Monument to Alyosha is a symbol of heroism and courage of Soviet soldiers, as well as gratitude of liberated Europe

In the Soviet Union, everyone was known Alyosha, who does not give flowers to young girls, but they give him flowers. This happened primarily due to the well-known song of E. Kolmanovsky on verses by K. Vanshenkin. Now is another time and other songs. Unfortunately, the memory of the exploits of Soviet soldiers is erased in the consciousness of modern society both in Europe and in the post-Soviet space. And yet the words "Alyosha", "Bulgaria", "monument" firmly entwined in a single image in the minds of the inhabitants of Eastern Europe.

History of creation

All over Europe, monuments to unknown soldiers are scattered . This is understandable - how many Soviet soldiers were killed when the countries of Eastern Europe were liberated from the fascists. In those early years, Soviet troops met bread and salt all over the world from the Balkans to the Baltic. A few years later the inhabitants of the Bulgarian city of Plovdiv had a decision to capture the image of a soldier-liberator in stone. In the future, this idea resulted in the monument to Alyosha. Then, in 1948, a public committee was created to develop the layout of the monument, and a symbolic laying of the foundations for the future pedestal in the center of the city occurred. In the competitive selection, the choice fell on the model of Vasil Radoslavov called "The Red Bugatyr." Before the project had to wait 9 years. In 1957, on the eve of the celebration of the October Revolution Day, a solemn opening of the memorial complex took place .

Description

From all parts of the city of Plovdiv is seen a huge figure of a Russian soldier, who dropped to the ground the famous submachine gun Shpagin, with which he passed from Stalingrad to Berlin. On a pedestal at 6 meters, a stone hero with a height of 11 meters peers into the distance to the east, to where the house is, where the family is waiting. The pedestal itself is decorated with bas-reliefs. One of them was created by Georgy Kots and called "The Soviet Army beats the enemy," another shows the meeting of the Bulgarian people of the Liberators' Army, its author is Alexander Zankov. To put flowers at the foot of the monument, you need to climb a hundred steps. The hill Bunardzhik, now called the Liberators' Hill, on which the monument to Alyosha stands, became one of the main attractions of the ancient city of Plovdiv (Filippopol).

Russian Alesha

And why is the monument in Bulgaria around the world known as "Alyosha"? Where did this name come from? There are several versions of the appearance of the prototype for this stone statue. One way or another, everything leads to Alyosha Skurlatov, a young communications man - the hero, whose picture was preserved in the archives of one of the inhabitants of the city of Plovdiv. There was a legend about the Russian hero who, on the day of celebrating the liberation of the city, planted two local girls on his shoulders and danced with them tirelessly. Old-timers tell about it, the history is passed from generation to generation. This fellow was associated with Alexei Skurlatov. The soldier himself only 20 years later learned that the famous monument to the soldier Alyosha is his copy. In 1982, A. Skurlatov visited Bulgaria and received the title of honorary citizen of the city of Plovdiv.

Alyosha, imprinted in the song

Monument "Alyosha" (photo is given in the article) makes a strong impression on the audience, shaking with its grandeur, colossal and spiritual simplicity at the same time. The Soviet composer E. Kolmanovsky, who visited Plovdiv in 1962, admired the memorial and attitude of ordinary inhabitants of Bulgaria to him. Sharing his impressions of the trip to Moscow with his friend, poet K. Vanshenkin, the musician told the story of the creation of the monument. And then the words appeared, and then the melody of the famous song "Alyosha". Great popularity this work received in Bulgaria and, of course, in the Soviet Union thanks to the Bulgarian duet - Rita Nikolova and Georgi Cordova.

Struggle for existence

With the collapse of the Soviet Union a whole era has come to an end. Everywhere people started talking about the shortcomings of the communist regime and immediately painted everything that was in black. And there was a lot of things! This is the friendship of peoples, and economic cooperation, and, most importantly, a common victory over fascism. Over the past twenty years, many memorable places in Europe have been subjected to acts of vandalism. And although officially the governments of the countries adopted a resolution on preventing the desecration of monuments dedicated to the victory over fascism, this does not stop individual social forces. Constantly there are discussions about the dismantling or transfer to the outskirts of memorials of memory. This fate did not escape the monument to Alyosha in Bulgaria. Photos of the stone Russian soldier appeared more and more in the press, but with headlines screaming about the demolition initiative. Three times he was wanted to be removed from the pedestal, but every time the public rebelled against and defended not just a monument, but the very people's memory and gratitude.

Monument to Alyosha today

The last time that the issue of dismantling "Alyosha" was raised, the public organized a watch near the monument, and veterans of the war promised to commit an act of self-immolation in case of its demolition. Several court hearings were held. The result was the recognition by the Supreme Court that the monument to Alesha has the status of a Monument to the Second World War, and therefore is inviolable. Today this is one of the favorite places for visiting tourists in Plovdiv, here by tradition come newlyweds and lay flowers. In 2007, to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the installation of the memorial in Bulgaria, a commemorative stamp was issued. The monument to Alesha along with Shipka and other monuments is a sign of the centuries-old friendship and cooperation of the Bulgarian and Russian peoples.