Monument «To the defenders of the Russian land»
The monument was erected in 1995. The authors of the monument were the sculptor, the People’s Artist of the Russian Federation Anatoly Bichukov (he headed the V.V. Vereshchagin Artists Studio of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for 35 years) and the architect Yuri Grigoriev. The sculptural composition consists of three figures of Russian soldiers: a hero in armor from the times of Ancient Russia with a sword, a guardsman from the period of the Patriotic War of 1812 with a gun and a soldier in military uniform from the Great Patriotic War with a machine gun. The figures of the warriors are distinguished by the elaboration of details, they are depicted ready to meet enemies. The words “Defenders of the Russian land” are fixed on the stone pedestal. The monument is installed on an artificial hill, flowers are planted in front of it, forming the inscription “Rus’”. “Love for the Motherland and love for the mother are very similar phenomena, and if this is not inherent in a person, then it is unclear why he exists,” the creator of this monument said in an interview. There would be neither our past, present, nor future without the heroic feat of the defenders of the Russian land. They preserved and handed over to us the glorious traditions of Russian weapons, which always served exclusively to protect the just cause and native borders. Throughout history, the sense of brotherhood and fighting spirit among Russian officers and soldiers has been especially strong. The lines of many classic works of Russian literature are dedicated to their feat, including M.Y. Lermontov’s poem “Borodino”:
«Hold off, my friend Moosue!
Who needs these games, why not begin;
Those left alive will wall you in,
If this be what it takes to win
Our motherland from you!»
Address: Moscow, Victory Park