The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier ( rus, Могила Неизвестного Солдата, , mɐˈɡʲilə nʲɪɪˈzvʲɛsnəvə sɐlˈdatə) is a

war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

dedicated to the Soviet soldiers killed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. It was designed by architects D. I. Burdin, V. A. Klimov, Yu. R. Rabayev and sculptor Nikolai Tomsky.

History

The day of celebration for the unknown soldier has been celebrated in Russia since December 3, 2014. After World War II, millions of Russian soldiers were reported missing, or pronounced dead. The monument was unveiled to the public on May 8, 1967. In 1997, a

Guard of Honour A guard of honour ( GB), also honor guard ( US), also ceremonial guard, is a group of people, usually military in nature, appointed to receive or guard a head of state or other dignitaries, the fallen in war, or to attend at state ceremonials, ...

of the Kremlin Regiment (which had guarded the Lenin Mausoleum) was restored at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by the federal law of December 8, 1997, "On Immortalizing the Soviet People’s Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945". A Changing of the Guard ceremony takes place every hour.

Restoration

The ensemble of the memorial was renewed several times. By the 30th anniversary of the Victory Day celebrations, the monument was fully restored and various elements were added; at that time, a laurel branch and a helmet by Nikolai Tomsky appeared. By the decree of President

Dmitry Medvedev Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev ( rus, links=no, Дмитрий Анатольевич Медведев, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj ɐnɐˈtolʲjɪvʲɪtɕ mʲɪdˈvʲedʲɪf; born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician who has been serving as the dep ...

dated November 17, 2009, the monument was given the status of a Nationwide Memorial of Military Glory. In the same year, the Presidential Affairs Department announced the beginning of its large-scale reconstruction, the aim of which was to preserve the original appearance of the complex. Then the intention was announced to install a new stele with the names of the cities of military glory. The return of the flame to the Alexandrovsky garden took place on 23 February 2010, in the presence of Dmitry Medvedev. The reconstruction of the memorial complex was completed by Victory Day the same year. On 8 May, the National Memorial of Military Glory was inaugurated by the presidents of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.

Location

The Tomb is located at the Kremlin Wall in the Alexander Garden in Moscow. The remains of the unknown soldiers killed in the

Battle of Moscow The Battle of Moscow was a military campaign that consisted of two periods of strategically significant fighting on a sector of the Eastern Front during World War II. It took place between September 1941 and January 1942. The Soviet defensive ...

in 1941 were initially buried in a mass grave of the

Shtyki Memorial The Shtyki Memorial (russian: Мемориальный комплекс «Штыки», lit. ''bayonets''), also named the Monument to the Defenders of Moscow (), is a memorial complex in honour of those who defended Russia in the Battle of Moscow ...

at the 40th km of the Leningrad highway at the city of

Zelenograd Zelenograd ( rus, Зеленогра́д, p=zʲɪlʲɪnɐˈgrat, lit. ''green city'') is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative divisions of Moscow, administrative okrug of Moscow, Russia. The city of Zelenograd and ...

. This was the location of the closest approach of the German armies to Moscow during the war. To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the battle, in December 1966 these remains were relocated to the Kremlin Wall.

Appearance

The dark red porphyry monument is decorated with a bronze sculpture of a laurel branch and a soldier's helmet laid upon a banner. In front of the monument, there is a five-pointed star in a square field of labradorite, which emanates the

Eternal Flame An eternal flame is a flame, lamp or torch that burns for an indefinite time. Most eternal flames are ignited and tended intentionally, but some are natural phenomena caused by natural gas leaks, peat fires and coal seam fires, all of which can ...

from its center. The flame illuminates a bronze inscription "''Имя твоё неизвестно, подвиг твой бессмертен''" (translit.: Imya tvoyo neizvestno, podvig tvoy bessmerten, "Your name is unknown, your deed is immortal"). The torch for the memorial's Eternal Flame was transported from Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg), where it had been lit from the Eternal Flame at the Monument to the Fighters of the Revolution on the

Field of Mars The term Field of Mars ( la, Campus Martius) goes back to antiquity, and designates an area, inside or near a city, used as a parade or exercise ground by the military. Notable examples of places which were used for these purposes include: * Campus ...

. To the left of the tomb is a granite wall with an inlay stating: "1941 – To Those Who Have Fallen For The Motherland – 1945". To the right of the tomb, lining the walkway are dark red porphyry blocks with incapsulated soils from hero cities,

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Ky ...

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative stat ...

Stalingrad Volgograd ( rus, Волгогра́д, a=ru-Volgograd.ogg, p=vəɫɡɐˈɡrat), formerly Tsaritsyn (russian: Цари́цын, Tsarítsyn, label=none; ) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (russian: Сталингра́д, Stalingrád, label=none; ) ...

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

, Kerch,

Novorossiysk Novorossiysk ( rus, Новоросси́йск, p=nəvərɐˈsʲijsk; ady, ЦIэмэз, translit=Chəməz, p=t͡sʼɜmɜz) is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is one of the largest ports on the Black Sea. It is one of the few cities hono ...

Tula Tula may refer to: Geography Antarctica *Tula Mountains * Tula Point India * Tulā, a solar month in the traditional Indian calendar Iran * Tula, Iran, a village in Hormozgan Province Italy * Tula, Sardinia, municipality (''comune'') in the ...

and Brest, Murmansk and

Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest ...

. The plate for "Stalingrad" read "Volgograd" until September 2004. Further to the right of these monuments is an

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by An ...

in red granite, listing the names of 40 " Cities of Military Glory" divided into groups of four. This monument was dedicated on May 8, 2010.

References

Bibliography