Monument to the Fallen of the NKVD in the Battle for Stalingrad

‘It is impossible to overestimate the importance of the NKVD troops during the war. They became an indestructible shield that protected our country. It was with their help that it was possible to stop the retreating army, overcome the demoralized state of a number of army units, protect the country from the invasion of enemy saboteurs and bandits with personal participation, organize a powerful partisan movement behind enemy lines, stop the enemy’s armed forces in the most important strategic directions, such as Moscow, the Caucasus , Stalingrad.’

[Introductory paragraph from ‘Pages of the history of the internal affairs bodies: the feat of the 10th division of the NKVD’

At the southern end of Stalingrad city centre there’s a small park which hosts an impressive monument to those members of the NKVD who fought and died in the Battle of Stalingrad. Even if you don’t know immediately who is commemorated by the monument if you know the name of the square you are given a clue by it’s name. The location of the park is known as Chekist Square – the colloquial name of the security organisation, established soon after the October Revolution in 1917, was the Cheka and even though the official name changed a number of times over the years the ‘nickname’ persisted.

The number of troops involved involved in NKVD formations were obviously many more than would have existed in peace time and these divisions became much more ideological – formed by those Communists who were fighting for much more than the liberation of their country from the Nazi invaders but for the international cause of Socialism. They were sent to some of the fiercest fighting and consequently suffered some of the heaviest losses and played a much more prominent role in various battlefronts than their numbers would suggest. Although the formation of such fighting forces had its positives the negative consequence of this was that after the victory of the Red Army over the fascist invader the forces of committed Communists was weakened – a consequence of which was felt in the Soviet Union after the death of JV Stalin in 1953.

The Monument

The monument consists of a pillar on top of which stands a uniformed soldier with his right arm raised high above his head and in his hand he is holding a sword. In November 1932 JV Stalin sent a message of congratulations to the then OGPU addressing them as ‘the bared sword of the working class’.

There’s a pentagon at the base of the pillar and on the five sides there’s;

a plaque (in Russian)

Чекистам, сотрудникам контрразведки Сталинградского фронта и военной полиции, погибшим при защите города от немецко-фашистских захватчиков с августа 1942 – февраль 1943 года

which translates as;

To the Chekists, to the counter-intelligence officers of the Stalingrad Front and the military police officers who died while defending the city from the Nazi invaders, August 1942 to February 1943;

a large, metal image of the symbol of the NKVD – which has the Hammer and Sickle superimposed on a vertical sword;

a large, metal image of the Medal for the Defence of Stalingrad;

another plaque (in Russian)

В СУРОВЫЙ ЧАС.

КОГДА ВРАГ ЧЕРНОЙ ТУЧЕЙ НАВЕС НАД СТАЛИНГРАДОМ,
МЫ КЛЯНЕМСЯ БЕСПОШАДНО УНИЧТОЖАТЬ НЕНАВИСТНОГО ВРАГА, ГДЕ БЫ ОН НЕ ПОЯВИЛСЯ.

МЫ ОБЕЩАЕМ, ЧТО В ТЯЖЕЛЫЙ МОМЕНТ НЕ ДРОГНЕМ ПЕРЕД ЛИЦОМ СМЕРТЕЛЬНОЙ УГРОЗЫ.

МЫ ПОКАЖЕМ СТОЙКОСТЬ, ВЫСОКУЮ ДИСЦИПЛИНУ, ВЫДЕРЖКУ.

МЫ ПОТОВЫ ЛЕЧЬ КОСТЬМИ, НО НЕ ДОПУСТИТЬ ВРАГА В СТАЛИНГРАД.

КЛЯНЕМСЯ ЧТО БУДЕМ ДОСТОЙНЫМИ СЫНАМИ СВОЕЙ РОДИНЫ!

КЛЯТВА БОЙЦОВ И КОМАНДИРОВ 10-ОЙ СТРеАКоВОЙ ВОйСК НКВА

which translates as;

In the fateful hour, when the enemy loomed over Stalingrad like a black cloud, we will never repent of relentlessly destroying the hated enemy no matter how he appears.

We promise that in difficult moments we will not flinch in the face of a deadly threat.

We will show resilience, high discipline and self control.

We would lay down our lives to prevent the enemy from entering Stalingrad.

We swear we will be worthy sons of our Homeland.

Oath of the soldiers and commanders of the 10th Infantry Division of the NKVD troops

and another emblem of the NKVD but this time with the addition of an honorific, a Star between the Hammer and Sickle and the Sword

The platform upon which all this stands has five sets of steps up to the pentagon. On two sides of the wall that flanks these steps are mirrored images of; three Soviet flags lowered as a sign of respect for the fallen, the Hammer and Sickle over which lies a sheaf of wheat and the corner is formed by a vertical sword, point at the top (similar to that in the hand of the NKVD soldier at the top of the column).

The monument is at the highest point in this small park and slightly away from the main road. There’s seating, much of it in the shade of the trees and appears to be a place where people come to rest from the hustle and bustle of the city and away from the heat in summer.

There’s another monument to the NKVD, this time over a grave of those killed in the battle, next to the statue of VI Lenin, in Lenin Square, just a couple of kilometres to the north of this monument, along the main road in the direction of Mamyev Kurgan.

Further information;

Division of the NKVD in the defense of Stalingrad. The feat of the NKVD division in the battle of Stalingrad. Participation of internal troops in interethnic conflicts

Location;

Chekistov Square and Park, located at the southern end of the Astrakhansky Bridge on the edge of the town centre.

GPS;

78.70155 N

44.50653 E

How to get there;

The Pionerskaya Metro station is on the other side of the Astrakhanskya Bridge. Also many buses pass over this bridge when heading south and west of Stalingrad city centre.

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Lenin – Ulitsa Pavlovskaya

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VI Lenin statue and assassination attempt memorial stone – Moscow

The Lenin Monument on Pavlovskaya Street (Памятник Ленину на Павловской улице) was installed in 1967 in Moscow in the park on Pavlovskaya Street in front of the Mikhelson Electromechanical Plant, a factory that was later named in honour of VI Lenin. It was after a visit to this factory on August 30, 1918, that Fanny Kaplan, a member of the Socialist Revolutionary Party, fired three shots at him whilst he was about to get back into his car.

The background

That very same morning the Chairman of the Petrograd Extraordinary Commission (Cheka), Moisey Uritsky, was killed in Petrograd. Despite this fact no extra security was in place, neither on Lenin’s way to make his speech nor even at the factory itself. The Soviet state was less than a year old and there had already been two attempts on Lenin’s life so there was a bit of failing on behalf of the Party. They also were aware that foreign intelligence agencies, especially the forerunner of MI6, were plotting to overthrow the young Soviet government at a time when everything was in flux.

Two of the three bullets hit Lenin – so the gun was not fired by some random person who had a gripe against the Bolsheviks but someone who had been trained in the use of the actual gun (a Browning FN 1900) not someone who had decided, on a personal whim, to assassinate the country’s leader. The third bullet hit a woman who was speaking to Lenin at the time.

It was good that Lenin had a closeness to the workers that he didn’t want to be surrounded by security but the Bolsheviks should have been aware that something like this could be attempted. Whether anyone was ever held responsible for this security lapse is unknown.

Of the two bullets that hit their mark one caused a dangerous wound in the neck, under the jaw, resulting in blood entering his lung. The second bullet hit him on the arm. Further proof that Kaplan had been trained for this.

On investigation by the Cheka two British agents, Sidney Riley and RH Bruce Lockhart, were implicated but investigations by the British concluded that this was not the case, surprise, surprise. However, the combination of events, the characters involved, the ‘coincidence’ of the successful assassination of Uritisky in Petrograd the very same day means that there’s certainly strong circumstantial evidence of covert British involvement.

What has to be remembered is that the 1914 war was still ongoing, that August 1918 was (as it turned out) the last offensive of the German Army and the British and the French were desperate for Russia to re-join them in the war.

Not for the first time, and certainly not for the last (up to today), the British have used assassination to try to achieve their aims.

Lenin wasn’t, at first, expected to live but he recovered quickly. He left Moscow for the countryside at Gorki to recuperate on September 25, returning to Moscow on October 14 and was next seen in public on the 22nd. Although Lenin seemed to recover completely from this attack there’s no knowing how these injuries might have contributed to his relatively early death less than six years later, at the age of 53.

Memorial stone to the assassination attempt on VI Lenin

Assassination memorial stone

In 1922 workers from the factory installed a memorial stone of red polished granite on the site of the assassination attempt.

On the front side are inscribed the words:

In Russian;

Первый камень монумента на месте покушения на вождя мирового пролетариата Владимира Ленина. 30 августа 1918 – 1 ноября 1922

In English;

The first stone monument on the site of an attempt on the life of the leader of the world proletariat, Vladimir Lenin. August 30, 1918 – November 1, 1922

The inscription on the reverse side reads;

In Russian;

Пусть угнетенные всего мира знают, что в этот момент пуля капиталистической контрреволюции пыталась прервать жизнь и деятельность вождя мирового пролетариата Владимира Ильича Ленина

In English;

Let the oppressed of the whole world know that on this spot the bullet of the capitalist counter-revolution tried to interrupt the life and work of the leader of the world proletariat, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin

Whether the stone that is presently in place is the original I don’t know. It looks in very good condition for something that’s been in situ for over a century, a century that included the Nazi attack on the city.

The statue

Lenin – Ulitsa Pavlovskaya – 01

On November 7, 1947 (the 30th anniversary of the October Revolution) in the square in front of the factory, close to the assassination memorial stone, a granite statue of VI Lenin was erected, the sculptor being SD Merkurov and the architect A Zhukov.

In 1967 that statue was moved to inside the factory and the present statue, the work of sculptor VB Topuridze and architect K.T. Topuridze was installed in its place.

‘The present monument to Lenin on Pavlovskaya Street was established on the initiative of the old Bolsheviks of the plant named after Vladimir Ilyich. The sculptor and architect worked on the monument directly in one of the workshops of the plant where they consulted veterans who had personally attended Lenin’s speeches. Workers of the plant named after Vladimir Ilyich made all forms for sculpture, which were then sent to the Leningrad plant ‘Monument Sculpture’ for bronze casting.’

This new statue was inaugurated on November 1, 1967, just before the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution.

The sculpture is five metres high and stands on a high granite pedestal. Lenin is shown standing upright dressed in a full length winter coat and is wearing a cap

Location;

In a small park at the junction of Ulitsa Pavlovskaya and Ulitsa Pavla Andreyeva.

GPS;

55.72087º N

37.62862º E

How to get there by public transport;

Serpukhovskaya Metro, on Line 9, south of the city centre. And then a 10 minute walk south along Bolshaya Serpukhovskaya Ulitsa. The park in which the statue and the memorial stone are located is just after the first crossroad at Ulitsa Pavla Andreyeva, on the left.

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