A monumental decorative sculpture "Paratrooper" and a memorial sign for servicemen in berets will be unveiled in Vitebsk, as reported to BelTA by the culture department of the city executive committee.
A monumental decorative sculpture "Paratrooper" and a memorial sign for servicemen in berets will be unveiled in Vitebsk, as reported to BelTA by the culture department of the city executive committee.
The sculpture is scheduled for installation in the second half of July, with the grand opening ceremony to take place on August 2nd, which is the Day of Airborne Forces and Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Belarus.
The bronze sculpture will be approximately 3 meters in height. The figure of the paratrooper is depicted in the moment of gathering parachute cords after a jump. He has not yet removed his parachute harness but has already put on a beret instead of a jump helmet. It will be installed on a platform in Victory Park on Kalinin Street. The customer is the Capital Construction Department of Vitebsk, and the author is local sculptor Ivan Kazak.
As the author told BelTA, in front of the sculpture there will be a decorative composition – a parachute, with the VDV (Airborne Forces) emblem placed in the centre, and above it, the motto "Nobody but us". To the left of the emblem is a bas-relief of the commander of the Soviet Airborne Forces, Army General Vasily Margelov, and to the right, Lieutenant-General Ivan Lisov, a native of Vitebsk, who was Margelov's right-hand man. In front of the parachute, on a stone, there will be a folded telnyashka (striped undershirt) and a blue beret, rendered in colour. Ivan Lisov was the inspiration for the creation of these VDV attributes.
"The complexity of the work lay in the fact that the paratrooper figure is depicted in motion," noted Ivan Kazak. "It was important to maintain all accuracies in the depiction of the main and reserve parachutes, their fastenings, as well as the assault rifle. The paratroopers themselves helped and advised in this."
In 2017, veteran and public organisations of the region came up with the initiative to erect a monument to a paratrooper soldier in Vitebsk. The idea was supported by the local authorities. A charitable fundraising campaign was announced for its creation.
There is a special attitude towards VDV servicemen in the region. For many years, the 103rd Guards Airborne Division was stationed in the