Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Moscow)
Encyclopedia
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Могила Неизвестного Солдата in Russian
, or Mogila Neizvestnova Soldata) is a war memorial
, dedicated to the Soviet
soldiers killed during World War II
. It is located at the Kremlin Wall
in the Alexander Garden
in Moscow
.
The remains of the unknown soldiers killed in the Battle of Moscow
in 1941 were initially buried in a mass grave
at the 41st km of the Leningrad highway at the city of Zelenograd
. This was the location of the closest approach of the Nazi
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. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was designed by architects D. I. Burdin, V. A. Klimov, Yu. R. Rabayev and sculptor Nikolai Tomsky
, and was unveiled to the public on May 8, 1967. 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
from its center. The flame illuminates a bronze inscription "Имя твое 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
, where it had been lit from the Eternal Flame at the Field of Mars
.
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, Kiev
, Stalingrad, Odessa
, Sevastopol
, Minsk
, Kerch
, Novorossiysk
, Tula
and Brest
, Murmansk
and Smolensk
. The plate for “Stalingrad” read “Volgograd” up until September 2004.
Further to the right of these monuments is an obelisk
in red granite
, listing the names of 33 “Cities of Military Glory
” divided into groups of four. This monument was dedicated on May 8, 2010.
In 1997, a Guard of Honour 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.
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
, or Mogila Neizvestnova Soldata) is a war memorial
War memorial
A war memorial is a building, monument, statue or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or to commemorate those who died or were injured in war.-Historic usage:...
, dedicated to the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
soldiers killed during World War II
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
. It is located at the Kremlin Wall
Kremlin Wall
The Kremlin Wall is a defensive wall that surrounds the Moscow Kremlin, recognizable by the characteristic notches and its Kremlin towers. The original walls were likely a simple wooden fence with guard towers built in 1156.-History:...
in the Alexander Garden
Alexander Garden
Alexander Gardens was one of the first urban public parks in Moscow, Russia. The park comprises three separate gardens, which stretch along all the length of the western Kremlin wall for between the building of the Moscow Manege and the Kremlin.-History:...
in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
.
The remains of the unknown soldiers killed in the Battle of Moscow
Battle of Moscow
The Battle of Moscow is the name given by Soviet historians to two periods of strategically significant fighting on a sector of the Eastern Front during World War II. It took place between October 1941 and January 1942. The Soviet defensive effort frustrated Hitler's attack on Moscow, capital of...
in 1941 were initially buried in a mass grave
Mass grave
A mass grave is a grave containing multiple number of human corpses, which may or may not be identified prior to burial. There is no strict definition of the minimum number of bodies required to constitute a mass grave, although the United Nations defines a mass grave as a burial site which...
at the 41st km of the Leningrad highway at the city of Zelenograd
Zelenograd
Zelenograd is a city, which, along with the territories and settlements under its jurisdiction, forms one of the administrative okrugs of Moscow - Zelenograd Administrative Okrug...
. This was the location of the closest approach of the Nazi
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
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. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was designed by architects D. I. Burdin, V. A. Klimov, Yu. R. Rabayev and sculptor Nikolai Tomsky
Nikolai Tomsky
Nikolai Vasilyevich Tomsky was a much-decorated Soviet sculptor, designer of many well-known ceremonial monuments of the Socialist Realism era.- Biography :...
, and was unveiled to the public on May 8, 1967. The dark red porphyry
Porphyry (geology)
Porphyry is a variety of igneous rock consisting of large-grained crystals, such as feldspar or quartz, dispersed in a fine-grained feldspathic matrix or groundmass. The larger crystals are called phenocrysts...
monument is decorated with a bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
sculpture of a laurel
Bay Laurel
The bay laurel , also known as sweet bay, bay tree, true laurel, Grecian laurel, laurel tree, or simply laurel, is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub with green, glossy leaves, native to the Mediterranean region. It is the source of the bay leaf used in cooking...
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
Labradorite
Labradorite , a feldspar mineral, is an intermediate to calcic member of the plagioclase series. It is usually defined as having "%An" between 50 and 70. The specific gravity ranges from 2.68 to 2.72. The streak is white, like most silicates. The refractive index ranges from 1.559 to 1.573....
, which emanates the Eternal Flame
Eternal flame
An eternal flame is a flame or torch that burns day and night for an indefinite period. The flame that burned constantly at Delphi was an archaic feature, "alien to the ordinary Greek temple"....
from its center. The flame illuminates a bronze inscription "Имя твое 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
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, where it had been lit from the Eternal Flame at the Field of Mars
Field of Mars (Saint Petersburg)
The Field of Mars or Marsovo Polye is a large park named after the Mars - Roman god of war situated in the center of Saint-Petersburg, with an area of about 9 hectares. Bordering the Field of Mars to the north are the Marble Palace, Suvorova Square and Betskoi’s and Saltykov’s houses. To the west...
.
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
Porphyry (geology)
Porphyry is a variety of igneous rock consisting of large-grained crystals, such as feldspar or quartz, dispersed in a fine-grained feldspathic matrix or groundmass. The larger crystals are called phenocrysts...
blocks with incapsulated soils from hero cities
Hero City
Hero City is a Soviet honorary title awarded for outstanding heroism during the German-Soviet War of 1941 to 1945. It was awarded to twelve cities of the Soviet Union. In addition the Brest Fortress was awarded an equivalent title of Hero-Fortress...
, Leningrad, Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, Stalingrad, Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
, Sevastopol
Sevastopol
Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....
, Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
, Kerch
Kerch
Kerch is a city on the Kerch Peninsula of eastern Crimea, an important industrial, transport and tourist centre of Ukraine. Kerch, founded 2600 years ago, is considered as one of the most ancient cities in Ukraine.-Ancient times:...
, Novorossiysk
Novorossiysk
Novorossiysk is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is the country's main port on the Black Sea and the leading Russian port for importing grain. It is one of the few cities honored with the title of the Hero City. Population: -History:...
, Tula
Tula, Russia
Tula is an industrial city and the administrative center of Tula Oblast, Russia. It is located south of Moscow, on the Upa River. Population: -History:...
and Brest
Brest, Belarus
Brest , formerly also Brest-on-the-Bug and Brest-Litovsk , is a city in Belarus at the border with Poland opposite the city of Terespol, where the Bug River and Mukhavets rivers meet...
, Murmansk
Murmansk
Murmansk is a city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It serves as a seaport and is located in the extreme northwest part of Russia, on the Kola Bay, from the Barents Sea on the northern shore of the Kola Peninsula, not far from Russia's borders with Norway and Finland...
and Smolensk
Smolensk
Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River. Situated west-southwest of Moscow, this walled city was destroyed several times throughout its long history since it was on the invasion routes of both Napoleon and Hitler. Today, Smolensk...
. The plate for “Stalingrad” read “Volgograd” up until September 2004.
Further to the right of these monuments is an obelisk
Obelisk
An obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape at the top, and is said to resemble a petrified ray of the sun-disk. A pair of obelisks usually stood in front of a pylon...
in red granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
, listing the names of 33 “Cities of Military Glory
City of Military Glory
City of Military Glory is an honorary title bestowed upon the citizenry of Russian cities, where soldiers had displayed courage and heroism during the Great Patriotic War...
” divided into groups of four. This monument was dedicated on May 8, 2010.
In 1997, a Guard of Honour of the Kremlin Regiment
Kremlin Regiment
Kremlin Regiment is a unique military regiment, a part of Russian Federal Protective Service with the status of a special unit. The regiment ensures the security of the Kremlin and its treasures and guards the highest state officials...
(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.
See also
- Kremlin RegimentKremlin RegimentKremlin Regiment is a unique military regiment, a part of Russian Federal Protective Service with the status of a special unit. The regiment ensures the security of the Kremlin and its treasures and guards the highest state officials...