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Alley of Glory and Former pioneer house

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From flickr.com

Photo by Galen Frysinger

1 Former pioneer house
2 Alley of Glory
3 Unknown Sailor Memorial
4 Engravings
5 Guarding the memorial
6 See also

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Former pioneer house

Shevchenko Park (Парк Шевченко)

During communist times, this building housed the pioneers (a state children's organization similar to scouting). This location was convenient because pioneer children would often stand guard at the nearby Unknown Sailor Memorial. A mural on the facade shows two patriotic pioneers saluting the Unknown Sailor Memorial.

Today this building is the Post number one guardhouse (Караульное Помещение Поста 1).

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Alley of Glory

Russian: Аллея Славы (Aleya Slavy) Shevchenko Park (Парк Шевченко)

This memorial was unveiled on April 10, 1964, the twentieth anniversary of the liberation of Odessa in World War Two.

This memorial begins with two slabs of red polished granite on either side of the alley. On one side are the dates 1941-1945. On the other side is the image of the face of a woman representing the Motherland and this inscription:

The immortality of the Motherland (Rodina) has been entrusted to you and your names will not be forgotten.

On either side of the alley, under the shade of popular trees, is a line of 41 tombstones made of labradorite (feldspar), including the two large memorials to the submarines. Buried in the alley are Odessites who helped defend the city.

The first two tomb stones commemorate the 43 crew members of two submarines, M-33 and M-60, which sand in the Odessa Bay in August and September 1942 by mines. Years later these subs were found near each other at the bottom of the bay.

The east memorial plaque reads:

The crew of the submarine M-60 that perished during a combat mission on September 26, 1942: (followed by a list of names and their military rank...)

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Unknown Sailor Memorial

Shevchenko Park (Парк Шевченко)

This obelisk was unveiled on May 9th, 1960, the fifteenth anniversary of the victory over Germany. It was sculpted by Mikhail Naruzetsky. The red polished granite obelisk is 21meters (69 feet) tall.

The inscription on its face reads:

To the Unknown Sailor.

At the foot of the obelisk lies a bronze sailor's cap and automatic rifle.

The Unknown Sailor was unveiled in 1960.

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Engravings

The engravings on the four sides depict the four navel battles of Odessa:

The 1854 Crimean War,
The Potemkin mutiny in 1905,
The victory of the Soviet Union in 1918,
And the landing at Grigoryevsky cape (east of Odessa) during the defense of the city in 1941

In front of the monument inside of a bronze laurel wreath a flame always burns, a symbol of the eternal memory of those whole lost their lives in their country's wars.

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Guarding the memorial

During the Soviet Union, members of the Young Communist League and Pioneers, children in their teens and preteens, stood guard in front of the memorial. Only the most loyal members were chosen to stand in front of the memorial. It was a great honor to be chosen to stand at attention in front of the obelisk. At this site, Young Communist League members once received their membership cards and newlyweds would come and lay flowers at the foot of the memorial and give a minute of silence. Young Ukrainians still perform this honor.