot, the names of all 24 dead sailors, whose mothers and wives did not wait for them that year, are engraved.
The project was led by the chief architect of Nakhodka Vladimir Remizov.
Grieving mother inBashkiria
A similar monument was erected in the capital of Bashkiria - Ufa. It is dedicated to soldiers and officers who died in various military conflicts, including local ones. A memorial was erected near Victory Park.
The official opening took place in 2003. Its author was Nikolai Kalinushkin, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation.
The architectural composition resembles a cult building, and it is deliberately made in such a way that it is impossible to understand whether it is Christian or Muslim. It has a bronze figure of a mother on a low pedestal.
Granite slabs are located nearby, on which the names of the inhabitants of Bashkortostan who died in local military conflicts since 1951 are carved.
Monumental Monument
The mother's monument in Cheboksary is one of the symbols of the capital of the Chuvash Republic. Its height is 46 meters, on the plate at its base it says that this is a mother who blesses her children and directs them to live only in peace and love. The inscription is in Russian and Chuvash languages.
In many cities there are monuments to the mother. Each has its own history. This project was developed by the politician - President of Chuvashia Nikolai Fedorov. To do this, he attracted the creative intelligentsia and the public, a charitable foundation was specially created.
The monument depicts a woman in a national costume. The first proposals appeared in the press as early as 1996, but they began to be implemented only at the beginning of 2000.years.
The sculptor of the project was Vladimir Nagornov, also famous for his sculpture "Angel of Memory and Glory" in the regional center of Chuvashia and the monument to Ostap Bender and Kisa Vorobyaninov, installed in Cheboksary. He has worked in collaboration with scientific consultants and other renowned architects such as Vladimir Filatov.
The monument was opened on the 58th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War - May 9, 2003.
