Difficult destiny of the main city monument

Kobrin → Outstanding persons → Alexey Mikhaylovich Martynov

"It is blissful who with a sincere heart reveres memory of ancestors"
Goethe

Who only did not raise at the Belarusian earth! For a long time foreign aggressors greedy were lost in contemplation of the territory across which there passed trade ways from the West on the East, from the Black Sea to Baltic. And not only looked narrowly, but also fire and a sword wanted to subdue it. There were Swedes and Poles, French and Germans here.

As imperishable memory of heroic fight of the Belarusian people against aggressors serve barrows and monuments. On the History page the K-I newspaper opens a series of publications about historical monuments of Kobrin district. Many inhabitants consider as a peculiar hallmark of our city a monument to the Russian soldiers who won the first victory in war of 1812. City visitors of Kobrin do not miss an opportunity to visit this historical place, but not everyone knows of its difficult destiny...

Three weeks later after invasion of Napoleonic hordes into Russia military operations were started in the southwest of Belarus. Here parts of the 3rd Russian army under command of the general A.P.Tormasov operated. They were resisted by the 7th case of "great army" headed by the general Ge. Rainier and the Austrian case of the general K. Schwarzenberg.

For the third day after treacherous attack of the French army to Russia, on July 15 (on new style - 27), in Kobrin there was a fight with the group of the general Klengel occupying the city which ended with full defeat of the opponent who lost up to one thousand soldiers. In captivity there were 2 generals, 76 officers and 2 382 soldiers. Winners got 8 guns and the 4th banner (from them 2 are at M. I. Kutuzov's grave in St. Petersburg). In honor of these events from walls of the Peter and Paul Fortress the first in that war victorious salute was given.

100-year anniversary of Patriotic war of 1812 which is solemnly celebrated in Russia gave a reason for a construction of a set of monuments on places of battles. The decision to immortalize and the Kobrin victory was made. For fund raising on a Kobrin monument the subscription among staff of military units which ancestors took part in fight was carried out.

Laying of a monument which author was an architect D. Markov took place in anniversary of fight whereas opening happened in the fall of the same year in very solemn situation, in the presence of znamenny platoons of the regiments participating in its construction.

The monument built in the central part of Kobrin consists of a granite pedestal in the form of the rock topped with a big bronze eagle with widely open wings. A beak and claws the eagle broke off the laurel wreath with a Latin letter N in the middle symbolizing the beginning of the end of victorious progress of the self-confident Corsican. On a front marble board it is cut: To "The Russian soldiers who won a victory over Napoleon's troops within Russia on July 15, 1812". One of two lateral boards is devoted to the list of participating regiments of fight whereas on the second the list of the military units constructing a monument is given. On a pedestal four heavy mortars of that time with pyramids of five-pood bombs are established in a row.

However in original state the monument was fated to stay only before World War I. Kobrin who took in August, 1915 vilgelmovsky soldatnya profaned a monument of military glory: the eagle was sent for melting, both lateral memorial boards are broken, only the front marble slab by miracle escaped. Subsequently the Polish administration instead of the cleaned front memorial marble board established an alenky concrete tile with the text: "Kobryn of an odebrana Russian 13 vzhesnya 1920 rubles"

The next pause in difficult history of a monument dragged on to the middle of the 30th when comical scandal was played. At night local small estate shlyakhtich Ostrometsky self-willedally strengthened on the empty pedestal small, so-called room, byustik T. Kosciusko. This arbitrariness caused a considerable embarrassment and an alarm among the city authorities.

Pang Ostrometsky for impudent self-confidence paid with short arrest. And, nevertheless, to overthrow byustik the legendary hero at anybody the hand during a row of months was not raised. Ridiculous discrepancy of a monumental pedestal to a small sculpture caused a hail of jokes and causticities to the helpless authorities. At last an exit from a tickler was found: byustik it was replaced by another, more corresponding dimensions. Earlier this bust was in a conference hall of a povetovy seymik, cast by the local sculptor B. Vidatska. It is remarkable, as this time "changing of the guard" was made by Ostrometsky's method, quietly, without hint on any official ceremony. Besides, nobody even thought to supply the updated monument with the corresponding memorial board, having left the former unsightly plate. In such look the massive head of the hero staid up to 1951.

On the eve of the 140 anniversary of Patriotic war it was decided to restore initial shape of a monument. So, as envisioned by the sculptor M. Kerzin who created new option of a bronze eagle with the intact laurel wreath without Napoleon's monogram, this wreath crowns glory of the Russian weapon in this fight.

 A. Martynov

Martynov, And. Difficult destiny of the main city monument: historical monuments of Kobrin district / A. Martynov//Kobrin-inform. 2010. – September 16. – Page 6.



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