Category Archive: War heroes

Opened August 2, 2007, Black tulip memorial complex in Novokuznetsk

Black tulip memorial complex

There is a beautiful memorial in the Siberian city of Novokuznetsk – Black tulip memorial complex. But most importantly, it’s really a memorable place – always there are fresh flowers. Indeed, never deserted place, where along the very well-groomed and cozy memorial walk mothers and children, students and elderly people. In summer, you can hide from the heat in the shade of trees. For the present and future generations, it is an eternal memory of the heroes, of the countrymen! The square is very clean, light, and filled with an atmosphere of respect for the historical past of our country.
The stunning monument “Black Tulip” honors soldiers – residents of Novokuznetsk, who died in Afghanistan, Chechnya and other local wars. In fact, it is an obelisk and a mournful symbol – “Black Tulip”. Also, a golden cross with a bell, a symbol of eternal memory and resurrection, raised to a height of more than 16 meters from the ground level. In addition, on installed four memorial plaques engraved the names of 85 soldiers, who gave their lives in military conflicts outside of Russia. The authors of the project Alexander Brichev and Anatoly Petrovich Mitrofanov, and sculptor Victor Gusev. The grand opening took place on August 2, 2007 in the park near the Siberian State Industrial University.
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Touching monument depicting a barefoot girl with a bird on her shoulder. In memory of Koreans forced to serve Japanese soldiers. Korean Comfort women touching monument

Korean Comfort women touching monument
In 2011, outside the Japanese embassy in Seoul, appeared a truly touching monument depicting a sitting young barefoot girl with a bird on her shoulder. In fact, the monument depicts so-called “comfort women” forced to work in brothels of the Japanese army during World War II. According to historical documents, during the war, about 200,000 women, mainly from Korea, as well as China, Taiwan, the Philippines and Indonesia, became sexual slaves of Japanese soldiers. And of course, the monument erected directly opposite the general consulate of Japan, became an object of irritation for the Japanese side.
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The village of Bub, Sivinsky district of Perm region. Heroic mother Matryona Yakovleva monument

Heroic mother Matryona Yakovleva monument

A simple peasant woman lived with her husband and sons in a good house and kept a huge farm: cows, calf, sheep, and pigs. All of them worked on the collective farm, and in 1941, when the war broke out, Matryona’s husband and sons went to the front. In 1943, the newspapers wrote about the fierce battle at Stalingrad, and the woman’s heart was bursting with emotions for her husband, sons and for her Motherland. She could not sit idly by and made a bold decision: she went to the market and sold everything that was in the house – seven heads of livestock, oil, honey, and flour. As a result, she got 100 thousand rubles – a huge amount for those times! All the money she put in a canvas bag and brought to the local branch of the State Bank.
“Here, take it,” she said to the stunned staff. – I believe, that it should be enough for the plane. My sons are fighting, I must help”.
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Bauman district people’s militia monument. Sculptor Zurab Tsereteli

Bauman district people’s militia monument appeared October 14, 2015, in Moscow on Razgulay Square, in the Bauman district. The monument dedicated to the 7th Bauman division of the people’s militia, which took part in the defense of the capital. Formed in 1941 during the Great Patriotic War 7th Bauman district people’s militia played a huge role in the defense of Moscow. Noteworthy, it included people of different professions and nationalities, and consisted of about 12,000 people. The authors of the monument – sculptor Zurab Tsereteli and architect M.M. Posokhin. The monument is a three-meter composition of copper – a figure of a woman with a portrait of a soldier in her hands and a girl.
Dressed in a hoodie woman, as a collective image of grief, in a broad sense she personifies Motherland and can be a wife, sister or mother of a soldier. The portrait in her hands symbolizes the eternal memory of the heroes. The girl, on the contrary, smiles, she is a symbol of a peaceful future. A bronze sculpture about 3 meters high was installed on a granite pedestal, on which engraved a thank you sign: “To the Bauman people’s militia of 1941 from grateful Muscovites”.
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Samara, Russia. Monument to brave female pilot Olga Sanfirova (May 2, 1917 – December 13, 1944). Authors: sculptor Alexander Golovnin and architect Nikolai Krasko

Monument to brave female pilot Olga Sanfirova

Hero of the Soviet Union, guard captain Olga Aleksandrovna Sanfirova (May 2, 1917, Samara – December 13, 1944, Poland) was the brave commander of the airborne regiment of the Taman Squadron, an order-bearer who carried out more than eight hundred combat sorties, which in many ways helped our army to defeat the German army. Enemies often called such brave female pilots “night witches” and not in vain. They silently and very carefully selected fascist positions, unexpectedly dropped bombs, and then dissolved in total darkness. Fascists really feared and hated them. However, in their homeland, on the contrary, such heroes were loved and cherished.
Unfortunately, Olya Sanfirova died in Poland, at the age of 27, just six months before the victory of the Soviet Union, in December 1944. She was posthumously awarded the title of Hero.
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Installed in 2013 World Famous Song Katyusha Monument. 2013. Sculptor Ivan Kulakov

World Famous Song Katyusha Monument
Actually, the monument embodies women of the Soviet Union longing for their absent beloved, who has gone away on military service during the war. Pretty Russian girl from popular wartime song “Katyusha” appeared in Vladivostok thanks to a local historian Nelly Miz. She shared the idea on the Web and the local intelligentsia strongly supported her. St. Petersburg based artist Konstantin Novikov created a sketch, and Kemerovo based sculptor Ivan Kulakov made the monument.
In fact, the prototype of this monument, as well as the girl from the song was Katya Alexeeva (nee Filippova), a border guard’s wife. Matvey Blanter and Mikhail Isakovsky have created a great song after meeting with her. By the way, Katyusha is the Russian equivalent of Kate, or Catherine.
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Closeup Farewell of Slavianka monument

Monument in honor of the famous march “Farewell of Slavianka”, dedicated to all Slavic women, seeing off their relatives to the war, appeared on May 8, 2014 at the Belorussky railway terminal in Moscow. The bronze sculpture was made by a team under the leadership of Salavat Shcherbakov. The sculptural composition depicts the scene of leaving to the front volunteers in the award-winning 1957 film “The Cranes Are Flying” by Mikhail Kalatozov. The cast in bronze two-meter monument of a soldier in uniform hugging his girlfriend depicts the moment of parting of two beautiful young people in love.
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