The Defence of Red Tsaritsyn

Tsaritsyn and the War of Intervention – 1918-1922

The area around what was then the town of Tsaritsyn (now Stalingrad – sometimes erroneously referred to as ‘Volgograd’) was a major battle area during the war perpetrated against the nascent Workers’ State by the combined forces of the capitalist and imperialist countries. At times called the Civil War it was more a War of (Foreign) Intervention in support of the reactionary and monarchist ‘White’ forces. After four years of trying to destroy each other the members of the ‘opposing’ armies (during what came to be known as the First World War) fourteen imperialist powers found common ground when it came to the attempt to destroy the first Socialist state in the world.

These attempts were eventually defeated and by 1922 the country that was soon to call itself the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics had eradicated these forces from the territory of the workers’ Republic. However, this was not the final battle as the country had to contend with internal enemies (fought against during the 1930s) and then had to contend with the next imperialist effort to destroy Socialism in the form of the German Nazi invasion in 1941. At that time the city of Stalingrad again showed itself as prepared to sacrifice anything to defeat the invader.

JV Stalin was one of the leaders of the Bolshevik Party who was sent to this part of the front and his involvement can be read about in Stalin and the Armed Forces of the USSR, by KE Voroshilov.

There are three locations in modern Stalingrad where the tumultuous events of 1918-1919 are commemorated.

Monument to the Heroes of the Defence of Red Tsaritsyn

The first is the Monument to the Heroes of the Defence of Red Tsaritsyn located on Metallurgov Square in the Krasnooktyabrsky district. The sculpture was installed in 1961 on a pedestal lined with polished dark gray, granite slabs. The monument is dedicated to the heroes of the War of Intervention, including the workers of the local factories who took an active part in the defence of Tsaritsyn against the White Guards in 1918-1919.

The sculpture is made up of six figures. In the centre, standing, is what appears to be an officer. He has his right arm outstretched to his side, angled slightly behind him, with an open palm. This gesture normally signifies a call for others, unseen, to come and join the fight. Strangely, he is wearing a long sword, the scabbard of which he is grasping in his left hand.

To his left are two figures that have a connection, both emotionally and physically. The first is an older woman and she is probably the mother of the other figure, a young male. He looks somewhat nervous but his mother is trying to calm him with her hand on his right shoulder, saying that this is what he must do to protect her and the city of his birth. He is not in uniform so represents the young factory workers who joined the fight when the city was under siege. They are further united in that both of them have a hand gripping a rifle which has its butt on the ground.

Going around to the back of the sculpture the next figure is a male in a naval uniform. He has a rifle slung over his right shoulder which he is in the process of making it ready for use as his gaze is into the distance with the impression it is from there that the enemy is approaching.

Next to him is a soldier in the uniform of the newly formed Red Army. He is looking in the same direction as the sailor and his right hand is on the trigger mechanism of a Maxim machine gun.

The final figure of the group is the only one who is not standing. This is a worker (in civilian clothing) and his head is bandaged signifying he has been wounded. However, his left hand rests on body of the machine gun and he is holding his rifle in his right. He might be wounded but he is still prepared to take part in the fight.

The plaque on the front of the plinth reads (in Russian);

героям обороны Красного Царицына Вечная слава

meaning

Eternal Glory to the heroes of the Defence of Red Tsaritsyn

The plaque on the back threatens criminal charges against anyone who causes damage to the monument but this appears to have been installed soon after the monument was inaugurated as it makes reference to the Communist Party of the Russian Federation

Location;

Prospekt Metallurgov, 1А

GPS;

48.76612 N

44.56121 E

How to get there:

Nearest Metro/tram station is Zavod Krasny Oktyabr and it’s a few minutes walk, going out of town, on the opposite side of the road to the tram line.

Mass Grave of Sailors of the Volga Military Flotilla and Factory Workers

The second monument is close to the group sculpture above, being only a few hundred metres closer to the Metro stop and in the park area that separates the housing from the major road leading north out of the city. This is the Mass Grave of Sailors of the Volga Military Flotilla and Factory Workers.

The monument for this grave consists of a single individual – a sailor from the recently formed Socialist navy based in Tsaritsyn. He is sitting on the ground, his body twisted slightly to his right as he props himself up with his right forearm and has his left hand on the ground to give him further support. As is the individual in the main group sculpture he appears to be wounded but the fact that he still has his right hand on his rifle shows his willingness to fight on – however debilitated he might be.

He is wearing his sailors cap, with the ribbon hanging down which tells us he’s a sailor but, for a reason I don’t understand, he is shirtless

The inscription, on the plinth of the statue, reads in Russian;

Здесь похоронены моряки и рабочие, побшие в боях за Царицын в сентябре 1919 г[ода]

which translates as;

Sailors and workers who died in the battles for Tsaritsyn in September 1919 are buried here

Location;

Prospekt Imeni V.I. Lenina

GPS;

48.76355 N

44.56966 E

How to get there;

Almost directly across the road from the Zavod Krasny Oktyabr metro/tram stop.

Memorial History Museum

The Hammer and the Plough

The third location dedicated to the battle for Red Tsaritsyn during the War of Intervention is the what is now known as the Memorial History Museum. I say ‘dedicated to the battle for Red Tsaritsyn’ but that, now, isn’t strictly true. The museum, located in an early 20th century estate house, was originally opened in 1937 as the Museum of the Defence of Tsaritsyn and was dedicated to JV Stalin – due to his role in the battles here in 1918 and 1919.

However, at some unknown time in the past it was decided that the museum should also recognise the White forces that fought against the young Bolshevik, Socialist state. At one time there was a statue of JV Stalin in front of the main entrance to the building but that’s long gone and now there’s even a large, stone Orthodox Cross by the entrance.

Museum of the Defence of Tsaritsyn

Inside there’s been a half-hearted attempt to represent the White (reactionary and monarchist forces supported by the European imperialist countries) in a ‘BBC inspired’ ‘give both sides of the story’ manner. This makes the whole concept of the museum somewhat ludicrous. No one in Stalingrad would ever contemplate presenting the invading Nazis in a favourable light in the Battle of Stalingrad Panoramic Museum, just a kilometre or two up the road, but the reactionary authorities got away with it in this museum.

The museum, nonetheless, is still worth a visit if not for;

the mock up of an armoured train – something I hadn’t seen before;
the horse drawn carriage with a Maxim machine gun mounted at the back;
some impressive, original banners;
a collection of posters from the period; and
an example of a small badge with an image of the Hammer and Plough. I assume this was what was considered before the Hammer and Sickle was adopted (but, so far, I haven’t been able to find out anything more about how the now famous symbol of the Soviet Union was eventually accepted as being representative of the country’s construction of Socialism.)

Location;

Ulitsa Gogolya, 10,

GPS;

48.71138 N

44.51438 E

How to get there;

The museum is in the same square as Stalingrad/Volgograd 1 railway station, just across the car park and the road from the main station entrance.

Opening hours;

Every day between 10.00 and 18.00.

Entrance;

₽ 150 (about £1.40)

More on the USSR

Stalingrad Railway Station

More on the USSR

Stalingrad (Volgograd) Railway Station

It is located in the Central District of the city at Railway Station Square, 1. The station is one of the largest in Russia and serves long-distance trains and suburban trains.

The first railway to serve Tsaritsyn (now Stalingrad/Volgograd) was the Volga-Don railway in 1862. The first railway station was constructed of wood. In 1871 the station was replaced with a brick structure.

Stalingrad Railway Station – October 1942

During the Second World War, the building was almost completely destroyed in the Battle of Stalingrad. In the period from July 1951 to May 1954 the new station building was erected on the site of the old building. The station commissioned June 2, 1954. In 1997 the building of the railway station was designated an architectural monument. In 2005, the station building was renovated for the 60th anniversary of Victory Day, the capitulation of Nazi Germany to the Soviet Union in the Second World War.

On December 29, 2013, the station was the site of a suicide bombing in which at least 16 people were killed. The station was re-opened after reconstruction on May 7, 2014, just in time for Victory Day holidays.

The station is a three-story building with a ground floor tower crowned with a spire. The building is made of a combination of brick and concrete, the facade consists of ornamented granite. The interior walls are mainly marble. The ceiling is decorated with stucco and several paintings of the battles that took place in the city.

Text above from Wikipedia.

Aspects of the building;

Sculpture in the pediment at the front of the building

Stalingrad Station – 07

The Apotheosis of Labour – sculptors M. Pavlovskii, N. Pavlovskaya, V. Bezrukov.

I read somewhere that this is supposed to be a ‘copy’ but with no more information. So don’t really understand that as I don’t think this sculpture was installed in the building that was destroyed in the siege – but I might be wrong.

Note the image on the cover of the folder the male on the left is holding – it’s that of the station building itself.

Ceiling murals

There are three of these ceiling panels – one circular over the ticket hall, another circular over the seated waiting area and the third is rectangular in a large room off the ticket hall that used to be a cafe but which is now a VIP/1st Class lounge – which no one seems to use. However, when I asked to take pictures of that ceiling panel, and the room itself, there was no problem.

Stalingrad Station – 05

The first circular panel represents Tsaritsyn/Stalingrad in war – or more specifically, at the very end of war. The first depicts an image of the Red Army in the city after the victory over the White (reactionary and supported by the imperialist countries) forces in 1918 when it was known as Tsaritsyn. Opposite, on the same panel is an image of the events following the defeat of the Nazi invaders in 1943 when the city – now named Stalingrad – could commence reconstruction as the Red Army went on to victory in Berlin.

Stalingrad Station – 04

The second circular panel depicts landmarks in the civilian life of the city. The first, in 1952, is the opening of the Volga Hydroelectric Station and the other is the opening of the Volga-Don canal in 1961.

Note the trees that are on the left and right of each panel, which play the role of separating the two events. In 1918 there is barely a leaf on the tree, there are more come 1943 but when we go into the 1950s and 60s we see the tree come into full leaf, mirroring the successes of the construction of Socialism.

Stalingrad Station – 06

The rectangular panel depicts a bucolic scene of workers on a State/collective farm in the area. Here note the presence of the electricity pylon commemorating the achievement of the electrification of the whole country, a challenge Lenin posed to the country in declarations in the early 1920s.

The artist of all the panels was Yakov Skripkov.

Bas-reliefs at the front of building

Stalingrad Station – 03

On either side of the main entrance to the station, under the tower and clock, are bas reliefs that depict, on the left, a representation of the Civil War and on the right the Siege of Stalingrad in the Great Patriotic War. Note the Nazi standard being trampled underfoot in the second bas relief.

Stalingrad Station – 02

Information boards

Stalingrad Station – 01

On my visit in late May 2024 there were a number of information panels on display on either side of the main station building entrance basically telling the story of the role of the building in the history of the city from the time of the Civil War, through the siege to reconstruction after the war. This was soon after the celebration of Victory Day of May 9th so they may only have been there temporarily.