The monument “Motherland” in Volgograd has, as it is supposed, Valentina, a resident of this city, as her prototype. She was chosen for this honorable role, after the model sent from the capital did not fit the sculptor by type. The team of masters found their “muse” in the restaurant, where Valya worked as a waitress, and for a long time they persuaded a student who worked as a catering employee to agree to the role of a model. The woman posed for several hours a few hours a day, holding in her hands a rail that symbolized the sword. The payment for her work at that time was very worthy - three rubles a day.
Everyone should know that the sculpture "Motherland" in Volgograd is part of the composition dedicated to the Battle of Stalingrad. During this battle, about 1,219,000 Soviet soldiers were killed, about one and a half thousand tanks and two thousand aircraft were destroyed. Search squads still find the remains of military personnel and bury them near the village of Rossoshki in the Gorodishchensky district. According to general estimates, only since 1993 some 48,000 people from different countries have found their rest.
The statue "Motherland" in Volgograd was erected on an earthen fourteen-meter embankment, the earth of which also contains the remains of those who in 1942-1943. fought the enemy in the area. The total weight of the female figure is 8 tons. An interesting design feature is that the monument is not attached to the base in any way, i.e. stands only under the weight of its weight and due to the configuration features. In addition, it is noteworthy that the sword in the hand weighs much more than the figure itself - more than 14 tons.
The height of the Motherland in Volgograd is such that for many years this monument was considered the highest in the world (85 meters). Today it is surpassed by such statues as the monument to Peter the Great in Moscow (about 96 meters), the Victory Monument in Moscow on Poklonnaya Hill (141.8 m), and the Buddha statue in Japan (about 120 meters). Initially, it was supposed to install a 36-meter monument, which later decided to increase.
The Mother Motherland monument in Volgograd is the work of the famous Soviet master Vuechich, who created sculptural portraits of many military leaders, as well as the composition “Swing Swords at the Screaming” (New York) and the monument “Victorious Warrior” in Treptower Park, Berlin. The master’s creation is surrounded by five dozens of searchlights, the system of which was installed for the opening of the monument in October 1967.
The sculpture "Motherland" in Volgograd over the years of its existence has undergone minor changes. In particular, in order to prevent the wind from swinging the structure, holes were made in the sword. Then the 33-meter blade was replaced with a lighter one. In the mid-80s of the last century, as well as in 2010, the monument was strengthened to correct the permissible angle of deviation of the statue. So, before the last work, a general deviation of two hundred and eleven millimeters was revealed with a permissible value of two hundred seventy-two millimeters. The situation has arisen due to changes in the state of groundwater, as well as the characteristics of the materials from which the statue is made.