Most countries who have been drastically affected by wars have a memorial which contains the remains of an unidentifiable soldier. A lot of soldiers throughout history have died without being specifically identified.
Russia's version is located here in Moscow. It's in алехандровский сад (the Alexandrovsky Gardens) right outside the Kremlin walls. It's beneath one of the Kremlin towers. The floor is made of maroon colored marble and the actual monument is made of brass. It features a soldier helmet & a banner bearing the Hammer & Sickle of the CCCP. There is an eternal flame which features in the middle of a 5 point star. The writing around the 5 point star reads Имя твое неизвестно, подвиг твой бессмертен - Your name is unknown, your deed is immortal.
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| The tomb itself with freshly laid flowers |
To the right of the tomb & lining the walkway along the Alexandrovsky Gardens & along the Kremlin wall are blocks which contain soil from the "Golden" or "Hero" cities - Leningrad, Kiev, Stalingrad, Odessa, Sevastopol, Minsk, Kerch, Novorossiysk, Tula, Brest, Murmansk & Smolensk. Obviously it is worth noting these cities are all in the former Soviet Union as this is a Soviet Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
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| Dmitri Medvedev lighting the eternal flame during a ceremony in the Winter. |
On the left hand side of the tomb there is a granite wall which reads "1941-1945 для тех, кто погиб за Родину" or "1941-1945 To Those Who Have Fallen For the Motherland." The dates on the signs note World War Two as 1941 to 1945. This is because 1941 began Russia's involvement in the war as one of the allies. Russia was involved in the war long before this and had a pact with Nazi Germany, but only when the Nazi's broke this pact by invading Russia did they join the allied forces. It has been noted that the reasoning behind the official statements of Russia's involvement in WWII being from 1941 onwards are because beforehand they were not only allied with the antagonists but also did some shady stuff. 1941 is when Russia suffered losses at the hand of the Nazis, but before then they were the ones killing on behalf of the Nazis. I just find this all so hypocritical, but also so typically Russian.
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| Red brick wall behind is the Kremlin wall |
My Russian friend told me they were learning in history class about the American Civil War, only they were being taught that it was the bourgeoisie american civil war & was a class battle. Class had nothing to do with the civil war in the US, but they're being taught over here that it was instigated by the bourgeoisie & so aligning them with the negative.
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| Honor Guard |
Anyway, enough of the lecture. I found the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to be very moving and was interested to see the guard being changed at the top of the hour. The guard is changed every hour on the hour, come rain or shine.
Traditionally newlywed couples place flowers & wreaths on the tomb in order to thank the unknown soldiers for allowing them the ability to get married. Especially as marriage & family are such big elements of Russian culture.
