Memorial of Glory – Panfilov Park – Almaty – Kazakhstan

Posted on 23/09/2025 by Michael

Memorial of Glory

Memorial of Glory – Panfilov Park – Almaty – Kazakhstan

The Memorial of Glory, the monument to the fallen of the Great Patriotic War in Almaty, is one of the largest I’ve had the opportunity of visiting. The complex consists of;

The high relief ‘Oath’ is an image of a young Red Army man leading the horses of his fallen comrades. It is located on the left side of the main axis of the memorial complex. The dates 1917-1920 are the period of the War of Intervention (Russian Civil War) when the Bolsheviks fought against, and defeated, local reactionary ‘White’ forces – who had the support of international capitalism – following the October Revolution.

Oath

The high relief ‘The Feat’ depicts images of the Panfilov Heroes. These are the 28 soldiers who fought (and most of whom died) fighting the Nazi invaders at Dubosekovo Station near Volokolamsk (Moscow) in November 1941. The bas-relief on the podium is made by the copper embossing technique and recreates a representation of the 15 Soviet Republics in the outline of the map of the Soviet Union. The words of the Panfilov Heroes’ political commander, Vasily Klochkov, are spelt out in copper relief letters on the podium; ‘Russia is great and there is no retreat. Moscow is behind us!’.

The Feat

The high relief ‘Trumpeting Glory’ represents images that reference the victory of the Soviet Union over German Nazism. It is located on the right side of the main axis of Memorial walk. In front of this high relief are further cubes of labradorite under which are capsules with the earth of the Hero Cities.

Trumpeting Glory

Architects;

T.K. Basenov, R.A. Seydalin, V.N. Kim

Sculptors;

V. V. Andryushchenko, A.E. Artimovich

The Memorial of Glory was inaugurated on 8th May 1975, on the occasion of the 30th Anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany (Victory Day). On the same day the Eternal Flame was ignited.

Eternal Flame

Separate memorials at the complex;

to the 601,011 Kazakhs who died in the Great Patriotic War
to first discoverers of air routes in Kazakhstan; pilots T Svonio and ND Zorin and OGPU officer D Litvin who died ‘in the line of duty’ on 10th October 1931
the ‘sacred soil of the Hero Cities, stained with the blood of the fraternal peoples’ who died in the Great Patriotic War, is kept here’ – capsules of the soil being underneath the large cubes of labradorite bearing the names of the cities where some of the most important battles of the Great Patriotic War were fought. These are located in front of the two alto-reliefs ‘Oath’ and ‘Trumpeting Glory’.
to Kazyl Karibzhanov (1912-1960) – renowned for his work in the collectivisation of agriculture in Kazakhstan;
to Tashem Utelov, Beisenbai Umbetbayev (1885-1925) and Zhubanyshi Baribayev

all Communist Party members who worked for the Revolution in Semirech’ye, the region in which Almaty is located

Monument to the Afghan Warriors, commemorating the Kazakh soldiers who died in the war in Afghanistan – sculptor Kazbek Satybaldin; architects Tokhtar Yeraliev and Vladimir Sidorov.

Monument to the Afghan Warriors

On any visit to the memorial in the daytime it would be surprising if you did not encounter groups of schoolchildren, especially of primary school age, not being introduced to their history. Also, it appears that there’s been a re-introduction of the ceremonies that were common during the Soviet period. Until 1990 children, mainly the Young Pioneers (the organisation of Communist Youth) would mount ‘guards of honour’ beside the Eternal Flame on important national occasions, especially May 8th – Victory Day. This ceremonial involvement of school children has now been taken on by the older children of a local grammar school that bears the name of Panfilov.

There’s a pedestrian avenue in the park where the names of the local Heroes of the Soviet Union are attached to marble plinths. This avenue runs from just behind the principal sculpture of ‘The Feat’ in the direction of Gogol Street.

At the far end of the memorial, up a flight of steps, is the Museum of Military History. At the top of the building is a fine high relief with images of Soviet symbols of the Star and Hammer and Sickle.

Location;

Panfilov Park

GPS;

43.25893 N

76.95506 E

How to get there;

The park is within a short walking distance from the main thoroughfares of Tole Bi Street and Furmanov Avenue. Many buses and trolley buses pass along these roads from all parts of the city.

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Monument to the Militia of the Proletarsky district – Moscow

Posted on 27/08/2025 by Michael

Monument to the Militia of Proletarsky district

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Monument to the Militia of the Proletarsky district – Moscow

Turning right just a few minutes walk from the street entrance to the Avtozavodskaya Metro station (the one that has some of the most impressive mosaics at platform level in the whole of the Moscow Metro system) is another impressive piece of art work from the Socialist period. This is the Monument to the Militia of the Proletarsky district which stands in the square at the beginning of the wide Avtozavodskaya Avenue.

It was inaugurated on 6 May 1980 and is dedicated to the inhabitants of the Proletarsky district of Moscow who died on all fronts during the Great Patriotic War.

The team that created the monument were; sculptors Fedor Dmitrievitch Fiveysky and Nina Grigorievna Skrynnikova; architect PPI Studenikin; engineer B Dubovoy.

The principal theme of the monument is the unity of the battle front and the home front.

We are presented by a symbolic banner of victory with a central flag pole and the banner fluttering in the wind. Towards the base of the mast are the numbers – in relief – 1941 and 1945 (the duration of the Great Patriotic War) with a small, polished, copper star between the two numbers. On the side facing towards the Metro station, considered to be the front of the monument, on the right, is a group of the armed, civilian militia marching towards the conflict. On the left are uniformed Red Army soldiers, gesturing and looking in different directions. All the individuals are male – there’s no female presence on the sculpture.

At the rear the emphasis is on the home front. Notice the apartment buildings, in the centre on the left hand side, which are surrounded by anti-aircraft guns. Barrage balloons are in the sky and at the back smoke is billowing out of factory chimneys. Rows of trucks are coming off the production line, destined for the front, and shells, ammunition and weapons are also shown as products of the factories. On the extreme left, on the edge, can be made out anti-tank defences which also constitute the monument at the point on the outskirts of Moscow where the Nazi attack was halted. (This is on the way to the present Sheremetyevo airport.)

High up, above the inscription, is a large Star, indicating this is a Socialist Moscow that is fighting and being defended by the Red Army and its people.

The inscription reads, in Russian;

Подвиг пролетариев, павших за свободу и независимость Родины, навсегда останется в памяти народа. Вечная слава героям

which translates as;

The exploit of the proletarians who have fallen for the freedom and independence of the homeland will forever remain in the memory of the people. Eternal glory to the heroes.

At the base of the mast, at the back, are the names of the sculptural/architectural team of the creators of the monument.

The sculpture is 15 metres high and the design is of copper sheeting forged on a steel framework. The whole structure rests on a stepped, polished, red granite base.

During the May 9th holiday this monument is the site of various celebratory events by both civilian and military organisations – the aftermath of one such which can be seen in some of the photographs.

(If you were to turn left from the entrance of Avtozavodskaya Metro station, go to the next junction and cross the road you will find yourself next to ‘VI Lenin amongst the fir trees’ at Avtozavodskaya Street, 23.)

Location;

Avtozavodskaya Square.

GPS;

55.70753 N

37.65856 E

How to get there;

Just a short walk from the entrance of Avtozavodskaya Metro station, on Line 2.

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Obelisk of Glory – Aktobe – Kazakhstan

Posted on 21/08/2025 by Michael

Obelisk of Glory – Aktobe – 01

More on the USSR

Obelisk of Glory – Aktobe – Kazakhstan

Of all the post-Soviet countries in Western Asia Kazakhstan appears to be the one that still maintains a real connection to the Soviet past. This is reflected in the maintenance – and even existence – of those public statues and monuments that celebrated and commemorated Soviet achievements. Statues of VI Lenin might have been removed from certain locations but other monuments that remain are still treated with an element of respect. This respect reaches its peak, if you like, when it comes to commemoration of the Great Patriotic War.

One such monument is the Obelisk of Glory in Aktobe. This was inaugurated in August 1970 in honour of the people from the region who died for their homeland during the Great Patriotic War (what the ‘West’ calls the Second World War). The monument is now located in the central part of the new city of Aktobe on Aliya Moldagulova Avenue.

Obelisk of Glory – Aktobe – original location

However, this is not its original location. It once stood in front of the House of the Soviets on Oktyabrsky Boulevard (now renamed Abai Avenue) but was moved to its present location in 1984 when a statue of VI Lenin (since removed) was erected on its site.

Major changes were made to the monument – not to the principal column but the surrounds – in its present location but I’m not exactly sure when. From the information I’ve been able to gather it was more likely in 2015 in preparation for the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the victory over fascism. Something like 160 tons of granite, from the Kurdai deposit in the Almaty region, were brought to Aktobe to construct the wall and the curbs in the area you can see now.

The principal element of the monument is a tall, 18 metre, obelisk into which is incorporated an image of a Red Armyman. He is depicted wearing an overcoat that was more appropriate to the Civil War/War Intervention in the immediate years following the October Revolution as many of important battles against foreign supported reaction took place in western Asia. On a monument that is ostensibly to commemorate the war of 1941 to 1945 the inclusion of an anachronistic element such as the overcoat could be to draw a parallel between the two conflicts – both of which were existential to the Soviet Union.

He wears a Budenovka hat with the clear outline of a star and his right hand is raised high above his head in which he holds a sword; his left hand is clenched into a fist. (This is very reminiscent of the soldier on the top of the pillar at the Monument to the Fallen of the NKVD in Stalingrad.) There’s an Eternal Flame burning to the right of the monument. This is unusual as in many locations, were there’s evidence of the presence of an Eternal Flame, the fire has long been allowed to go out. It is reported that the torch for the lighting of this flame came from the Field of Mars in Leningrad – I assume in 1970 when the monument was in its original location.

The architect was T. Dzhanibekov and the sculptor N. Sobolev. However, I’m not sure how much involvement either of them had in the remodelling that took place since its original inauguration.

Obelisk of Glory – Aktobe – 02

The monument is the centre of commemorations annually on May 9th (Victory Day in the Soviet Union and has become more important in recent years in the Russian Federation) and, as in many locations in the post-Soviet Union where the fire still burns at an Eternal Flame, brides and bridegrooms visit the monument on their wedding day.

The modern monument to Aliya Moldagulova is along the same avenue, about a kilometre to the south west, and the museum in her honour is across the road, on the left, just before the memorial complex