The Great Patriotic War, apparently, will never be forgotten. It was too hard for us to win. Each city has either squares, or parks and squares, where monuments are erected to its heroes.
Woman with a sword
A whole ensemble was created on the famous Mamaev Kurgan (Volgograd). It is dedicated to those who won the battle of Stalingrad. The ideological and compositional center of this large building is a sculpture that is known throughout the world. It is called "Motherland Calls!" True, not everyone is aware that it itself is not independent, but part of the triptych, but central.
The second part of the complex is the composition “Rear to Front”. It is completed and stands in Magnitogorsk. It is depicted as a worker hands a sword to a warrior. And they forged it just in the Urals. And the whole ensemble is also completed by the well-known monument - the “Liberator Warrior”. Location - Berlin.
The tallest
Many are interested in the height of the statue "Motherland" in Volgograd. We answer: 85 meters, and the woman’s height is 52 m. The weight of the structure is 8000 tons. The length of the sword is 3300 cm. And it weighs no less than 14,000 kg! These are the "passport" parameters of this unique work.
In the year the construction was completed, the sculpture turned out to be the largest in the world. She was even listed in the Guinness Book of Records. Compare: the statue of Liberty is 46 meters high from the pedestal, and the growth of Christ (the Redeemer) is only 38. Today, given the height of the “Mother Motherland”, experts assigned her 11th place in the list of the highest monuments in the world.
It was a long time ago
The construction of such a memorial was given extraordinary importance. We took into account everything. And also what is the height of the statue “Motherland”. Not limited in money or in the most modern building materials. We invited the best creators. The main thing here was Evgeny Vuchetich - People's Artist of the USSR, a participant in the Great Patriotic War. He has already made a wonderful monument to the soldiers of the Soviet Army (ten years ago), which adorns Berlin Treptower Park. Also, his work - “Swing swords on yelling.” The sculpture flaunts in front of the UN building in New York.
Nikolay Nikitin, a professor-architect, as well as a doctor of technical sciences, was identified as the head of the engineering group. In the 50s, he designed the building of Moscow State University. In the future, he will be assigned to work on the Ostankino tower. Now we needed calculations of particular complexity. For this monument has a superhigh height. “Mother Motherland” in Volgograd should be impeccable.
For consultation from a military point of view, took Vasily Chuykov - Marshal. At the front, he was nicknamed the "assault commander." It was he who commanded the 62nd Army, which did not surrender to the enemy Mamaev Kurgan. During the defense of Stalingrad, Chuikov came up with special assault groups. They suddenly burst into houses, passing through underground communications to them. The Germans could not even understand where this blow fell from.
After the war, they awarded the Marshal for the work on the monument in an original way: they allowed (at his request) to be buried on the Mamaev Kurgan, next to the 34,505 soldiers who died defending Stalingrad. In 1982, their very commander was buried near the Motherland.
The architectural and engineering group created the figure of a woman (the height of the statue “Motherland”, as we have already said, is 85 meters), which makes a gusty, energetic step forward. In her hand is a sword raised against the invaders. This is an allegory: the country is calling the people to battle with the enemy.
The prototype of the statue
And who, interestingly, posed then for the sculptor? The candidacy - Valentina Izotova - was found by chance. Now she is a pensioner, a resident of Volgograd. And then she was 26 years old. And she worked as a waitress in a restaurant. There she was seen by the assistant of Vuchetich, also a sculptor L. Maystrenko. He liked the strict serious face, the athletic figure of Izotova, her purposeful look. The candidacy was approved.
Valentina Ivanovna took two years to do this work. Be that as it may, the creative process is a complex matter. Especially considering the incredible height of the sculpture. “Motherland” in Volgograd, and in fact turned out outstanding. They come from everywhere to look at her, to pay tribute to the defenders of the country. At night, the monument (the height of the "Motherland" is really amazing) falls the light of powerful spotlights, and the impression is the strongest.
Interesting fact. When we decided to develop the design of the flag and coat of arms (Volgograd region), we decided to take the silhouette as the basis. There were no other opinions. And on the postage stamp of the GDR, issued in 1983, is the same image.
Hard work
Being in this place, you understand the full significance of those battles. For more than four months (more precisely, 140 days) there were bloody, fierce battles for one point only - height No. 102. And every piece of this land is still dangerous. Although more than 70 years have passed since there are no more shots and volleys here, on the hill people still find shells that did not explode then. That is why this territory was chosen to perpetuate the feat of people.
The construction of an unusual monument (the height of the "Motherland" is very high) began in 1959, in the spring. Completed in the fall of 1967. That is, work has been going on for more than eight years. First - laying the foundation of concrete. Put the base box on top. The builders supposed to stone the pedestal. But the instruction came from the Secretary General of Khrushchev, and 150 thousand tons of land were poured on top with the goal of further strengthening the foundation. Therefore, today the top of the mound is imported.
Under the sculpture (the height of the "Motherland" is amazing) lies a thick (one and a half meters) plate and another base of 16 meters.
Reduced layout
When it was the turn of the woman’s figure, they cast it right here on the hill. But how could it be otherwise if the height of the statue “Motherland” in Volgograd is extremely large! But a reduced (exactly ten times) layout stood nearby. And gradually, looking at the stencil, they flooded tier by tier. So they collected the "woman." Cars with cargo arrived here around the clock. Everything was done very high quality. Concrete, for example, was taken exactly the same as was allocated for the Volga hydroelectric power station. And the fillers for him, too, were chosen in the most thorough manner.
But now the whole figure is ready. Then they took up their heads. True, they cast it separately. And they lifted in a helicopter. It could not be done otherwise. The height of the "Motherland" did not allow.
I had to work a lot with the sword. At first it was made of stainless steel, sheathed with strong pieces (of titanium). However, he swayed from the wind, thundered violently. That is why in 1972 this weapon was removed and another, steel construction was installed.
Restoration
Recovery measures were carried out in 1972 and in 1986. Five years ago, they were involved in ensuring his safety. Indeed, the height of the monument "Motherland" in Volgograd is not enough to say decent. She is awesome! And over time, everything changes, grows old, weakens. And this is despite the fact that the thickness of the reinforced concrete walls of the monument is 25-30 cm. Inside, it is assembled from large separate cells. The frame, in itself rigid, nevertheless supports 119 cables made of durable metal. And they are constantly experiencing powerful tension.
The heaviest sword, with its simply fabulously gigantic dimensions, swayed from the wind. And where he was attached to the woman’s hand, there was an excess of tension. The design of the sword was deformed over time. So we worked on this problem.
Creeping down
Since the height of the “Motherland” is great, and there is a figure on clay soil that slowly but invariably slides toward the Volga, experts sounded the alarm. After all, a statue may collapse. She already shifted by 214 mm. And this is almost 80 percent of the permissible initial calculations. But experts say: the planned strength has not yet been exhausted.
This project was conceived for a deviation of 272 mm. And its base was deformed slightly. Just the norm went only 90 mm. After the next restoration, the monument will last a long time.