Monument to an Unknown Soldier (Moscow)

The Second World War for our country is still the most tragic and great event in our history. The memory of those who perished during these years is immortalized in a number of monuments and monuments that are located in all cities of Russia. A lot during the war was buried unidentified soldiers. 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 importance of such monuments

All over the world monuments to those who died in the war are set so that people remember what the soldiers gave their lives for. The graves of soldiers are often nameless, and before they did not come to honor their memory. But after one of the most bloody wars - the First World War - a tradition was created to perpetuate the memory of such warriors in monuments. They are usually installed at the burial site. So the descendants express their gratitude and respect to the soldiers who died in the battles. The first monument to the Unknown Soldier was installed 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 an unknown soldier

In the Soviet Union, the victory in the Great Patriotic War was celebrated in large scale only in 1965. At this time our capital, like many other cities, was given the status of a hero city, and on May 9 it became a national holiday. On the eve of the anniversary of the great battle for Moscow in the government of the country, they thought about how to create a monument that could perpetuate the heroic deed of city defenders. It was supposed to be a memorial of national significance. Therefore, we stopped to establish a monument to an unknown soldier.

Moscow for this was an ideal place, because in the battles for the city thousands of soldiers were killed, and a lot of them were not recognized. To create a monument, a contest was announced. The best was the design of the architect VA Klimov. He believed that such a monument should necessarily be located in the park so that a person could sit next to him and think. The best place for him was chosen near the Kremlin wall - a symbol of Russia's invincibility. And in 1966, work was begun on the monument. Created by its architects VA. Klimov, DI Burdin and Yu. R. Rabaev. To create the inscription on the monument attracted the most famous writers and poets. The best were the words of S. Mikhalkov: "Your name is unknown, your feat is immortal." The grand opening of the monument took place on the eve of the Victory Day in 1967. In subsequent years, it was repeatedly supplemented with new elements and restored. And to this day the Monument to the Unknown Soldier remains a symbol of victory in the Great Patriotic War.

How was the burial of the warrior's ashes

Before the creation of the memorial, they thought for a long time who to bury in the grave under the monument. After all, it must necessarily 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. In it, a soldier was chosen, on which was a well-preserved form. Specialists guaranteed that he was not a deserter, otherwise he would not have a belt. This warrior could not be a prisoner either, since in this place there was no fascist occupation. On December 2, the soldier was transferred to a coffin covered with St. George ribbon. On the lid put the military helmet military time. Until the morning, next to him stood young warriors and veterans of the war in a guard of honor. On the morning of December 3, along the Leningrad highway as part of a funeral procession, the coffin was taken to Moscow. Before the Alexander Garden the coffin was transferred to an artillery gun carriage. The entire procession was accompanied by a guard of honor, next to the sounds of the funeral march, veterans of the war walked and carried detailed combat banners.

How the monument was created

After the burial of the ashes of an unknown soldier - a month later - they began to create the memorial itself. He looked at that time not as it is now, then several times the composition was supplemented. At first the memorial was a granite slab with S. Mikhalkov's words, a gravestone above the grave and a bronze star with the Eternal Flame. Near the monument made a granite wall 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 a salute was thundered. Also, the Eternal Flame was lit, which was brought from the Mars field in Leningrad. The memorial was completed in 1975 with a bronze composition - a soldier's helmet on the unfurled banner.

What is a monument now?

Modern youth may not even answer what kind of monument it is and what its significance is. But this war is still the Great Patriotic War for most people, and until now a monument to an 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, next to the monument is Post No. 1. The soldiers of the Presidential Regiment are replacing each other every hour. In 2009, the reconstruction of the complex began. At this time, the Eternal Flame was transferred to the Poklonnaya Hill, and after the reopening of the renovated monument in 2010, it was returned. During the restoration, the memorial was added a 10-meter-high stele that perpetuated the memory of the cities of military glory.

Description of the monument to an unknown soldier

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

This memorial is known all over the world and is now one of the sights of Moscow. Here people come not only on Victory Day, but just to honor the memory of the fallen and pay tribute to the heroism of the defenders of the Motherland.