Monument to the Heroes of the Volga Military Flotilla.
The monument is located in Nizhny Novgorod, in the square garden on Markin Square.
The monument is dedicated to the heroes of the Civil War — the sailors and river fleet personnel of the Volga Military Flotilla.
Project authors
- People's Artist of the RSFSR, Honorary Citizen of Nizhny Novgorod, sculptor Gusev Pavel Ivanovich; Honored Architect of the RSFSR B.S. Nelyubin; and architect V.Ya. Kovalyov.
History of creation
In the summer of 1918, the Eastern Front was drawing close to the borders of the Nizhny Novgorod Governorate. In June 1918, the organization of the Volga Military Flotilla began in Nizhny Novgorod to combat the White Guards. In late autumn, after fierce fighting on the Volga River and the Kama — during one of which, on October 1, 1918, the flotilla's commissar N.G. Markin was killed — the ships returned to Nizhny Novgorod. In Markin's honor, Safronovskaya Square, located opposite the River Terminal, was renamed after him. In 1976, it was decided to erect a monument on Markin Square in honor of the 60th anniversary of the Great October Revolution, dedicated to the exploits of the sailors and river fleet personnel of the Volga Military Flotilla. The competition was won by the design of sculptor Gusev Pavel Ivanovich.
Description of the monument
The monument takes the form of a sculptural group of three figures. The dynamism of the figures is conveyed through the rhythm of the broad stride of sailors standing shoulder to shoulder, the fluttering ribbons of their sailors' caps, and the movement of their arms. Slightly ahead stands the figure of the older sailor; beside him walks a seaman draped in machine-gun belts; behind him, a young recruit. The sculptural group stands on a low pedestal faced with granite, its top paved with large cobblestones. To the left and right in the square garden, behind the monument, stand steles of red granite blocks bearing the following text in gilded letters: "Let us honor the memory of the October fighters by pledging before their memory to follow in their footsteps, emulating their immortality, their heroism. V.I. Lenin."
Unveiling of the monument
November 5, 1977.