Defenders of the Soviet Arctic during the years of World War II

Initially, the monument was supposed to be installed on Five Corners Square , but then they chose the Cape Verde, which rises 173 meters above the city and the Kola Bay . The monument was laid on October 17, 1969 , and its construction began in May 1974 . On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi troops in the Arctic - October 19, 1974, the monument was unveiled. The initiator of the fundraising for the construction of the monument was the team of the Rezets floating workshop. The project of the complex was developed by the architect I. A. Pokrovsky and the sculptor I. D. Brodsky .

Here is how the ceremonial opening of the memorial of T. Vladimirov describes:

During the opening of the monument, young Murmansk citizens swore an oath:

The cruiser Murmansk , standing on the roadstead in the Kola Bay, saluted with 30 volleys in honor of the holiday and the opening of the memorial.

On May 9, 1975, a solemn reburial of the remains of the Unknown Soldier took place in the memorial complex and the Eternal Flame was transferred, transferred to the foot of Alyosha from the monument to the 6th Heroic Battery .

In October 2004, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the victory of Soviet troops in the Arctic, the memorial was supplemented by an avenue of memorial plates of heroic cities . Under them were laid capsules with earth from these cities.

In 2010, with the monument to the Defenders of the Soviet Arctic, the action of the TV channel Russia “Wonders of Russia from a Bird's Eye” ^{[1] began} .

The main figure in the memorial is the figure of a soldier in a raincoat, with a machine gun over his shoulder. The height of the pedestal of the monument is 7 meters , the height of the statue is 35.5 meters. The height of the entire monument is 42 meters, the weight of the hollow inside the sculpture is more than 5 thousand tons. The statue of "Alyosha" is inferior in height in Russia only to the Volgograd statue "Motherland" . ^[2] The monument is one of the highest monuments in Russia.

The warrior's gaze is directed to the west, towards the Valley of Glory , where during the Great Patriotic War the most fierce battles took place on the outskirts of Murmansk. In front of the monument is the Eternal Flame podium, which was made of natural black stone blocks. A little higher, next to the figure of a soldier is a sloping trihedral pyramid . According to the authors' plan, this is a combat banner that was lowered in sign of sorrow for the fallen soldiers. Next to it is a stele of polished granite with the inscription:

A little away from the monument are two anti-aircraft guns. During the fighting, anti-aircraft batteries were located on this peak, covering the city of Murmansk from the air. Two capsules are walled up at the foot of the monument. One with sea water from the place of the heroic death of the legendary ship “Fog” , the other with land from the Valley of Glory and from the battle area at the Verman line. A wide central staircase leads to the podium for guests of honor present at official ceremonies. The complex is completed by the alley of memorial plates of hero cities, opened in 2004 .

•  

  General view of the memorial

•  

  Pyramid

•  

  Bottom view

• "Monuments of the hero city of Murmansk." Ed. Vladimirova T. - Murmansk, 2004.

• List of monuments of Murmansk
• Defense of the Arctic
• Alyosha (monument, Plovdiv)

• Alyosha memorial on the site of 7 Wonders of Russia
• The secret of Alyosha. What is inside the monument?