Description of the attraction
The legendary "Alyosha" is a large memorial complex located in the Leninsky district of the city of Murmansk. The memorial is an impressive figure of a Russian soldier, which is installed on one of the highest hills of the famous Kola Bay. This very monument, which is a kind of symbol of Murmansk as a port city, is affectionately called "Alyosha" by the people of Murmansk.
There is a monument on a huge pedestal - this is a huge monument to the defenders of the Fatherland during the Second World War. "Alyosha" is dressed in a raincoat and holds a submachine gun over his shoulder. His eyes tensely and with disbelief look into the distance, exactly in the direction from which the enemies came to our lands. Throughout the Arctic Circle, this monument is the most famous and beloved by all people, dedicated to the courage and heroism of those soldiers who desperately fought against the German invaders during the Great Patriotic War, not only on land, but also in the seas of our Motherland.
The height of the pedestal is 7 meters, and the monument itself reaches a height of 35.5 meters; despite the fact that the inside of the monument is empty, its weight is 5 thousand tons. The monument in Murmansk, judging by its size, is second only to the monument called Motherland, which is located in the city of Volgograd.
On the figure of "Alyosha" there are reflections of the blazing flame of the Eternal Flame, not far from which there is a stele erected of granite. The stele contains a list of all the formations that stood firmly in the defense of the entire city, as well as the Kola Peninsula. This group included infantrymen, border guards, sailors, pilots and partisans. Next to the Eternal Flame, specially erected niches are installed on which the so-called capsules lie. One of the capsules contains earth, which is mixed with the blood of soldiers who died in large numbers on the defense fields of the Kola North; the land was taken from the Valley of Glory, in which the most fierce and bloody battles with the Nazis took place. The second capsule contains seawater, collected in the place where the ship "Fog" heroically fought against the enemy. Numerous sailors died in battle with the Nazis in an unequal, unjust battle.
Particularly interesting is the history of the emergence of "Alyosha" in Murmansk. In 1965, many more participants in the war were still alive, and when their wives and mothers were waiting for their relatives, who unfortunately did not return from the fronts, at that time the idea of creating a memorial monument in honor of the blessed memory of the soldiers who defended the North of the Soviet Union appeared. It was decided to erect a monument at the highest point of the hill so that the soldier's figure could be clearly visible from any place in the city. In 1969, the laying of the first stone took place, and in the fall of October 19, 1974, a solemn ceremony of opening the monument took place.
During this time, monuments of this kind, monuments, memorials were created throughout the Soviet Union in memory of the heroes who brought victory in the bloody war with the Germans. The creation of monuments was carried out both in honor of living soldiers and to perpetuate the memory of those who fell in battle.
Old-timers of the city remember the opening day of the Alyosha monument as one of the most festive days during the entire history of Murmansk's development. It seemed that all the inhabitants of the city with wreaths and flowers came to the opening of the monument to pay eternal tribute to the dead soldiers. An urn with the remains of the Unknown Soldier was lifted up with the help of an armored personnel carrier. The celebration was attended not only by those who fought in the terrible years of the Great Patriotic War, but also members of the Norwegian and Finnish Resistance Movement. On Victory Day in 1975, the Eternal Flame was lit near the monument.
Today, not only residents, but also tourists from the city of Murmansk come to the Alyosha monument. There is always a huge number of flowers near the memorial, which are laid by grateful residents of the city, forever remembering the merits of courageous and heroic soldiers to the Fatherland, fearlessly giving their lives to save our planet from fascist madness.
