In the suburbs there are many places covered with the glory of the heroes of the Great Patriotic War, who fell on the outskirts of the capital. The most famous is the field in the Volokolamsk district near the village of Nelidovo, where in the autumn of 1941 bloody battles took place at the Dubosekovo railway junction. The memorial to the Panfilov heroes, mounted on a hill to the 30th anniversary of the Victory, is the largest monument to the feat of the defenders of Moscow, attracting tourists from all over the world.
Immortal feat
It is hard to imagine, but the Nazi offensive on Moscow under the name "Typhoon" in September – October 1941 brought them real success. Parts of the three fronts of the Soviet troops were defeated near Vyazma, and the army fought heavy defensive battles, retreating with huge losses. The enemy came so close that on October 15 the defense committee announced the evacuation of the capital. This caused some real panic.
The unarmed 316th division of General Panfilov was one of four holding defenses in the Volokolamsk direction 20 km long. The legendary fourth company of the 1075th regiment held a strong point on a hill near the railway near the village of Nelidovo, one and a half kilometers from Dubosekovo station (the memorial was created here). Its location was so successful that the enemy could only advance along the railway, which was fully visible from the fortified positions of the company.
On November 16, the Nazis launched a tank attack in this direction, throwing more than fifty units of military equipment against Soviet soldiers armed with combustible mixtures. The battle lasted four hours, during which the second tank division of the Germans failed to gain a positional advantage. Having no artillery support, the fourth company, inspired by political instructor Vasily Klochkov, did not give an inch of land, leaving 15 enemy tanks burned at the battlefield (according to another version - 18). It was a massive feat not only of the fourth company. In the Volokolamsk direction, the whole division of I. Panfilov showed itself heroically, and only 120 people remained alive from the personnel of the 1075th regiment. A nearby village turned out to be a witness to the events.
Dubosekovo: Victory Anniversary Memorial
After the appearance in the Red Star of an article about twenty-eight heroes of the fourth company, their feat became a symbol of steadfastness of the defenders of Moscow. Using Panfilov’s example, the spirit of an invincible army was formed, which went on a counterattack on December 5, despite the fact that the enemy managed to approach the capital at a distance of 20–25 km. The post-war generation, brought up on the standards of manifestation of patriotism, honors the feat of soldiers, presented in 1942 to the Star of the Hero. This was the only time that a prize was awarded posthumously to an entire list compiled by a company commander. In 1967, a museum in memory of Panfilov’s heroes was created in Nelidovo, and a memorial commemorating the 30th anniversary of Victory at Dubosekovo station includes:
- A sculptural group of six monumental figures of fighters 10 meters high, representing representatives of various nationalities, for the 316th division was created in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. It includes the entire multinational Soviet Union.
- Concrete slabs symbolizing the cordon, which the Nazis failed to overcome.
- Granite slab with a description of a historical event.
- A ritual square with a star where the laying of flowers takes place.
- Dot Museum with a viewing platform.
A whole team of architects, sculptors and engineers took part in the construction of the memorial complex: F. Fedorov, A. Postol, N. Lyubimov, I. Stepanov, Yu. Krivushchenko, V. Datyuk, S. Hadzhibaranov. Placing stone heroes on a hill causes a feeling of spiritual awe among all visitors to the memorial. The sculptural group is divided into three parts. Ahead is the figure of political instructor Klochkov, peering into the distance from under his arm. Behind him are two fighters clutching grenades. They are internally prepared for battle. The center of the composition is a figure of three warriors with determined faces. One of them is the commander, calling the soldier to battle.
Literary fiction or reality?
On the eve of the 70th anniversary of the Victory, archival documents on the investigation of the military prosecutor's office (1948) were published, the results of which refute the reality of the feat of 28 fighters of the fourth company, General Panfilov. The investigation was carried out in connection with the fact that six fighters were alive: two were captured, and four were seriously injured. Subsequently, one of the soldiers stained his name, going to the service of the Nazis. The historical episode was attributed to the literary fiction of journalist A. Krivitsky. Despite this, the most common question in the Volokolamsk region remains the question of where Dubosekovo (the memorial) is located, how to get to it in order to pay off the memory of heroes.
For the conclusions of the commission are biased and are connected with the desire to spoil the reputation of the outstanding military commander G.K. Zhukov, who is in disgrace with I. Stalin. All the testimonies of the participants, the memoirs of Zhukov himself, as well as the burial of more than a hundred soldiers in a mass grave (the village of Nelidovo) testify to a historical fact. You can specify the personal composition of the Panfilov heroes, the number of tanks wrecked, but this does not detract from the mass feat of the defenders of Moscow.
Present day
Dubosekovo, a memorial near which is of federal importance, in 2015 became the venue for the grand battlefield festival. For three days, historical clubs recreated the reconstruction of events with immersion in the heroic era of the Great Patriotic War. More than 20 thousand spectators witnessed a unique spectacle, designed to tell the young generation about the feats of arms of their fathers and grandfathers. A similar event was also planned for 2016 to mark the 75th anniversary of the Panfilov’s feat. It was canceled due to large-scale work to improve the territory of the memorial complex, which will last until October.
What is the name of the memorial (Dubosekovo)? How to get to the place of the feat of the fourth company? Until 2015, the federal monument was actually not on the balance sheet of any official organization, so you can find many names of the memorial. The Moscow region assumed responsibility for the maintenance of the memorial site. Its official name is the “Feat of 28” memorial complex.
Dubosekovo station is now part of the rural settlement of Chismenskoye, which can be reached by train from the Riga station (route: to Volokolamsk or Shakhovskaya). Travel time is just over 2 hours. By car, follow the Novorizhskoe highway to Volokolamsk. The city is 9 km from the memorial. Moving to the first intersection, you need to turn left, passing the villages of Zhdanovo and Nelidovo. Wedding trips often pass along this route. On the happiest day, the newlyweds want to visit the sacred places of their historical Motherland.