The most interesting facts about the sculpture “The Motherland is Calling!” Sword of Victory - a triptych of monumental Soviet monuments
The Great Patriotic War will apparently never be forgotten. The Victory was too hard for us. In every city there are either squares or parks and squares where monuments are erected to its heroes.
Woman with a sword
An entire ensemble was created on the famous Mamayev Kurgan (Volgograd). It is dedicated to those who won the Ideological and compositional center of this large structure - a sculpture that is known all over the world. It's called "The Motherland Calls!" True, not everyone is aware that it itself is not independent, but part of a triptych, but at least central.
The second part of the complex is the composition “Rear to Front”. It was completed and stands in Magnitogorsk. A worker is shown presenting a sword to a warrior. And they forged it just in the Urals. And the whole ensemble is completed by the well-known monument - “Warrior-Liberator”. Location: Berlin.
The tallest
Many are interested in the height of the “Motherland” statue in Volgograd. We answer: 85 meters, and the woman’s height is 52 m. The weight of the structure is 8000 tons. The length of the sword is 3300 cm. And it weighs no less than 14,000 kg! These are the “passport” parameters of this unique work.
In the year of completion of construction, the sculpture turned out to be the largest in the world. She was even included in the Guinness Book of Records. Compare: the Statue of Liberty rises 46 meters from the pedestal, and the height of Christ (the Redeemer) is only 38. Today, given the height of the “Motherland,” experts have given it 11th place on the list
It was a long time ago
The construction of such a memorial was given extreme importance. Everything was taken into account. And also what is the height of the “Motherland” statue. There were no restrictions either in money or in the most modern building materials. The best creators were invited. The main thing here was Evgeniy Vuchetich - folk artist USSR, participant of the Great Patriotic War. He has already made a wonderful army (ten years ago), which adorns Berlin's Treptower Park. Also his work is “Let us beat swords into ploughshares.” The sculpture is displayed in front of the UN building in New York.
The head of the engineering group was Nikolai Nikitin, a professor of architecture, as well as a doctor of technical sciences. In the 50s he designed the buildings of Moscow State University. In the future, he will be assigned to work on the Ostankino Tower. Now calculations of particular complexity were needed. Because this monument is super tall. The “Motherland” in Volgograd must be impeccable.
Vasily Chuikov, the marshal, took over the consultation from a military point of view. At the front he was nicknamed “assault commander.” It was he who commanded the 62nd Army, which did not surrender Mamaev Kurgan to the enemy. During the defense of Stalingrad, Chuikov came up with special assault groups. They suddenly broke into houses, passing through underground communications. The Germans could not even understand where this blow came from.
After the war, the marshal was rewarded for his work on the monument in an original way: he was allowed (at his request) to be buried on Mamayev Kurgan, next to those 34,505 soldiers who died defending Stalingrad. In 1982, their commander himself was buried near the “Motherland”.
The architectural and engineering group created the figure of a woman (the height of the “Motherland” statue, as we have already said, is 85 meters), who takes an impetuous, energetic step forward. In her hand is a sword raised against the invaders. the country is calling its people to fight the enemy.
Prototype of the statue
And who, I wonder, posed for the sculptor then? The candidate, Valentina Izotova, was found by chance. Now she is a pensioner, a resident of Volgograd. And then she was 26 years old. And she worked as a waitress in one restaurant. There she was seen by Vuchetich’s assistant, also the sculptor L. Maistrenko. He liked Izotova’s stern, serious face, her athletic figure, and her purposeful look. The candidacy was approved.
This work took Valentina Ivanovna two years. Be that as it may, eh creative process- it's a complicated matter. Especially considering how incredible the height of the sculpture is. “Motherland” in Volgograd really turned out to be outstanding. People come from everywhere to look at it and pay tribute to the defenders of the country. At night, the light of powerful spotlights falls on the monument (the height of the “Motherland” is truly amazing) and the impression is very strong.
Interesting fact. When we decided to develop the design of the flag and the region, we decided to take the silhouette as a basis. There were no other opinions. And also on postage stamp The GDR issued in 1983 contains the same image.
Not an easy job
When you visit this place, you understand the full significance of those battles. For more than four months (more precisely, 140 days), there were bloody, brutal battles for just one point - height No. 102. And every piece of this land is still dangerous. Although more than 70 years have passed since there are no more shots or volleys here, people still find shells on the hill today that did not explode then. That is why this territory was chosen to perpetuate the feat of people.
Construction of the unusual monument (the height of the “Motherland” is very large) began in 1959, in the spring. Completed in the fall of 1967. That is, the work went on for more than eight years. First, laying the concrete foundation. A base box was placed on top. The builders intended to cover the pedestal with stones. But an order came from Secretary General Khrushchev, and 150 thousand tons of earth were poured on top in order to further strengthen the foundation. Therefore, today the top of the mound is imported.
Under the sculpture (the height of the “Motherland” is amazing) lies a thick (one and a half meters) slab and another base of 16 meters.
Smaller layout
When it was the turn of the woman’s figure, they cast it right here on the hill. How could it be otherwise, if the height of the “Motherland” statue in Volgograd is extremely large! But a scaled-down (exactly ten times) model stood nearby. And so, gradually, looking at the stencil, they poured tier after tier. This is how the “woman” was collected. Cars with cargo arrived here around the clock. Everything was done very efficiently. The concrete, for example, was taken exactly the same as that allocated for the Volga hydroelectric power station. And the fillers for it were also chosen most carefully.
But now the whole figure is ready. Then they grabbed their heads. True, they cast it separately. And they lifted me up by helicopter. There was no other way to do it. The height of the “Motherland” did not allow it.
I had to work a lot with the sword. At first it was made of stainless steel, sheathed with durable pieces (of titanium). However, the wind swayed and rattled loudly. That is why in 1972 this weapon was removed and another steel structure was installed.
Restoration
Restoration activities were carried out in 1972 and 1986. Five years ago we were engaged in ensuring his safety. After all, the height of the Motherland monument in Volgograd is, to say the least, decent. She's huge! And over time, everything changes, ages, weakens. And this is even despite the fact that the thickness of the reinforced concrete walls of the monument is 25-30 cm. Inside, it is assembled from large individual cells. The frame, while rigid in itself, is still supported by 119 cables made of durable metal. And they constantly experience powerful tension.
The heaviest sword with its simply fabulously gigantic size swayed from the wind. And where it was attached to the woman’s hand, excessive tension arose. The design of the sword became deformed over time. So we worked on this problem as well.
Sliding Down
Since the height of the “Motherland” is great, and the figure stands on clay soil, which is slowly but invariably sliding towards the Volga, experts sounded the alarm. After all, the statue may collapse. It has already shifted by 214 mm. And this is almost 80 percent of what was allowed by initial calculations. But experts say the planned strength has not yet been exhausted.
This project was conceived for a deviation of 272 mm. And its base was slightly deformed. In total, the norm was only 90 mm. After the next restoration, the monument will last a long time.
Monument “The Motherland Calls!” on Mamayev Kurgan became the most recognizable symbol Great Victory. For those born in the 70s, it’s hard to imagine how older people perceive this grandiose monument. After all, for us, forty-year-olds, it has always been there. And for them it became a real miracle.
The very pose of the Motherland is unusual for a statue of this size. Arms outstretched to the sides, a sword, the hem of the clothes - it is not so easy to build everything in such a way that the statue is stable. To do this, engineer Nikolai Nikitin, known for his grandiose projects, one of which was the Ostankino Tower, was invited to the project. The architect faced a difficult task - a console, that is, a part hanging in the air without support, is always difficult. And here there were several of them at once: outstretched arms and skirts, symbolizing wings. It was impossible to attach real feathered wings to a Soviet monument - after all, it was a kingdom of fierce atheism. But hinting at them was not at all forbidden: effectively and associatively.
Initially, the Council of Ministers approved a completely different project. On the majestic pedestal there should have been a kneeling soldier and his mother blessing him. There is an unconfirmed version that the author was a young and promising sculptor Ernst Neizvestny. The project was not only approved: funds were allocated for its construction, and even the foundation was poured when another sculptor, Yevgeny Vuchetich, managed to persuade Khrushchev himself to stop construction and realize his idea. It was necessary to have truly diabolical pressure in order to curtail such a construction project at the implementation stage.
How he managed to stop what he started is unknown. Perhaps Khrushchev was convinced by the idea of creating a statue higher than the American Statue of Liberty? But if we were talking only about size, it would be enough to simply increase the already approved monument. How about doing the same thing as the Americans, but bigger, more powerful? Challenge leadership in something they already have? Puts the size to shame main symbol The USA in an era when it was planned, but not always possible, to “catch up and overtake”?
So, let’s assume that the construction of the first project on Mamayev Kurgan was curtailed due to the fact that Vuchetich played on Nikita Khrushchev’s desire to catch up and overtake America. But it is unlikely that we will now find direct evidence in favor of this version. Be that as it may, after completion of construction, the Motherland became the tallest statue in the world (without a pedestal).
Many versions were voiced regarding who posed for the image of the Motherland. It is known that the sculptor worked with several young gymnasts standing for a long time with their arms outstretched. The memoirs of one of them, Antonina Peshkova, say that the sculptor chose poses from albums according to ancient art. Art critic Vera Vuchetich, the sculptor’s wife, also had to take part in this. It is believed that the Motherland has her face. The portrait resemblance is really noticeable. But there is another lady, to whom the Volgograd sculpture resembles no less.
The Gallery of European and American Art of the 19th-20th centuries in Moscow houses a small exhibit called “La Marseillaise”. This is a bronze sketch for central figure one of the bas-reliefs on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. It is curious that the figure was originally called “The Genius of the Motherland.” Author - French sculptor Francois Rude. The portrait resemblance is obvious.
But let's return to France. Marianna is well known to us since school. This image personifies France liberated from the monarchy and the famous slogan “Liberty, equality, fraternity.” The most famous in the vastness former USSR image of Marianne - “Freedom on the Barricades” by Delacroix. An armed lady with a bare breast and a Phrygian cap leads progressive humanity to the barricades. Next to her is a teenage boy, the only one who is not interested in her bare bust. They look like Venus and Cupid. All the other participants do not take their eyes off Freedom, one falls at her feet, dying. Freedom itself does not even look in his direction; the main thing for her is to reach her goal. She seems to be offering to step over the corpses of their fallen comrades, so that death itself cannot break their resolve in battle. And the dying man understands that in a second he will be trampled by his own comrades. The pose of the barefoot Marianna is very reminiscent of the pose of the Volgograd Motherland - a step forward, her right hand thrown up, a weapon in her hands, and in front of her are symbolic images of warriors, fallen and living.
But Marianne Delacroix is a symbol of the revolution, and the Volgograd monument is a symbol of Victory. Why was it necessary to merge these two allegories together? Maybe romance October revolution began to fade before the memories of the relatively recently ended war, and was there a need to strengthen the image of the first in the minds of Soviet citizens? Or maybe everything was very simple - the materialists had a zeroed consciousness, from which all symbolic images necessary to maintain the psyche in a healthy state were removed. Soviet people were not supposed to have either God or the devil. It wasn’t supposed to - but the soul was reaching out for at least something, since angels and demons were abolished.
But this grandiose monument has another, not so sophisticated secret, which is rarely remembered. The fact is that Mamayev Kurgan is the central part of a huge symbolic triptych. Its right and left parts are the famous soldier from Treptower Park in Berlin and a lesser-known ensemble in the Urals.
The composition begins in Magnitogorsk, with the double sculpture “Rear to Front”. A worker hands a newly forged sword to a soldier. The outcome of the victory is not clear, because the blade is not directed up or down, but is located strictly parallel to the ground, and they hold it not at the level of the body, but raised high above their head, as a sign that this fight is more important than life itself. The authors of the monument are Lev Golovnitsky and Yakov Belopolsky, co-author of the Berlin soldier. For what reason this majestic couple did not gain all-Union fame remains a mystery. Apparently, there were some reasons for this that were unclear to contemporaries.
A sword forged on the home front, raised at Stalingrad, and dropped in Berlin. A curious detail: a soldier in Treptower Park tramples on a destroyed swastika, just like the Statue of Liberty tramples on the shackles of slavery.
The desire to romanticize one of the most important symbols Russian history twentieth century is quite understandable. But the reality usually turns out to be much more prosaic. By the sixties, the long-awaited type of new Soviet man. He was well-read, friendly and smiling. And most importantly, he was brought up in the spirit of materialism, that is, he believed only in what he saw with his own eyes and laughed at the ancient Greeks who did not see the difference between the Olympian gods and their marble images.
But the consciousness of Soviet people remained hungry and required saturation. And most of all, it was given by images reminiscent of the ancient world. Published a large number of popular science literature, in which ancient tales were presented to the reader in a Soviet adapted edition. Greek myths were especially popular.
Nike of Samothrace | wikipedia.org
In Soviet times, in most Volgograd photographs we see the Motherland taken from the central alley, to which it stands half-turned, turning its face away from those who are in a hurry to rise to it. From this position, the monument looks like an elegant antique statue. But as soon as you look at the strong-willed face with sharp features and screaming mouth, you become frankly uncomfortable.
The Motherland from Volgograd is not associated with Russia as strongly as Freedom is associated with the USA. It remained a symbol of Victory, achieved at the cost of superhuman efforts of ordinary Soviet citizens who created something truly impossible. The fact that its very appearance became possible thanks to the call to catch up and overtake America has already been forgotten.
Narine Eyramdzhyants
The grandiose sculpture “The Motherland Calls” is 50 years old. On October 15, 1967, the monument-ensemble “To the Heroes” was solemnly opened on Mamayev Kurgan in Volgograd Battle of Stalingrad" The anniversary celebrations will take place in the same place where they took place half a century ago, also on Sunday, October 15, 2017. And we remember the history of Mamayev Kurgan and the memorial.
135 DAYS AND NIGHTS LIKE IN HELL
Mamayev Kurgan has a special energy. This place is shrouded in many legends; it is often called a place of power. According to legend, the Sarmatians kept their shrines here, and Hitler hoped to find the key to world domination. Whether this is true or not, it is here, more than anywhere else, that you realize the price of life and death.
On military topographical maps of the Great Patriotic War, Mamayev Kurgan was listed as “height 102.” Whoever owned it could control almost all of Stalingrad, the Volga region and the crossings across the Volga. For 135 days - from September 1942 to the end of January 1943 - there were fierce battles for dominance over Mamayev Kurgan. And it was here that the headquarters of the 62nd Army was located.
From the memoirs of the commander of the 62nd Army twice Hero Soviet Union Marshal Vasily Chuikov:
"Command post. A ravine, freshly dug cracks, dugouts. Mamaev kurgan! Could I then imagine that it would become the place of the highest intensity of the battles for Stalingrad, that here, on this piece of land, there would not be a single living place left that had not been dug up by the explosions of shells and aerial bombs.”
"To our command post , located at the very top of Mamayev Kurgan, enemy mines, shells and bombs rained down like rain.”
“Many enemy tank and infantry regiments and divisions were destroyed here, and more than one of our divisions withstood the most severe battles, battles of extermination, unprecedented in history in their tenacity and cruelty.”
“Mamaev Kurgan remained black even in the snowiest season: the snow here quickly melted and mixed with the ground from artillery fire.”
“No one can say how many times the top of Mamayev Kurgan changed hands. Warriors from Rodimtsev’s division fought for Mamayev Kurgan, the entire Gorishny division, Ermolkin’s 112th division fought, and most of all, Batyuk’s glorious four-time decorated guards division fought for it.”
Thousands of Red Army soldiers laid their heads here. And now on the eastern slope of Mamayev Kurgan lie 34,505 defenders of Stalingrad. Another 2,047 soldiers who were considered missing, whose remains were found by search engines after the war, were reburied in the military memorial cemetery. This is probably why here you especially feel proud of your ancestors who survived and won in terrible war. And the memorial to the “Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad” in this holy place has become a symbol of life, death and immortality.
ALL-UNION CONSTRUCTION
The first obelisk on Mamayev Kurgan appeared immediately after the end of the bloody battles - on February 8, 1943. And the idea to perpetuate the feat and memory of the heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad came after the war. The history of Mamayev Kurgan as a memorial began in 1958 with a resolution of the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR. The design of the sculptor Evgeniy Vuchetich was chosen at the competition. Entrusted with designing the ensemble Stalingradproject, and construction - Stalingradgidrostroy, who was also involved in the Volzhskaya hydroelectric station.
The main architect was Yakov Belopolsky. Engineering calculations for the unique monument-ensemble were carried out simultaneously with the work on the creation of the Ostankino TV tower by design engineer Nikolai Nikitin. And Marshal Vasily Chuikov became a military consultant.
The memorial was solemnly laid on February 2, 1958. Grandiose, truly people's construction I walked for almost nine years.
We started with demining Mamaev Kurgan. Then, in 1959, more than 40 thousand mines, shells and aerial bombs that this land stored were neutralized. A dangerous legacy of war is still found on the mound seventy years after the Battle of Stalingrad.
Then the builders planned the slopes, erected retaining walls of the squares and the pantheon, and the foundation of the main monument. We had to open and move mass graves.
Day and night, a line of cars walked to Mamayev Kurgan, which were provided with a “green corridor”. All materials were selected very carefully - only the best. The concrete is the same as for the Volzhskaya HPP, the metal is from the local Red October plant. Granite for stairs and borders was brought from quarries of the Ukrainian SSR, irrigation pumps - from Ufa, floodlights - from Kaliningrad, fans for the Hall military glory- from Orenburg. The memorial was built by the whole world, by the entire then huge country.
First, the sculpture “Stand to the death” appeared on Mamayev Kurgan, then the ruined walls, the last was the Hall of Military Glory - in its place they planned to create a panorama museum. But the most complex and grandiose construction of the memorial was the monument “The Motherland Calls!”
THE MOTHERLAND IS CALLING!
The height of the figure of the Motherland is 52 meters
Height with sword - 85 meters
Foundation height - 16 meters
Sword length - 33 meters
Weight - 8000 tons
Sword weight - 14 tons
“From the Eternal Flame, beating from the heart of the star, the torch is lit by twice Hero of the Soviet Union, pilot V.S. Efremov. A combat armored personnel carrier moves along Mira Street - the first street raised from the ruins; moves along Lenin Avenue... The fire, accompanied by an escort of banners, floats through the city, where everything is a memory, where every inch of land is a witness to a feat.”
Then - a rally on the Heroes of Mamayev Kurgan Square. On the podium are Brezhnev, Kosygin, Podgorny, USSR Defense Minister Marshal Andrei Grechko, other marshals, generals, and guests. Solemn speeches. The longest is that of the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Leonid Brezhnev. We will give just a small excerpt:
“Rocks live longer than people. But it is people, only people, who give immortality to everything that their feat touches. The heroic feat made the stones of Mamayev Kurgan immortal.”
USSR Minister of Defense Marshal Andrei Grechko:
“Let the sword held in the hand of the Mother Motherland standing on the top of the mound be a formidable warning for everyone who is thinking of repeating the campaign against the Land of the Soviets.”
After the top officials of the country, speeches are made by Marshals Eremenko and Chuikov. Yakov Pavlov, the same defender of the legendary House of Pavlov, also took the floor. Stalingraders also spoke: foreman of the Red October plant Anatoly Serkov, combine operator Arkhipov, second-year polytechnic student Lilya Kirshina.
Now that student is Liliya Draguntsova, she works at her native Volga State Technical University and is raising her grandchildren. And she met her future husband in the camp, to which she received a free ticket after that very rally. This Sunday, Liliya Mikhailovna will again speak at a rally, this time in honor of the 50th anniversary of Mamayev Kurgan.
The first persons enter the pantheon of Glory. Brezhnev himself brings the flame to Eternal Flame. The anthem sounds, artillery salutes flash across the sky jet planes. And wreaths, wreaths, wreaths...
The ensemble is completed. Behind this are 15 years of search and doubt, sadness and joy, rejected and found solutions. What did we want to tell people with this monument on the historical Mamayev Kurgan, on the site of bloody battles and immortal feats? We sought to convey, first of all, the indestructible moral spirit of Soviet soldiers, their selfless devotion to the Motherland,” Vuchetich recalled.
Later, distinguished guests will go to a gala reception, where Brezhnev will congratulate Vuchetich on being awarded the title of Hero Socialist Labor. A minute of silence on the Square of Fallen Fighters. AND festive concert at the drama theater.
Construction and grand opening of the monument-ensemble on Mamayev Kurgan in Volgograd. Newsreel footage
DIFFERENT GUESTS
Top officials of states, famous revolutionaries and politicians visited Mamayev Kurgan long before the opening of the memorial. Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, Indira Gandhi and, of course, all the leaders of the country were here. And today any visit to Volgograd certainly begins from this place.
GOLDEN DOMES
Since the opening of Mamaev Kurgan, it has changed more than once.
Twice Hero of the Soviet Union Marshal Vasily Chuikov died on March 18, 1982. He bequeathed to bury himself not in the Kremlin wall, not on Novodevichy Cemetery, and next to his comrades in arms - on Mamayev Kurgan.
“Feeling the approaching end of my life, in full consciousness I make a request: after my death, bury my ashes on the Mamayev Kurgan in Stalingrad, where my command post was organized by me on September 12, 1942... From that place you can hear the roar of the Volga waters, volleys of guns and the pain of Stalingrad ruins, thousands of soldiers whom I commanded are buried there,” Chuikov wrote on July 27, 1981.
Chuikov became the only marshal buried outside of Moscow. His grave is located on the Square of Sorrow.
Found last refuge on Mamayev Kurgan and the commander of the 64th Army, Lieutenant General Mikhail Shumilov (1975), first secretary of the Stalingrad regional and city committees, chairman of the city defense committee Alexey Chuyanov (1977), pilot Vasily Efremov (1990), legendary sniper Vasily Zaitsev - he was reburied in 2006
On the 50th anniversary of the Victory, on May 8, 1995, a military memorial cemetery was opened here, where the remains of the defenders of Stalingrad, which search parties continue to find, are reburied. 136 single graves, 8 mass graves, in which the remains of 1911 soldiers are buried. Carved on the bas-relief are 26,158 names of soldiers buried in Big and Small mass graves on Mamayev Kurgan.
At the top, the Church of All Saints shone with golden domes. It was opened in 2005.
On Victory Day, a laser show is now held on Mamayev Kurgan. Before our eyes, the Motherland becomes covered in gold or changes its dress to purple. And on the huge screen, which becomes the retaining wall of the Hall of Military Glory, they show military chronicles. Tens of thousands of Volgograd residents come to see this.
Several years ago, a large-scale reconstruction of the monument-ensemble began. The waterproofing in the basin of the pool on Heroes Square was replaced, and the walls were lined with marble. We renovated a large retaining wall that had been damaged by groundwater. The Hall of Military Glory has had its roof, floor, partially walls and façade renewed. .
Workers of the Volgograd Green Economy Trust planted 24,000 shrubs on the slopes.
36.5 thousand defenders of Stalingrad were buried on Mamayev Kurgan.
Sculpture “The Motherland is Calling!” is the compositional center of the architectural ensemble “Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad”, it represents a 52-meter figure of a woman, rapidly walking forward and calling her sons behind her. IN right hand sword 33 m long (weight 14 tons). The height of the sculpture is 85 meters. The monument stands on a 16-meter foundation. The height of the Main Monument speaks of its scale and uniqueness. Its total weight is 8 thousand tons. The main monument - modern interpretation The image of the ancient Nike - the goddess of victory - calls on her sons and daughters to repel the enemy and continue the further offensive.
The construction of the memorial was given great value. There were no restrictions on funds and building materials. The best creative forces were involved in creating the monument. Evgeniy Viktorovich Vuchetich was appointed the main sculptor and project manager, who had already created a monument-ensemble to soldiers ten years earlier Soviet army in Treptower Park in Berlin and the sculpture “Let's Beat Swords into Plowshares,” which still adorns the square in front of the UN building in New York. Vuchetich was assisted by the architects Belopolsky and Demin, and the sculptors Matrosov, Novikov and Tyurenkov. Upon completion of construction, they were all awarded the Lenin Prize, and Vuchetich was also awarded the Golden Star of the Hero of Socialist Labor. The head of the engineering group working on the construction of the memorial was N.V. Nikitin is the future creator of the Ostankino tower. The main military consultant of the project was Marshal V.I. Chuikov is the commander of the army that defended Mamayev Kurgan, whose reward was the right to be buried here, next to the dead soldiers: along the serpentine, in the hill, the remains of 34,505 soldiers - defenders of Stalingrad, as well as 35 granite tombstones of Heroes of the Soviet Union, participants in the battle of Stalingrad 
Construction of the monument "Motherland" was started in May 1959 and completed on October 15, 1967. The sculpture at the time of its creation was the tallest sculpture in the world. Restoration work at the Main Monument of the monument-ensemble were held twice: in 1972 and 1986. It is also believed that the statue was modeled after the Marseillaise figure on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris and that the pose of the statue was inspired by the statue of the Nike of Samothrace. Indeed, there are some similarities. In the first photo there is Marseillaise, and next to Nika of Samothrace 
And in this photo the Motherland 
The sculpture is made from prestressed concrete blocks - 5,500 tons of concrete and 2,400 tons of metal structures (excluding the base on which it stands). Total height of the monument “ The Motherland is calling” - 85 meters. It is installed on a concrete foundation 16 meters deep. The height of the female figure is 52 meters (weight - more than 8 thousand tons). 
The statue stands on a slab only 2 meters high, which rests on the main foundation. This foundation is 16 meters high, but it is almost invisible - most of it is hidden underground. The statue stands freely on the slab, like chess figure On the desk. The thickness of the reinforced concrete walls of the sculpture is only 25-30 centimeters. Inside, the rigidity of the frame is supported by ninety-nine metal cables that are constantly in tension
The sword is 33 meters long and weighs 14 tons. The sword was originally made of stainless steel covered with titanium sheets. On strong wind the sword swayed and the sheets rattled. Therefore, in 1972, the blade was replaced with another one - consisting entirely of fluorinated steel. And the wind problems were eliminated with the help of blinds at the top of the sword. There are very few similar sculptures in the world, for example, the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, the “Motherland” in Kyiv, the monument to Peter I in Moscow. For comparison, the height of the Statue of Liberty from its pedestal is 46 meters. 
The most complex calculations of the stability of this structure were carried out by Doctor of Technical Sciences N.V. Nikitin, the author of the calculation of the stability of the Ostankino TV tower. At night, the statue is illuminated by spotlights. “The horizontal displacement of the upper part of the 85-meter monument is currently 211 millimeters or 75% of what was allowed by calculations. Deviations have been going on since 1966. If from 1966 to 1970 the deviation was 102 millimeters, then from 1970 to 1986 – 60 millimeters, until 1999 – 33 millimeters, from 2000-2008 – 16 millimeters,” said the director of the State Historical and Memorial Museum-Reserve. Battle of Stalingrad" Alexander Velichkin. 
The sculpture “The Motherland Calls” is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest sculpture-statue in the world at that time. Its height is 52 meters, arm length - 20 and sword length - 33 meters. The total height of the sculpture is 85 meters. The weight of the sculpture is 8 thousand tons, and the sword - 14 tons (for comparison: the Statue of Liberty in New York is 46 meters high; the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro is 38 meters). On this moment The statue ranks 11th on the list of tallest statues in the world. The Motherland is in danger of collapse due to groundwater. Experts say that if the tilt of the statue increases by another 300 mm, it could collapse due to any, even the most insignificant reason 
70-year-old pensioner Valentina Ivanovna Izotova lives in Volgograd, with whom the sculpture “The Motherland Calls” was sculpted 40 years ago. Valentina Ivanovna is a modest person. For more than 40 years she was silent about the fact that as a model she posed for sculptors who sculpted perhaps the most famous sculpture in Russia - the Motherland. She was silent because Soviet times talking about the model’s profession was, to put it mildly, indecent, especially married woman raising two daughters. Now Valya Izotova is already a grandmother and willingly talks about that distant episode in her youth, which has now become perhaps the most significant event of her entire life. 
In those distant 60s, Valentina was 26 years old. She worked as a waitress in the prestigious, by Soviet standards, Volgograd restaurant. This establishment was visited by all the eminent guests of the city on the Volga, and our heroine saw with her own eyes Fidel Castro, the Emperor of Ethiopia, and the Swiss ministers. Naturally, only a girl with a real Soviet appearance could serve such people during lunch. You probably already guessed what this means. Stern face, purposeful look, athletic figure. It is no coincidence that one day a frequent guest of Volgograd, the young sculptor Lev Maistrenko, approached Valentina to talk. He conspiratorially told his young interlocutor about the sculpture that he and his comrades were to make for the sculptor Yevgeny Vuchetich, already famous in those days. Maistrenko walked around the bush for a long time, showering the waitress with compliments, and then invited her to pose. The fact is that the Moscow model, who arrived in the provinces directly from the capital, did not attract the attention of local sculptors. She was too arrogant and cutesy. And her face didn’t resemble “Mother.”
“I thought about it for a long time,” recalls Izotova, “the times were strict then, and my husband forbade it. But then my husband relented, and I gave the guys my consent. Who didn’t go on various adventures in their youth?
The adventure turned into serious work that lasted two years. Valentina’s candidacy for the role of the Motherland was approved by Vuchetich himself. Having listened to the arguments of his colleagues in favor of a simple Volgograd waitress, he nodded his head affirmatively, and it began. Posing turned out to be a very difficult task. Standing for several hours a day with my arms outstretched and my left leg pointed forward was tiring. According to the sculptors, a sword was supposed to be in the right hand, but in order not to tire Valentina too much, they put a long stick in her palm. At the same time, she had to give her face an inspired expression calling for exploits.
The guys insisted: “Valya, you must call people to follow you. You are the Motherland!” And I called, for which I was paid 3 rubles per hour. Imagine what it's like to stand for hours with your mouth open.
There was one piquant moment during work. The sculptors insisted that Valentina, as befits a model, pose naked, but Izotova resisted. Suddenly my husband will come in. At first we agreed on a two-piece swimsuit. True, then the top part of the swimsuit had to be removed. The breasts should look natural. By the way, the model was not wearing any tunic. It was only later that Vuchetich himself threw a flowing robe over Rodina. Our heroine saw the finished monument a few days after its official opening. It was interesting to look at myself from the outside: my face, arms, legs - everything was original, only made of stone and my height was 52 meters. More than 40 years have passed since then. Valentina Izotova is alive and well and is proud that a monument was erected to her during her lifetime. For a long life. 
The sculpture “The Motherland Calls,” created by E.V. Vuchetich, has the amazing property of a psychological impact on everyone who sees it. How the author managed to achieve this, one can only guess. Acute criticisms to his creation: it is both exaggeratedly monumental and frankly similar to the Marseillaise that decorates the Parisian triumphal arch, - do not explain its phenomenon at all. We must not forget that for the sculptor, who survived the most terrible war in the history of mankind, this monument, like the entire memorial, is first of all a tribute to the memory of the fallen, and then a reminder to the living, who, in his conviction, so they can never forget anything
The sculpture Motherland, together with Mamayev Kurgan, is a finalist in the “Seven Wonders of Russia” competition
“Motherland” is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest sculpture-statue in the world at the time of its creation. Its total height is 85 meters, weight is 8000 tons. Today the legendary statue is in disrepair.
1 Motherland
Why was this particular image used when creating the monument to the heroic defense of Stalingrad? There is an opinion that Evgeniy Vuchetich took the image of the Nike of Samothrace as the basis for the sculpture; the bas-relief of the Marseillaise in Paris, which also depicts a woman with a sword, could also have influenced the creative concept.
The very image of the “Motherland” became one of the main images of Soviet propaganda after, in 1941, Irakli Taidze created, perhaps, the most famous propaganda poster of the Great Patriotic War, “The Motherland Calls.”
The sculpture on Mamayev Kurgan is thus an allegorical image of the Motherland, calling its sons to fight the enemy.
Evgeniy Vuchetich did not come to this image right away. Initially, the project assumed the presence of two figures (a woman and a kneeling soldier); in her hand the Motherland was supposed to hold not a sword, but a red banner.
2 Dimensions
Construction of the monument began in May 1959 and was completed on October 15, 1967. At the time of its creation, the sculpture was the tallest monument in the world. Its total height is 85 meters, weight is 8 thousand tons. The calculations for the monument were made by Nikolai Nikitin, who had previously taken part in the design of Moscow State University and the Ostankino Tower.
The height of the statue was determined by Nikita Khrushchev, who categorically stated that it should be higher than the Statue of Liberty in the United States. In comparison with the height of a person, the figure of the “Motherland” is increased 30 times.
Today “Motherland” ranks 11th in the ranking tallest statues peace.
Restoration work on the Main monument of the monument-ensemble was carried out twice: in 1972 and 1986.
3 Sword of Victory
The sword in the hands of the “Motherland” has a connection with others famous monuments. It is implied that this sword is the same sword that the worker hands over to the warrior depicted on the "Rear to Front" monument (Magnitogorsk), and which is then dropped by the "Warrior Liberator" in Berlin.
The sword, originally 33 meters long and weighing 14 tons, was made of stainless steel covered with titanium sheets. However, the titanium plating sheets rattled in the wind, created unnecessary windage and could lead to undesirable consequences. In 1972, the blade of the sword was replaced during restoration - with one consisting entirely of fluorinated steel.
4 Grave
More than 35 thousand people are buried on the Mamevo Kurgan. Of the 200 days of the Battle of Stalingrad, the struggle for this height lasted 135 days. Even in winter, Mamayev Kurgan remained black from bomb explosions, for one square meter there were from half a thousand to 1200 fragments and bullets. In the spring of 1943, the grass never grew here.
On the Mamayev Kurgan, at the foot of the “Motherland”, the commander of the 62nd Army, Marshal of the Soviet Union Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov was also buried. Vasily Ivanovich expressed his desire to be buried here in his will.
5 Prototypes
Until now, there are several versions about who Vuchetich “sculpted” his sculpture from.
On the eve of the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Victory in the Battle of Stalingrad, 79-year-old resident of Barnaul Anastasia Peshkova announced that she was the prototype. In 2003, Valentina Izotova, who worked as a waitress at the Volgograd restaurant, said exactly the same thing. Another contender for the title of prototype of the “Motherland” was former artistic gymnast Ekaterina Grebneva, but she, unlike previous contenders, believes that she was not the only model, and the image of the “Motherland” is still collective.
Former deputy director of the monument-ensemble “Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad” Valentina Klyushina expressed a different opinion: “Evgeniy Viktorovich made the figure from Nina Dumbadze, the famous discus thrower. She posed for him in Moscow, in his workshop. But Evgeniy Viktorovich did not go far to find the face of the sculpture. He created it with his wife, Vera Nikolaevna. And sometimes he affectionately called the sculpture by his wife’s name – Verochka.”
6 Without foundation
Despite its enormous weight (8,000 tons), “Motherland” is a free-standing structure. Inside it consists of separate cells. The rigidity of the frame is maintained by ninety-nine metal cables, which are constantly in tension. The thickness of the reinforced concrete walls of the sculpture is only 25-30 centimeters.
7 Materials
“Motherland” was cast layer by layer using special formwork made from plaster materials, prestressed reinforced concrete blocks consisting of 5,500 tons of concrete and 2,400 tons of metal. And this is weight without foundation.
The monument stands on a slab 2 meters high, which is installed on a main foundation 16 meters high, almost completely hidden underground. To make the figure look even more monumental, an artificial embankment 14 meters high and weighing 150 thousand tons was also made at the top point of Mamayev Kurgan.
8 Green light
The entire time the statue was being built, there was a need for a continuous supply of concrete; even a slight delay could compromise the strength of the multi-ton structure.
Trucks transporting concrete to the construction site were marked special signs. Drivers were allowed to break the rules traffic, they could even drive through a red light without fear of being stopped by traffic police.
9 Copy of the statue
At Evgeniy Vuchetich’s dacha in the Timiryazevsky district of Moscow, where his workshop used to be, and today the sculptor’s house-museum operates, you can see a small copy of the statue - a model, working sketches, as well as a life-size model of the head of the sculpture.
10 Offset
Ivan Bukreev, foreman of the former Stalingradgidrostroy, a builder with 50 years of experience, said in 2010 that “Motherland” needed to be saved, since it had already deviated from the 270 millimeters laid down in the project by 221 millimeters. The monument tilts for two reasons: the movement of the foundation and the deformation of the figure itself. The situation is also aggravated by vibrations of the sword due to wind loads.
Restorer Vadim Tserkovnikov also believes that “Motherland” is in disrepair. In his interview with MK in 2013, when asked whether the sculpture could fall, he directly answered: “Easily! She is unpredictable!
