The Monument of the Heroes of the Fight for the Freedom of the People and the Homeland, for Socialism

Posted on 06/04/2025 by Michael

Monument of the Heroes of the Fight for the Freedom

The Monument of the Heroes of the Fight for the Freedom of the People and the Homeland, for Socialism

This is a monument situated on a high point, Filaret Hill, in Carol I park, (called Liberty Park during Romania’s attempt to construct Socialism). The park can be found to the south west of the centre of Bucharest (the Old Town).

The site was formerly the location of the Palace of Arts which later housed a military museum but this was damaged first by fire in 1938 and then by an earthquake in 1940. The structure was demolished in 1943 but it wasn’t until 1959 that work began on the monument – which was finally inaugurated in 1963. The structure follows the plans laid out by architects Horia Maicu and Nicolae Cucu. ‘The monument consists of a massive round base, with five slender arches clad in red granite, which reach a height of 48 meters’.

The necropolis is constructed of black and red granite from Sweden and consists of a central mausoleum with a semi-circle of crypts for the burial Heroes of the working class. Inside the central structure were placed the bodies of three, early, prominent Communist leaders – Gheorghe Gheorghiu-De (First Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1944-1965), Constantin Ion Parhon (the first Head of State of the Romanian People’s Republic from 1947 to 1952) and Petru Groza (the country’s first Prime Minister). Their bodies were removed from the mausoleum after the counter-revolution in 1991 and reburied in the city’s cemetery.

There are no names on the tombstones, which are placed outside the semi-circular cloister, so I don’t know if any bodies interred there are still in place or whether they were also removed to other cemeteries.

Now, inside the central structure, in place of the Communist leaders stands a statue of Ferdinand Viktor Albert Meinrad (1865-1927) – the monarch of Romania during the First World War – and the Goddess Nike (representing Victory or the expensive trainers – I don’t know which). The mausoleum is open to the public on Heroes Day, celebrated on Ascension Day (40 days after Easter) and on Army Day, the 25th of October. This seems like a modern version of the ‘extirpation of idolatry’ practised by the Spanish in Peru.

For many years there was a discussion about destroying the monument but in 2006 the decision was taken to keep the structure but it was rebranded as the Memorial to the Heroes of the Nation.

The Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, the work of the Romanian sculptor Emil Wilhelm Becker, was placed in front of the original building and inaugurated on 17 May 1923. This commemorates those Romanians who died in the First World War. This was retained with the construction of the present structure of the late 1950s and is located on a platform in front of, and slightly lower, to that structure. Alongside it is an Eternal Flame which burns to this day. This tomb has a single Honour Guard which I assume, but don’t know for certain, is 24 hours a day. There’s a barracks underneath the whole structure with the entrance towards the back of the cloister.

Placed on the platform of the principal monument are various artillery pieces, ‘guarding’ the monument. They look like 76mm canons produced in the Soviet Union at the time of the Great Patriotic War in the 1940s.

Condition of the monument;

The principal structure looks in good condition but the general environment could be cared for better. There are tacky plastic strips to indicate that people shouldn’t enter the platform around the mausoleum and the cloister is dirty and used to store all kinds of building materials.

Location;

At the bottom end of the park just above a small lake with fountains, approached via a wide tree lined avenue and then a large flight of steps. The monument dominates the park.

GPS;

44.41151 N

26.09683 E

How to get there;

The northern end of the park is about a 20 minute walk from Unirii Park in the centre of Bucharest. Metro station Tineretului is the closest to the southern end of the park and the monument. It’s a walk, uphill west, of about 500m from the station entrance to the memorial.

Opening times;

The Monument is accessible 24 hours a day.

Soviet-Georgian Friendship Monument – Kazbegi

Posted on 12/12/2024 by Michael

Soviet-Georgian Friendship Monument

Soviet-Georgian Friendship Monument – Kazbegi

The Soviet–Georgia Friendship Monument or Treaty of Georgievsk Monument is a monument built in 1983 to celebrate the bicentennial of the Treaty of Georgievsk and the ongoing friendship between Soviet Georgia and Soviet Russia. Located on the Georgian Military Highway between the ski resort town of Gudauri and the Jvari pass, the monument is a large round stone and concrete structure overlooking the Devil’s Valley in the Caucasus mountains. Inside the monument is a large tile mural that spans the whole circumference of the structure and depicts scenes of Georgian and Russian history.

Text above from Wikipedia.

The monument consists of a large round stone and concrete structure with 7 huge concrete columns that symbolize the seven centuries of friendship between the Georgian and Russian people.

The Soviet section, on the right as you look at the monument, is much easier to understand in its historical context (e.g., The October Revolution and the Great Patriotic War) than the images on the left about Georgia – unless you have an idea of more ancient Georgian history.

Completed;

1983

Architects;

Giorgi Chakhava

Artists;

Zurab Kapanadze, Nodar Malazonia and Zurab Lezhava

Location;

Just off the ‘military road’ (the road between Tbilisi and the border with Russia) about 2 kilometres north of the village of Gudauri on the way to Kazbegi.

Getting there;

Not an easy place to get to on public transport but marshutkas (minibuses) will get you there. They leave from the Didube bus station in Tbilisi. An early start would be recommended if you want to make the visit there and back in one day. Cost 15GEL each way.

GPS;

42.4920°N

44.4527°E

Monument to the Soviet Red Army, Liberty Square – Budapest

Posted on 23/09/2024 by Michael

Monument to the Soviet Red Army

Monument to the Soviet Red Army, Liberty Square, Budapest

The monument to the liberating Red Army consists of a column, stepped at its lower levels, surmounted by a large, golden, three-dimensional star. On the face of the column, around half way up, is a golden representation of the State emblem of the Soviet Union.

Below the emblem, in black lettering are the words, in Cyrillic,

СЛАВА СОВЕТСКИМ ГЕРОЯМ ОСВОЂОДИТЕЛЯМ

and then in Hungarian;

DÍCSÖSÉG A FELSZABADÍTÓ SZOVJET HÖSÖKNEK

These translate as;

GLORY TO THE SOVIET HEROES, LIBERATORS

The column sits on a platform which is reached by a short series of five steps on both sides. To the left, rear and right of the column there’s a low wall. On this wall, immediately to the left and right of the column, the names of some of the Soviet fallen officers are engraved in gold lettering. This seems strange to me. Ninety-five thousand Red Armymen must have died in the battle for Budapest but why just single out the officers to be named on the memorial?

There are two, semi-circular bas reliefs – one that most people see on the ‘front’ of the monument and the other at the back.

Monument to the Soviet Red Army – 01

The one at the front depicts a common theme on such monuments, a group of eight Red Armymen advance, weapons at the ready, attacking a position held by the Nazi occupiers. The first group of four, on the left, includes a soldier – who is not shown to be armed – who holds aloft the Soviet Flag (although there’s no indication of the hammer and sickle or a star) whilst looking back, urging those behind to join in the attack. This is a common aspect of such Socialist Realist sculpture and can be seen in, for example, on some structures in Albania and Russia. Another soldier in this group is dragging along a Pulyemyot Maksima PM1910, a heavy Maxim machine gun (versions of which seem to have been used for more than a hundred years).

The second group of four are on the right and they are accompanied by a tank, the gun barrel of which looms ominously above them. Three of them are soldiers with a submachine gun (almost certainly a PPSh-41) and the fourth, at the top, is an officer with a pistol. They are all aiming and firing at the Nazis.

In the background can be seen the outline of some of the most distinctive buildings in the centre of Budapest, many of them ruins, demonstration of the fierceness of the fighting. (Something like 80% of the buildings of Budapest were either destroyed or severely damaged by the end of the final battle.)

Monument to the Soviet Red Army – 02

In many ways the back of the column is a mirror of the front. There’s the emblem of the Soviet Union and the same inscription in both Russian and Hungarian. There’s also a semi circular bas relief but although it is also an image of attacking Soviet Red Armymen it tells a sightly different story.

Here we have a group of four soldiers on the attack with an even more ruined image of Budapest in the background. They are moving from left the right and the soldier on the extreme left is standing and is about to throw a stick hand grenade with his right hand. At the same time he holds a submachine gun (probably again a PPSh-41) in his left hand. The other three of the group are advancing and firing against the Nazi enemy in the seriously damaged remains of Budapest before the final liberation on 13^th February 1945.

A combination of lack of maintenance and climate probably is the cause of the damage to the images at the back. Although providing a green and natural backdrop the large trees behind the monument create a humid environment and in the winter that area probably doesn’t get any sun at all. And there is obvious damage caused by humidity on the bas relief panel. To the left of the panel water damage has changed the colour of the bronze from green to a dirty brown. Above the panel there are signs of mould around the lettering and the Soviet emblem doesn’t shine so bright as it does at the front.

On the other hand the façade that people normally see gets the full force of the sun so there’s an element of self-maintenance here as the damp and mould don’t have an opportunity to establish themselves and grow. Also any damage here would be noticed immediately. On my visit a dozen or more big tour groups stood in front of the monument and were treated to an anti-Soviet, anti-Russian diatribe, with no reference to the fact that the Hungarians were firm supporters of the Nazis and it was a combined force of German and Hungarian fascists that were surrounded in late December 1944 before the final liberation 50 days later.

In the centre of the base of the platform, in gold lettering, is the date ‘1945’, the year of liberation. There’s a small, reasonably well tended flower bed in front of the bas relief panel, with red flowers. On my visit there was also a large bunch of red roses, left at some time in the recent past to commemorate some specific event, unknown to me.

Considering the presence of various fascist groups in Hungary and the constant harping on about the 1956 counter-revolution I’m slightly surprised the monument is in such a good condition. There is a government to government agreement that the monument will not be removed but that wouldn’t normally stop Hungarian Nazi sympathisers.