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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

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

Nikolai Tomsky Nikolai Vasilyevich Tomsky (russian: Никола́й Васи́льевич То́мский b. , Ramushevo, Novgorod Governorate d. 22 November 1984 - Moscow) was a much-decorated Soviet sculptor, designer of many well-known ceremonial monumen ...

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 of the

Kremlin Regiment The Kremlin Regiment (russian: Кремлёвский полк, Kremlyovskiy polk), also called the Presidential Regiment (russian: Президентский полк, Prezidentskiy polk), is a unique military regiment and part of the Russian F ...

(which had guarded the

Lenin Mausoleum Lenin's Mausoleum (from 1953 to 1961 Lenin's & Stalin's Mausoleum) ( rus, links=no, Мавзолей Ленина, r=Mavzoley Lenina, p=məvzɐˈlʲej ˈlʲenʲɪnə), also known as Lenin's Tomb, situated on Red Square in the centre of Moscow, i ...

) 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 Guard mounting, changing the guard, or the changing of the guard, is a formal ceremony in which sentries performing ceremonial guard duties at important institutions are relieved by a new batch of sentries. The ceremonies are often elaborate a ...

ceremony takes place every hour.

Restoration

The ensemble of the memorial was renewed several times. By the 30th anniversary of the

Victory Day Victory Day is a commonly used name for public holidays in various countries, where it commemorates a nation's triumph over a hostile force in a war or the liberation of a country from hostile occupation. In many cases, multiple countries may ob ...

celebrations, the monument was fully restored and various elements were added; at that time, a laurel branch and a helmet by

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 The Moscow Kremlin Wall is a defensive wall that surrounds the Moscow Kremlin, recognisable by the characteristic notches and its Kremlin towers. The original walls were likely a simple wooden fence with guard towers built in 1156. The Kremlin w ...

in the

Alexander Garden Alexander Gardens (russian: Александровский сад) 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 ...

in Moscow. The remains of the unknown soldiers killed in the Battle of Moscow in 1941 were initially buried in a

mass grave A mass grave is a grave containing multiple human corpses, which may or may not be identified prior to burial. The United Nations has defined a criminal mass grave as a burial site containing three or more victims of execution, although an exact ...

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 city and administrative okrug of Moscow, Russia. The city of Zelenograd and the territory under its jurisdiction form the Zelenogradsky Administrative O ...

. 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 Labradorite (( Ca, Na)( Al, Si)4 O8) is a calcium-enriched feldspar mineral first identified in Labrador, Canada, which can display an iridescent effect ( schiller). Labradorite is an intermediate to calcic member of the plagioclase series. It ...

, 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 The Monument to the Fighters of the Revolution (russian: Памятник Борцам Революции) is a memorial on the Field of Mars in Saint Petersburg. It marks the burial places of some of those who died during the February and Octobe ...

on 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 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, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

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

, Stalingrad,

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 Kerch ( uk, Керч; russian: Керчь, ; Old East Slavic: Кърчевъ; Ancient Greek: , ''Pantikápaion''; Medieval Greek: ''Bosporos''; crh, , ; tr, Kerç) is a city of regional significance on the Kerch Peninsula in the east of t ...

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 and

Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress * Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria * Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France ** Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Br ...

Murmansk Murmansk (Russian: ''Мурманск'' lit. "Norwegian coast"; Finnish: ''Murmansk'', sometimes ''Muurmanski'', previously ''Muurmanni''; Norwegian: ''Norskekysten;'' Northern Sámi: ''Murmánska;'' Kildin Sámi: ''Мурман ланнҍ'') i ...

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 c ...

. 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 Anc ...

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