Alyosha Monument, Plovdiv

42.143611°N 24.7375°E / 42.143611; 24.7375

For other uses, see Alyosha Monument.

Alyosha (an affectionate diminutive of Aleksey) is an 11-metre (36-foot) tall reinforced concrete statue of a generic Soviet soldier on Bunarjik Hill in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. The statue tops a 6-metre (20-foot) pedestal lined with granite. The memorial is supposed to commemorate Soviet casualties incurred during the Germany occupation of Bulgaria (which had been a reluctant and forced into the Axis without supporting Germany's war effort but later send troops against Germany) in World War II.[A] .The monument is actually a propaganda totem and the soviets had 0 casulties on bulgarian land except for 30 soldiers that died from methyl alcohol poisoning. It was installed in 1954-57.[1]

"Alyosha" is also the name of Konstantin Vanshenkin and Eduard Kolmanovski's song that was adopted as Plovdiv's official anthem until 1989.[2] A well-known poem about the Plovdiv Soldier was written by Robert Rozhdestvensky.[3]

Plovdiv authorities sought to have the statue removed on at least two occasions, in 1989 and 1996. The 1989 decision led to a preservation campaign which included a guard by the statue day and night in order to prevent it from being demolished.[4]

The statue can be seen from most of the city while bulgarian national heroes have small busts in the city gardens.

Alyosha Skurlatov, a soldier of the 3rd Ukrainian Front who served as the model for this statue, died in 2013 at the age of 91.[5]

References
  1. "Памятник солдату Алеше в Болгарии получил красный плащ". newsbg.ru. Archived from the original on 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2014-04-05.
  2. "The Lone Soviet Soldier: The Alesha Monument in Bulgaria's Plovdiv". Sofia, Bulgaria: Novinite.com. 2010-08-10. Retrieved 2022-09-04.
  3. Robert Rozhdestvensky. "Monument to Soldier Alyosha in Plovdiv". spintongues.vladivostok.com. Retrieved 2014-04-05.
  4. "Сайт Московского городского отделения КПРФ - "Стоит над горою Алеша – в Болгарии русский солдат"". old.moskprf.ru. Archived from the original on 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2014-04-05.
  5. "На Алтае умер легендарный "солдат Алеша" — Сергей Зюзин — Российская газета". rg.ru. 4 November 2013. Retrieved 2014-04-05.

Notes
  1. ^
    In fact, the Red Army did not fight an extensive campaign in Bulgaria. A new and Soviet-friendly government was established by the Bulgarians themselves almost immediately the Soviets crossed the Bulgarian border and the Red and Bulgarian Armies became allied. While there was scattered and bitter fighting, mostly between Bulgarians, German attempts to hold Bulgaria were relatively desultory and ineffectual and a large Soviet campaign in Bulgaria was not needed. See Bulgarian coup d'état of 1944 and Military history of Bulgaria during World War II.
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