Description of the statue: Motherland is calling. “The Motherland is calling!” – the greatest monument to the soldiers of the Great Patriotic War

The Motherland Monument is a gorgeous monument located in the city of Volgograd. The monument represents a woman with a sword raised in the air, encouraging everyone to rise up against the enemy. The monument is an interpretation of the famous image of the ancient goddess of victory Nike. The statue is also the center of the ensemble “To the Heroes Battle of Stalingrad». ( 11 photos)

1. All the best architects of that time were involved in the construction of such a grandiose monument, because the statue had to meet stringent requirements and, first of all, had to become dear to millions of people. The chief design engineer was Evgeniy Viktorovich Vuchetich, who at that time already had considerable experience in the construction of the country’s assets, albeit of lesser importance. The second creator of the statue was N.V. Nikitin, who later became the creator of the famous.

2. Upon completion of construction, both were awarded Lenin Prize, and the main creator Vuchetich was awarded the gold Star of the Hero of Socialist Labor. Construction of the monument began in May 1959 and lasted 8 years until 1967. The grand opening took place on October 15, 1967. At the time of completion of construction, the monument was the tallest in the world. The height of the monument is 87 meters, and the height of the woman is 52 meters. The sculpture is created from pre-stressed reinforced concrete (at that time it was widely used, but not in vain).

3. The entire sculpture stands on only a two-meter slab, which in turn rests on a relatively small foundation 16 meters deep. The statue stands like a figure on chessboard, and does not wobble, we must pay tribute to the engineers of that time, after all, they knew how to build for centuries. The thickness of the reinforced concrete walls of the statue is only 25-30 centimeters, and inside the monument consists of small windows, and the rigidity of the tower is supported by constantly tense iron ropes. The structure of the sculpture can be compared to the structure of bones in birds.

4. The total weight of the structure is 7,900 tons. Monument to the Motherland has become real business card Volgograd. The monument is surrounded by an artificially created Walk of Fame; specifically, 200 granite steps lead to the monument along the walk, which is exactly how long the Battle of Stalingrad lasted. In this photo you see that the statue was made with an open mouth. When Vuchetich was asked why the monument’s mouth was open, because it was not beautiful, he said the following in response: “And she screams - for the Motherland... your mother! ".

5. The statue rises above the city and symbolizes it both day and night; at night the Motherland is illuminated. IN dark time days, the Motherland can be seen for tens of kilometers around. Since 2008, the Motherland monument has become one of the seven wonders of Russia.

6. On this moment In the list of the tallest buildings in the world, the Motherland takes an honorable 11th place. During its existence, the statue became integral part Volgograd residents, and residents of Russia in general. But unfortunately, you and I are in danger of losing such a grandiose monument.

7. The fact is that because of groundwater under the statue, the Motherland is gradually tilting, examinations were carried out and scientists came to the conclusion that if the tilt of the statue increases by at least another 3 cm, the tower will inevitably collapse.

8. You will be interested to know that when developing the flag and coat of arms of the Volgograd region, the silhouette of the Motherland monument became the basis of the image.

9. For a long time It remained a mystery from which woman the sketch was taken to create such a monument. Currently 83 people live in Volgograd summer woman who once, back in 1958, posed for the great architect. Valentina Ivanovna Izotova never liked to dwell on this topic, and her profession is “model” in Soviet years to put it mildly, she was not held in high esteem.

10. Our heroine was working as a waitress when the sculptor Lev Maistrenko approached her and offered to pose, since Valentina Ivanovna was raising two daughters, of course she always needed money, so she agreed. And besides, the girl was rewarded by nature with a good “Soviet” appearance. Valentina Ivanovna was then 26 years old, now she not only regrets the act of her youth, but even, on the contrary, is proud that her figure has become so famous.

1.Bronze statue of Buddha Ushiku Daibutsu, Japan.

Ushiku Daibutsu, located in Ushiku, in Ibaraki Prefecture in Japan, is the tallest free-standing bronze statue in the world. Built in 1995, the total height is 120 m above the ground, including a 10 m base and a 10 m lotus platform. An elevator takes visitors to a height of 85m above the ground, where the observation deck is located.

2. Guanyang Buddhist statue, Sanya, China.

Sanya is located in the smallest province of China people's republic Hainian, on the southern coast of the country. Yalong Wan is a local park located on the coast 7.5 km southeast of Sanya City. The main attraction of the park is the 108-meter statue of Guanyin.

This statue was completed in May 2005 and is one of the tallest in the world.

3. Yellow chinese emperors Huangdi and Yandi, China.

The 103-meter-tall statue is located in China and is a sculpture of two ancient Chinese emperors - Huangdi and Yandi.

4. Motherland, Kyiv, Ukraine.

Monument-sculpture of the Motherland, standing in Kyiv on the high right bank of the Dnieper. The height of the Motherland sculpture is 62 meters, the total height with the pedestal is 102 meters.

5. Monument to Peter I, Moscow, Russia

The monument to Peter I by Zurab Tsereteli was erected by order of the Moscow Government on the spit of the island of the Moscow River and the Obvodny Canal in 1997.

The total height of the monument is 98 meters.

6. Statue of Liberty, Liberty Island, New York, USA.

The world's embodiment of Liberty, commonly known as the Statue of Liberty, is a colossal statue donated to the United States by France in 1886, installed on Liberty Island in New York at the mouth of the Hudson River.

7. Sculpture The Motherland Calls, Volgograd, Russia.

Sculpture “The Motherland Calls!” - the compositional center of the monument-ensemble "To the Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad" on Mamayev Kurgan In Volgograd. The work of sculptor E. V. Vuchetich and engineer N. V. Nikitin. Built in 1967, height 84 meters.

8. Maitreya Buddha Statue in Leshan, Leshan, China.

The statue is located east of the city of Leshan in Sichuan province, at the intersection of three rivers. Construction took place over 90 years. The height of the statue is 71 m, the height of the head is almost 15 m, the shoulder span is almost 30 m, the length of the finger is 8 m, the length of the toe is 1.6 m, the length of the nose is 5.5 m. It is recognized as a monument World Heritage UNESCO.

9. Bamiyan Buddha statues, Afghanistan.

Two giant Buddha statues (Buddha of Bamyan) - 55 and 37 meters, part of a complex of Buddhist monasteries in the Bamiyan Valley in central Afghanistan, are located 230 km north of Kabul. The statues were barbarically destroyed, despite protests from the world community and other Islamic countries, in 2001 by the Taliban, who believed that they were pagan idols and should be destroyed. Japan, Switzerland and UNESCO, among others, have expressed support for the restoration of the statues.

10. Statue of Christ the Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Christ the Redeemer Statue - a huge Art Deco statue of Jesus Christ, 32m high and weighing 1000 tons, is located on the top of the 710m Corcovado mountain overlooking the city.

Being powerful symbol Christianity, the statue became an icon of the city of Rio de Janeiro.

Without a doubt, the obelisk of Bayonet, Brest, Belarus deserves our attention.

Bayonet - obelisk (all-welded metal structure, lined with titanium; height 100 m, weight 620 tons) is part of the memorial complex Brest Fortress- hero.

What monument should be installed on the grave? Antik CJSC will help resolve the issue. The plant offers a huge catalog of gabbro products - monuments and gravestones. Come in and make your choice.

“15 years of search and doubt, sadness and joy, rejected and found solutions. What did we want to tell people with this monument on the historical Mamayev Kurgan, the site of bloody battles and immortal feats? We sought to convey, above all, an unbreakable moral spirit Soviet soldiers, out of selfless devotion to the Motherland,” said the great Soviet sculptor Evgeniy Vuchetich.

Before the construction of the memorial, the top of the mound was an area located 200 meters from the current peak. Now the Church of All Saints is located on it. The current peak was formed artificially to build the monument.

During the design stage, Vuchetich constantly made changes. Initially, the project assumed the presence of two figures (a woman and a kneeling soldier), and in her hand the Motherland was supposed to hold not a sword, but a red banner. But it was abandoned, as was the magnificently decorated pedestal. The monumental stairs that had already been built were replaced with a serpentine path that encircles the statue like a ribbon. The dimensions also changed - the Motherland grew from 36 meters to 52. Although the sculptor’s plan has nothing to do with it, Nikita Khrushchev simply stated in an ultimatum that it must certainly be taller than the Statue of Liberty.

Mamayev Kurgan, on which the monument is located, has always been a strategic site, with a panoramic view of the city. Of the 200 days of the Battle of Stalingrad, the fight for Mamayev Kurgan lasted 135 days. It remained black even in the snowy season: the snow here quickly melted from bomb explosions. For each square meter there were from 500 to 1250 bullets and fragments. In the first post-war spring, Mamaev Kurgan did not turn green; even grass did not grow on the burnt land.

According to the most conservative estimates, about 35 thousand people are buried on Mamayev Kurgan. In place of this huge mass grave and erected the main monument to Russia.

The Motherland is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest sculpture-statue in the world at that time. Its total height is 85 meters, weight is 8 thousand tons. The most complex calculations of the stability of this structure were made by Doctor of Technical Sciences Nikolai Nikitin (he also participated in the design of Moscow State University and Ostankino Tower). At the moment, the statue ranks 11th in the list of the most tall statues peace. The tallest sculpture was built in 2008. This is a statue of Buddha in the Chinese province of Henan, its height including the pedestal is 153 meters.

The sword, 33 meters long and weighing 14 tons, was originally made of stainless steel covered with titanium sheets. But the sheets of titanium casing rattled in the wind, and additionally strained the hand. As a result, the blade was replaced with another one consisting entirely of fluorinated steel.

During the construction of the monument, a stable supply of concrete was necessary, otherwise the joints between the layers might not be strong enough. Trucks delivering concrete for the construction of the monument were marked with tapes of a certain color. Drivers were allowed to drive through on red lights, and traffic police officers were prohibited from stopping them.

From the foot to the top platform there are 200 degrees, corresponding to the number of days of the Battle of Stalingrad. There should also have been 200 degrees inside the statue itself. But due to overflights, their number increased to 203.

Entry inside for outsiders is strictly prohibited, which is why it is overgrown with rumors and mysteries. Many people think that there is an observation deck in the mouth, and closer to the ear there is a restaurant for VIPs. However, it is not. According to another legend, soon after its creation a man got lost in the sculpture, and after that no one saw him.

At the monument on Mamayev Kurgan - a fighter with a machine gun and a grenade and the inscription on the pedestal “Stand to the death!” Marshal's face Soviet Union Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov. He was the memorial's chief military consultant. According to the will of the commander of the 62nd Army, he was buried on Mamayev Kurgan.

According to the memoirs of the Soviet physicist, academician Andrei Sakharov, Evgeniy Vuchetich, the author of the memorial ensemble to the heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad on Mamayev Kurgan in Volgograd, shared with him in a private conversation: “My bosses ask me why her mouth is open, because it’s ugly. I answer: And she screams - for the Motherland... your mother!

The monument is the second part of a triptych, which also consists of the monuments “Rear to Front” in Magnitogorsk and “Warrior-Liberator” in Berlin’s Treptower Park. It is implied that the sword, forged on the banks of the Urals, was then raised by the Motherland in Stalingrad and lowered after the Victory in Berlin.

The silhouette of the sculpture “Motherland” was taken as a basis when developing the coat of arms and flag of the Volgograd region.

On May 9, 2045, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War, a capsule with an appeal from the war participants to their descendants should be opened on Mamayev Kurgan in Volgograd.

There is another Motherland - in Kyiv, this is also the creation of Vuchetich. It stands on the right bank of the Dnieper. She is 23 meters smaller than her colleague, but stands on a huge pedestal, inside of which there is a museum. Due to this, its overall height is higher.

In Moscow there is a copy of the head of the Volgograd Motherland. She hides behind the fence of Vuchetich’s workshop on Vuchetich Street, and no one is allowed to look at her, but since the head is hefty, and the fence is small, both the head and her colleagues can be seen quite well from behind the fence.

Perhaps the biggest mystery is who the Motherland was modeled after; there are plenty of contenders. On the eve of the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Victory at Stalingrad, 79-year-old resident of Barnaul Anastasia Peshkova announced that she became the prototype famous sculpture Vuchetich. In 2003, Valentina Izotova made the same statement. She worked as a waitress at the Volgograd restaurant and claimed that Vuchetich himself invited her to work as a model. “I was paid 3 rubles an hour. There’s a lot of me in her - the neck, the bends of the arms, the legs, the hips - everything is mine!” – said Izotova. Another contender is Ekaterina Grebneva, an artistic gymnast, and now a retired honored teacher. She also posed for Vuchetich, but does not pretend to be unique: “This is a collective image. I think I wasn’t the only one who posed for sculptors.”

However, the former deputy director of the monument-ensemble "To the Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad" Valentina Klyushin in calls all applicants impostors: “Evgeniy Viktorovich made the figure from Nina Dumbadze, the famous discus thrower. She posed for him in Moscow, in his studio. But Evgeniy Viktorovich did not go far to find the face of the sculpture. He created it with his wife, Vera Nikolaevna. And sometimes he affectionately called the sculpture by his wife’s name – Verochka.”

The Great Patriotic War will forever remain in the hearts of absolutely every person. War is a terrible event, pain and tears. In memory of these terrible events in different corners monuments are erected throughout the country, this is gratitude and eternal memory to our grandfathers and great-grandfathers - the soldiers who gave us life. There are monuments to the Motherland in many parts of not only our country, but throughout globe. Thus, the Motherland can be found in Belarus, Germany, Spain, Latvia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine. In total, you can count about twenty-five monuments to the Motherland. Of these, thirteen are located in Russian cities.

Motherland in the cities of Russia

The Motherland Memorial in St. Petersburg is probably one of the most famous among all monuments to the Motherland. It is located on Piskarevsky memorial cemetery. This is the largest cemetery, it covers an area of ​​twenty-eight hectares and is listed in the Guinness Book of Records. The memorial is a tribute to the residents besieged Leningrad who did not have enough strength to survive in this terrible time of hunger, cold and bombing, in these “900 days of nightmare, hell.” On Piskarevskoe cemetery Approximately half a million city residents were buried. The memorial was opened in May 1960. Motherland holds a torn laurel wreath in her hands.
Memorial Motherland in the city of Budennovsk. The city residents themselves collected money for the monument. It was built from granite and opened in 1967. Dedicated to the Budennovtsy (at that time the Kumkum residents) who died or went missing during the Great Patriotic War.
Motherland in Volgograd. The memorial was opened, just like in the city of Budennovsk, in 1967. It is located on Mamayev Kurgan. The monument is made of concrete, with metal structures at the base. The height of the Motherland is fifty-three meters, in her hand she holds a sword, its length is thirty-three meters. If you add up these numbers, it turns out that the height of the entire monument is eighty-six meters. It must be said that the Motherland in Volgograd is one of the seven wonders of the world.
The monument to the Motherland in Kaliningrad was erected on the site of an ordinary public garden. It is an exact copy of the woman depicted on the “Motherland Calls!” poster dating back to World War II.
Monument to the Motherland in Vyshesteblievskaya village Krasnodar region represents a woman left hand lies on her right shoulder. The monument is dedicated to Komsomol members whom the traitor handed over to the Nazis.
Motherland on Victory Square in Kaluga. The memorial is dedicated to the city residents who died during the war years. The complex is installed on the site where there was previously a pond. In 1966, an obelisk appeared on the square, and only in 1973 did the Motherland appear at the very top of the obelisk. In her hands she holds a ribbon symbolizing the thread of the Oka River and the artificial satellite of the Earth. Thus, the architect united in the monument the victory over Nazi Germany and space exploration.
There is also a Motherland in Tatarstan in Naberezhnye Chelny. The monument was erected in 1975. The Motherland in this memorial complex is somewhat different from the Motherland monuments in other cities. Here she appears in the form of a Phoenix bird beginning to take off.
In the village of Kubenskoye, Vologda region, a monument to the Motherland stands on the site next to rural library. The Motherland appears to residents in the form of a woman wrapped in a blanket. It stands on a pedestal, in the center there is a star, a copy of the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree. Behind the Motherland you can see a fresco depicting a soldier and a woman in a blue scarf, and next to them there is bread and a glass.
Motherland in Nizhny Novgorod installed in 1965 on the site of a mass grave of Soviet soldiers. This memorial is located at the Red Etna cemetery. In the hands raised to the sky, the Motherland holds a wreath.
Motherland in the city of Pavlovsk Voronezh region. This monument is an ensemble. The motherland with her hands raised to the sky, she seems to be asking for peace, but at the same time she brings it herself, she also brings happiness. On the other side of the Motherland there is a figure of a soldier on bended knee. It must be said that during the Great Patriotic War the city of Pavlovsk was a leading city on the front line.
Monument to the Motherland in Penza. The full name of the monument is “Monument of Military and Labor Glory.” It is dedicated to the residents Penza region, residents who fought for victory and worked for life despite all the pain of war. He is for labor and military exploits. The monument was opened in 1975. The Motherland appeared in the image of a mother holding a child on her left shoulder. The child has an eternal flame in his hands.
The memorial is located in the center of the Camp Garden in the city of Tomsk. The motherland holds a weapon in her hands, she hands it to her son. The memorial was erected in 1979.
Motherland in Saratov region in the village of Starye Burasy is located on the square in the center of the village, next to the Motherland there is a monument to Stalin I.V.
Such a large number of monuments and memorials to the Motherland is undoubtedly caused by the great pain of the whole country, the grief of the whole world for the terrible days of the Second World War and the Great Patriotic War. War is always pain, it is fear, it is losses and tears. The most important thing is that every person remembers and keeps in his heart the memory of these terrible days. And then there will be peace in our lives!