Description of the attraction
In the Leningrad region, not far from Vsevolzhsk, at 3 km of the Road of Life, there is a memorial complex opened in 1968, which bears the name "Flower of Life". It is dedicated to the children who died in the besieged Leningrad.
The monument is a complex consisting of three parts: a 15-meter flower made by sculptor P. Melnikov, Friendship Alley (designed by architect A. Levenkov) and a mound with eight page stelae symbolizing entries from Tanya Savicheva's diary notebook (architects M. Coman, G. Fetisov, A. Levenkov).
The petals of a stone chamomile depict the face of a boy who smiles, and the words from the children's song "May there always be sunshine." Nearby there is a plate on which is written “In the name of life and against war. To Children - Young Heroes of Leningrad 1941-1944”. "Flower" was opened in 1968.
Around the monument, 900 birches grow, along the first tree, symbolizing every day of the blockade. In January days, you can still see scarlet ties on birches.
The Friendship Alley connects the Flower of Life and the funeral mound. On the steles, which are located along the alley, it tells about the heroism of the children-defenders of Leningrad. The names of the pioneers - Heroes of the USSR and holders of high state awards and the deeds performed by them are immortalized here.
Particular attention is drawn to the "pages" from the diary of Tanya Savicheva. This diary became a symbol of the Leningrad blockade. This miniature notebook was presented at the Nuremberg trials as a document that accuses fascism.
Tanya Savicheva was born on January 23, 1930. In the days of the siege, she wrote down the dates and times of death of her relatives in a notebook she inherited from her sister Nina. Tanya was born into the family of Nikolai Rodionovich and Maria Ignatievna Savichev. During the NEP years, Tanya's father owned a private artel, in which his wife and brothers Alexei, Vasily and Dmitry worked. Tanya was the youngest child. She had older sisters Zhenya and Nina and brothers Leonid and Misha. With the NEP ban, the family was expelled from the city. Some time later, Nikolai Radionovich died. Later, the widow and children were allowed to return to Leningrad.
Maria Ignatievna was a seamstress. By the beginning of the war, the older sisters and brothers of Tanya occupied simple working positions, the sisters worked at the machine-building plant. Lenin, Leonid (Leka) mastered the profession of a planer in the ship-mechanical production, Misha worked as an assembly fitter.
By 1941, the Savichev family - mother, grandmother Evdokia Grigorievna Fedorova, children - lived on Vasilievsky Island. The brothers of Tanya's father, Vasily and Alexei, lived in the same house, one floor above. Dmitry died before the war. Zhenya was already married and lived on Mokhovaya. The relationship between the spouses did not work out, but she did not return home.
Tanya moved to the 4th grade of school number 35 on the current Cadet line. When the war was announced, the Savichev family decided to stay in the city. Because of his poor eyesight, Leonid received a white ticket and continued to work at the plant. Uncle Vasily, with whom Tanya was especially friendly, tried to enroll as a volunteer in the people's militia, but he was refused because of his age - he was 71 years old. Sister Nina, together with her colleagues, dug trenches in Kolpino, Rybatsky, Shushary, and was on duty at an air observation post. In secret from the household, Zhenya donated blood. Maria Ignatievna sewed military uniforms. Tanya, together with other children, cleaned attics, collected glassware for incendiary bottles. Misha, before the announcement of the beginning of the war, was outside the city. He did not make himself known and was considered dead. He survived, fought in a partisan detachment.
Zhenya was the first to die at the age of 32. Since the transport did not work, she walked 7 km to work every day. She worked in 2 shifts. She died at work. Then Tanya made the first mournful line in the notebook: "Zhenya died on December 28 at 12.30 in the morning of 1941"
In January, Evdokia's grandmother was diagnosed with the third degree of alimentary dystrophy. She died 2 days after Tanya's birthday. A new entry appeared in the notebook: “Grandmother died on 25 January. 3 pm 1942"
One day in February 1942, Nina did not return home. This coincided with the shelling, and she was presumed dead. Nina came under urgent evacuation along with the plant where she worked. She could not send the news home. Nina survived.
Leonid actually lived at the factory. He worked day and night. He came home very rarely. He died at the age of 24 from dystrophy in a factory hospital. In her notebook, Tanya wrote: "Lyoka died on March 17 at 5 o'clock in the morning in 1942"
Tanya's beloved uncle, Vasily, passed away next in the family. An entry appeared in the diary: "Uncle Vasya died on April 13, 2 am, the night of 1942." Uncle Alexei died at the age of 71 from third-degree nutritional dystrophy. Tanya writes in her diary: "Uncle Lesha on May 10 at 4 pm 1942". 3 days after that, Maria Ignatievna died. Tanya will write down: "Mom on May 13 at 7, 30 o'clock in the morning of 1942". Further in the diary she made the last three entries, ending the diary with the words: "… everyone died …".
At first, Tanya was helped by neighbors, then she went to a relative of her grandmother - aunt Dusya, who later sent her to evacuation with the orphanage. Tanya died at the age of 14 from progressive dystrophy, scurvy, bone tuberculosis and intestinal tuberculosis in the infectious ward of the Shatkovsky district hospital on the first day of July 1944.
