The Great Patriotic War took place according to the fate of every Soviet family. Who beat the enemy on the battlefields, who worked for the benefit of Victory in the rear. But no one was left behind. Each Russian city has memorial complexes dedicated to fighters who did not return from the war. And in every corner of the country the memory of the heroes lives on.
Chelyabinsk Square
In Chelyabinsk there is a square dedicated to veterans and their immortal feat. Many glorious fighters went to war, more than 40 thousand of them remained on the battlefields. This square is dedicated to their feat, where the Eternal Flame burns, so that the younger generation will never forget the courage of their grandfathers. And it is here that a monument to volunteer tankers is erected.
Gift to the front
This monument is not just a tribute. The monument to volunteer tankers is especially revered by the inhabitants of the city, and the whole of the Urals. It was created in memory of an unprecedented campaign organized by the inhabitants of the region. They raised funds to create a tank volunteer corps. Tanks were collected for this money, ammunition was sewn, a tank detachment was formed.
It was a gift to the front from the Urals. Residents vividly responded to the call and in a record time collected about 57,000,000 rubles. Everything necessary, including heavy equipment, was made and sewn in his spare time from work. On weekends and in moments of short breaks, people rushed into the shops to invest a piece of their heroic work in the struggle against the common enemy.
In those harsh years, a difficult mission was assigned to the Urals. Being in the rear, people worked day and night, bringing victory closer. Chelyabinsk then received the unspoken name "Tankograd", because it was here that the production of the legendary T-34 began. Moreover, the development of a new direction was carried out in record time. In just a month, the workers mastered and introduced the conveyor production of tanks.
Volunteers
The military registration and enlistment office of Chelyabinsk received 49,517 applications from volunteers who wanted to enroll in a tank brigade. The best sons of the Ural people were selected.
On May 9, 1943, more than 45 thousand people gathered on the square at the main post office to take their brothers, sons, and husbands to the front. It was read the order of fellow countrymen not to drop the honor of the Urals and beat the enemies to the end. The volunteers who had left for the front solemnly vowed to return home with Victory. Tankers kept their oath, their courage and heroism became an example for many. Residents of the Urals fully complied with the call "Everything for the front, everything for the Victory!"
Monument to the heroes
A lot of Uralians died on the battlefields and in an equally harsh battle in the rear, but the memory of them is alive. In honor of the famous tank brigade, which went to the front on the initiative of Chelyabinsk citizens, in 1975 a monument was erected to volunteer tankers.
The authors of the monument were the architect E.V. Alexandrov and sculptor L.N. Golovnitsky.
The installation location was not accidental. The monument to volunteer tankers (Chelyabinsk) was erected on the very spot from where thirty-two years ago new heroes and a new batch of equipment for the front were solemnly sent to the front.
The monument depicts the figure of a worker-tank builder. He still wears a working apron, but a tanker helmet is already on his head. A stately young man stands by an open tank hatch and with a wide gesture urges everyone to follow him, to fight for a just cause. The figure of the volunteer is cast in bronze and has a height of 5 m. It is mounted on a 3-meter pedestal lined with black dolomite. The monument became a symbol of not only the heroism of the soldiers, but also the unity of the rear and the front.
The monument to volunteer tankers in Chelyabinsk became an adornment of the city. A path paved with cast iron plates leads to it. One depicts a Russian sword dissecting the Teutonic, as a sign of the victory of Russian weapons. Others depict crossed blacksmith hammers, personifying the contribution of workers from all over the Urals to Victory.
Memory is alive
In honor of the 40th anniversary of the victory, a square was erected around the monument "Monument to volunteer tankers" (1984). Since then, this is a favorite vacation spot for citizens. People come here on holidays and weekdays. Each resident of the city is proud of the feat of their fellow countrymen, who contributed to the common cause not only by hard work, but also by heroism in the battles.
When a competition was announced on which city will be depicted on a banknote of 2000 rubles, Chelyabinsk also took part by sending its own project. According to the plan of the creators, a monument was supposed to appear on the banknote to volunteer tankers as a symbol of the city.