Monument to Alyosha - a symbol of the heroism and courage of Soviet soldiers, as well as the gratitude of liberated Europe

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:45

In the Soviet Union, everyone knew Alyosha, who does not give flowers to young girls, but they give him flowers. This happened primarily thanks to the famous song by E. Kolmanovsky to the verses of K. Vanshenkin. Now another time and other songs. Unfortunately, the memory of the exploits of Soviet soldiers is being erased in the minds of modern society both in Europe and in the post-Soviet space. And yet the words "Alyosha", "Bulgaria", "monument" are firmly intertwined into a single image in the minds of the inhabitants of Eastern Europe.

History of Creation

Monuments to unknown soldiers are scattered all over Europe. This is understandable - how many Soviet soldiers died during the liberation of the countries of Eastern Europe from the Nazis. In those distant years, Soviet troops were greeted with bread and s alt throughout the entire space from the Balkans to the B altic. A few years later, the inhabitants of the Bulgarian city of Plovdiv decided to imprint the image of a liberator soldier in stone. In the future, this idea resulted in a monument to Alyosha. Then, in 1948, a public committee was created to develop a layoutmonument, and the symbolic laying of the foundations for the future pedestal in the city center took place. In the competitive selection, the choice fell on the layout of Vasil Radoslavov called "Red Hero". Before the implementation of the project had to wait 9 years. In 1957, on the eve of the celebration of the October Revolution, the grand opening of the memorial complex took place.

Description

From all over the city of Plovdiv, a huge figure of a Russian soldier is visible, lowering to the ground the famous Shpagin submachine gun, with which he passed from Stalingrad to Berlin. On a pedestal of 6 meters, a stone hero 11 meters tall peers into the distance to the east, where the house is, where the family is waiting. The pedestal itself is decorated with bas-reliefs. One of them was created by Georgy Kots and is called "The Soviet army beats the enemy", the other shows the meeting of the Bulgarian people with the army of liberators, its author is Alexander Zankov. To put flowers at the foot of the monument, you need to climb a hundred steps. Bunardzhik Hill, now called the Hill of the Liberators, on which stands the monument to Alyosha, has become one of the main attractions of the ancient city of Plovdiv (Philipopol).

Russian Alyosha

Why is the monument in Bulgaria known worldwide as "Alyosha"? Where did this name come from? There are several versions of the appearance of the prototype for this stone idol. One way or another, everything leads to Alyosha Skurlatov, a young signalman - a hero, whose photograph is preserved in the archivesone of the inhabitants of the city of Plovdiv. There remains a legend about a Russian hero who, on the day of the celebration of the liberation of the city, put two local girls on his shoulders and danced with them tirelessly. Old-timers tell about it, the story is passed down from generation to generation. This fellow was associated precisely with Alexei Skurlatov. The fighter himself learned only 20 years later that the famous monument to the soldier Alyosha was his copy. In 1982, A. Skurlatov visited Bulgaria and received the title of honorary citizen of the city of Plovdiv.

Alyosha captured in the song

The monument "Alyosha" (photo is given in the article) makes a strong impression on the audience, shocks with its grandeur, colossality and spiritual simplicity at the same time. The Soviet composer E. Kolmanovsky, who visited Plovdiv in 1962, admired the memorial and the attitude of ordinary residents of Bulgaria towards it. Sharing his impressions of the trip to Moscow with his friend, the poet K. Vanshenkin, the musician told the story of the creation of the monument. And then the words appeared, and then the melody of the famous song "Alyosha". This work gained great popularity in Bulgaria and, of course, in the Soviet Union thanks to the Bulgarian duo - Rita Nikolova and Georgi Kordova.

Struggle for existence

A whole era ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Everywhere they started talking about the shortcomings of the communist regime and immediately painted black everything that was. And there was a lot! This is the friendship of peoples, and economic cooperation, and, most importantly, the common victory overfascism. Over the past twenty years, many memorial sites in Europe have been vandalized. And although the governments of the countries officially adopted a resolution to prevent the desecration of monuments dedicated to the victory over fascism, this does not stop individual social forces. There are constant discussions about the dismantling or transfer to the outskirts of memorials of memory. This fate did not bypass the monument to Alyosha in Bulgaria. Photos of the stone Russian soldier were increasingly appearing in the press, but already with headlines screaming about the demolition initiative. Three times they wanted to remove him from the pedestal, but each time the public rebelled against and defended not just the monument, but the very people's memory and gratitude.

Monument to Alyosha today

The last time the issue of Alyosha's dismantling was raised, the public organized a watch near the monument, and war veterans promised to commit an act of self-immolation in case of its demolition. There have been several court hearings. The result was the recognition by the Supreme Court that the Alyosha monument has the status of a World War II Monument, which means it is inviolable. Today it is one of the favorite places for visiting tourists in Plovdiv. According to tradition, newlyweds come here and lay flowers. In 2007, a commemorative stamp was issued to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the installation of the memorial in Bulgaria. The monument to Alyosha, along with Shipka and other monuments, is a sign of centuries-old friendship and cooperation between the Bulgarian and Russian peoples.