The memorial complex of glory, located in the area of the Forest Park, was created in order to perpetuate the memory of the feat of Soviet soldiers. What was done with the help of many steles with texts and names of the dead, monuments and sculptural compositions. The complex was decided to be built on this site, since it was here that the Nazis executed tens of thousands of Soviet soldiers, partisans, prisoners of war and ordinary citizens.
The memorial complex of glory, located in the area of the Forest Park, was created in order to perpetuate the memory of the feat of Soviet soldiers. What was done with the help of many steles with texts and names of the dead, monuments and sculptural compositions. The complex was decided to be built on this site, since it was here that the Nazis executed tens of thousands of Soviet soldiers, partisans, prisoners of war and ordinary citizens.
In 1977, the memorial complex was opened to visitors. A lot of people of different and at the same time similar professions worked on its creation: sculptors, painters, architects. Among their surnames there are outstanding personalities: V.I. Agibalov, M.F. Ovsyankin, Y.I. Ryk, S.G. Svetlousov, E. Yu. Cherkasov, I.A. Alferov, A.A. Maksimenko. The names of 186 thousand 306 Soviet soldiers who died in battle were immortalized on the steles of the memorial.
How was the complex created?
One of the main authors of the project, who put a lot of effort into it, shared his memories of how it all began: “There were many variants of the monument - and a three-figure composition - two - a soldier and a woman, and a sitting Motherland. The height was eight and ten meters. Each time, a council from Kiev evaluated our work. In the end, we stopped at a sculpture of a woman 12 m 75 cm high. ”
Mikhail Ovsyankin was a war invalid with very sore legs. And he had to shovel alone about a hundred tons of clay. He mocked up a life-size model in record time - two months. So much he wanted to be in time for the next anniversary of the victory. But it was not possible to realize it in granite for another seven years, due to bureaucratic red tape.
Granite blocks were imported from a quarry in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Mikhail Ovsyankin recalls an unpleasant joke related to its processing: “Granite blocks were imported from a quarry in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Muscovites called them granite cultivators. The turn has reached the head, - recalls Mikhail Fedorovich. - They started - chopping masons - and suddenly a crack in the granite block. They took up the second - and he split ... Mikhail Fedorovich went along with the party committee secretary Oleg Yermolovich to the quarry. But the weather that day was rainy, granite got wet, and it was not possible to check its quality. They took the block at random, brought it to Kharkov, and began to process it. And suddenly the masons again say: "Mikhail Fedorovich, a crack." Then it turned out that they so decided to play a joke. As a result, an ambulance took Yermolovich with a heart attack. ”
Masons could not bring granite to mind, so Mikhail Ovsyankin took control of the situation. And every day at a twelve-meter height he chopped in the “forests” until nightfall.
A year before the opening of the monument, serious preparations were underway. There was a reburial of the remains of warriors at the Mass grave, as the graves were scattered throughout the Forest Park. But they did not immediately learn about it. On one of the graves were two sculptures - a soldier and a woman. When excavated, they found 50 coffins, 200 soldiers and children.
In 1977, the memorial complex was inaugurated. Arriving Colonel-General Strelnikov said that Ovsyankin accomplished a feat. But he did not receive a direct reward for him. According to his memoirs, later, by decree of the government, he was awarded the title of Honored Artist, but they did not say what kind of work he was.
Structure
The general composition of the memorial complex is formed by 3 commemorative steles with cast banners, sculptural compositions and a number of park alleys uniting them. At the entrance there are 2 steles with inscriptions on the back. The alley begins, at the end of which you can see the monument to the grieving “Mother of the Motherland”, the creation of which we told the story. At its foot there was eternal flame. And from it itself is heard a very distinctive sound of a heartbeat. In a sense, it really is: in the chest of a monumental woman this sound is. According to Mikhail Ovsyankin, this is a record of the heart rate of a patient who received a second heart attack. It was received thanks to the famous cardiologist and academician Love Malaya. All equipment is located to the right of the monument.
Later, a wooden worship cross was added to all the existing elements, near which memorial services were held for many years. On June 8, 2016, a capsule was laid in its place for the construction of a chapel in honor of the Mother of God. They decided to make the building in the form of a gazebo, with a gilded faceted dome and a granite cube-altar in the center. On August 20, 2016, on the eve of the city’s day, Metropolitan Onufry of Kharkov and Bogodukhovsky consecrated the chapel and held their first service.
In 1977, the memorial complex was opened to visitors. A lot of people of different and at the same time similar professions worked on its creation: sculptors, painters, architects. Among their surnames there are outstanding personalities: V.I. Agibalov, M.F. Ovsyankin, Y.I. Ryk, S.G. Svetlousov, E. Yu. Cherkasov, I.A. Alferov, A.A. Maksimenko. The names of 186 thousand 306 Soviet soldiers who died in battle were immortalized on the steles of the memorial.
How was the complex created?
One of the main authors of the project, who put a lot of effort into it, shared his memories of how it all began: “There were many variants of the monument - and a three-figure composition - two - a soldier and a woman, and a sitting Motherland. The height was eight and ten meters. Each time, a council from Kiev evaluated our work. In the end, we stopped at a sculpture of a woman 12 m 75 cm high. ”
Mikhail Ovsyankin was a war invalid with very sore legs. And he had to shovel alone about a hundred tons of clay. He mocked up a life-size model in record time - two months. So much he wanted to be in time for the next anniversary of the victory. But it was not possible to realize it in granite for another seven years, due to bureaucratic red tape.
Granite blocks were imported from a quarry in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Mikhail Ovsyankin recalls an unpleasant joke related to its processing: “Granite blocks were imported from a quarry in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Muscovites called them granite cultivators. The turn has reached the head, - recalls Mikhail Fedorovich. - They started - chopping masons - and suddenly a crack in the granite block. They took up the second - and he split ... Mikhail Fedorovich went along with the party committee secretary Oleg Yermolovich to the quarry. But the weather that day was rainy, granite got wet, and it was not possible to check its quality. They took the block at random, brought it to Kharkov, and began to process it. And suddenly the masons again say: "Mikhail Fedorovich, a crack." Then it turned out that they so decided to play a joke. As a result, an ambulance took Yermolovich with a heart attack. ”
Masons could not bring granite to mind, so Mikhail Ovsyankin took control of the situation. And every day at a twelve-meter height he chopped in the “forests” until nightfall.
A year before the opening of the monument, serious preparations were underway. There was a reburial of the remains of warriors at the Mass grave, as the graves were scattered throughout the Forest Park. But they did not immediately learn about it. On one of the graves were two sculptures - a soldier and a woman. When excavated, they found 50 coffins, 200 soldiers and children.
In 1977, the memorial complex was inaugurated. Arriving Colonel-General Strelnikov said that Ovsyankin accomplished a feat. But he did not receive a direct reward for him. According to his memoirs, later, by decree of the government, he was awarded the title of Honored Artist, but they did not say what kind of work he was.
Structure
The general composition of the memorial complex is formed by 3 commemorative steles with cast banners, sculptural compositions and a number of park alleys uniting them. At the entrance there are 2 steles with inscriptions on the back. The alley begins, at the end of which you can see the monument to the grieving “Mother of the Motherland”, the creation of which we told the story. At its foot there was eternal flame. And from it itself is heard a very distinctive sound of a heartbeat. In a sense, it really is: in the chest of a monumental woman this sound is. According to Mikhail Ovsyankin, this is a record of the heart rate of a patient who received a second heart attack. It was received thanks to the famous cardiologist and academician Love Malaya. All equipment is located to the right of the monument.
Later, a wooden worship cross was added to all the existing elements, near which memorial services were held for many years. On June 8, 2016, a capsule was laid in its place for the construction of a chapel in honor of the Mother of God. They decided to make the building in the form of a gazebo, with a gilded faceted dome and a granite cube-altar in the center. On August 20, 2016, on the eve of the city’s day, Metropolitan Onufry of Kharkov and Bogodukhovsky consecrated the chapel and held their first service.