The Memorial of Glory in Tiraspol. The keeper of the city's military history. The final resting place of the defenders. The soldiers who died in the Civil War, the Great Patriotic War, the Afghan War and the Pridnestrovian War are under its stone cover. Thousands of lives of Tiraspol residents and those who defended this peace-loving city were tragically cut short in the 20s, 40s, 80s and 90s of the last century. Their names and the memory of their feat are preserved on memorial plaques. The authors of the project are sculptor Leonid Fishbain and architect Harry Feifermacher took into account that they were creating not just a memorial and ritual object, but a burial place, or rather a reburial place for the remains of about a thousand defenders. The historical and memorial complex was officially built by Construction Department 28, but it is a well-known fact that the city residents actively participated in its creation. The work was completed within two years. The grand opening with the symbolic lighting of the Eternal Flame took place on February 23, 1972. No one could have imagined then that the memorial would preserve new tragic pages of the city's history. Defenders of Pridnestrovie were buried here, monuments to the Afghan War veteran and the liquidators of the Chernobyl accident were constructed here later. More graves. More names on memorial plaques. More tears shed.
Remaining an important historical site, without which no significant city or republican event can do, the memorial has been transformed. It has been reconstructed more than once, maintained in order and supplemented with new elements. A lot of work was done again at the end of last year - the beginning of this yea. On behalf of the PMR President Vadim Krasnoselsky, the memorial has been supplemented with a segment detailing information about the participation of Tiraspol residents in the Great Patriotic War, about the liberation of the city from the Nazi invaders. Large information panels with 1340 names of city residents who died on various fronts of the Great Patriotic War, descriptions of military operations, names of military leaders and corresponding illustrations, like a protective wall, protect the bright future of the city on the Dniester and at the same time preserve the memory of the past. There is a laconic inscription on the central slab: "Your name is unknown. Your feat is immortal", and in front of the granite canvas there is a symbol of memory of the heroes who did not return from the war and were buried far from their homeland in unmarked graves. The monument to the Unknown Soldier was made by local craftsmen – employees of the "Elektromash" plant in Tiraspol. On the recommendation of the initiator and ideological inspirer Vadim Krasnoselsky, they did not design anything new, but took as a basis the idea of an architectural ensemble located near the walls of the Kremlin: a soldier's helmet on a battle flag. An important aspect: the object located in Moscow's Alexander Garden is not only a monument, it is Soviet soldier burial place, first of all. His remains in well-preserved uniform without insignia were found in 1966 near Zelenograd. The burial place with a recognizable composition is officially called the "Tomb of the Unknown Soldier" and is essentially so.
The monument of Tiraspol is not only a symbol. The one and a half ton composition is a tombstone of a grave in which a participant of the Great Patriotic War, presumably killed in 1944, is laid to rest today. His remains were found in March 2025 during excavations near the village of Parkany. The soldier's name remains unknown. He walked his last path today. He walked it with military honors, which he was not awarded eight decades ago: along the main square of the capital, under the Victory Banner, with an honorary escort, accompanied by the top officials of the state, military personnel and future defenders of the Fatherland, clergy, public figures, Tiraspol residents and guests of the city who arrived to see off the soldier on the last journey. The funeral procession walked along Suvorov Square to the memorial complex. Archbishop Sawa of Tiraspol and Dubossary held a memorial litiya for the fallen at the chapel of St. George the Victorious located at the Memorial of Glory.
A minute of silence was declared in memory of all the defenders who died for the freedom and independence of the Motherland. The PMR President Vadim Krasnoselsky addressed the audience. The President addressed words of gratitude to the veteran of the Great Patriotic War, Knight of the Order of Glory Vladimir Ivanovich Gromov, who found the strength to attend the funeral ceremony. The President emphasized that he was experiencing conflicting feelings: joy and sorrow at the same time. He spoke about how many nameless heroes still lie without rest in the ground at the sites of battles. The PMR President on behalf of the Pridnestrovian people and grateful descendants laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
The entire Krasnoselsky family arrived with the President to pay tribute to the hero. Not only Pridnestrovians, but also representatives of other countries gathered at the Tiraspol memorial today. Russian Ambassador Oleg Ozerov addressed those present at the ceremony.
