Repair work on the monument on Victory Square in Vitebsk is underway at a height of 50 meters

April 5, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. Repair work on the monument to the Soviet Army soldiers, partisans and underground fighters on Victory Square in Vitebsk is underway at an altitude of 50 meters, the deputy chairman of the Vitebsk City Executive Committee, Dmitry Sherikov, told a BELTA correspondent. Three 56-meter trapezoidal pylons-obelisks, which, along with the city hall and the Summer Amphitheater, have become symbols of the regional center, will be cleaned, and small cracks will be sealed with special solutions. The reconstruction of one of Belarus's most interesting memorial ensembles, created by architect Yu. Shpit and sculptors Ya. Pechkin and V. Markov, continues: the coating of the main monument is being replaced, staircases, basins of two fountains are being repaired, 10 pylons are being covered with granite, and the star-shaped podium is being restored. More than 100 workers are employed at the site. It is planned that the grand opening of the renovated Victory Square in Vitebsk will take place on May 8, on the eve of the celebration of the 65th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet people over fascism. Victory Square in Vitebsk is the largest in Belarus and one of the largest in Europe, with an area of over 72,000 sq.m. It is rectangular in shape, bordered on three sides by residential and public buildings, and the fourth side faces the Western Dvina River. The architectural dominant of the square is a memorial complex located below the general level of the square. 14 steps lead down to the monument, and a road runs between two long fountain basins, symbolizing the sorrowful tears for the fallen. On their outer sides, there are five rectangular pylons each, with one year of the Great Patriotic War marked on each. Above the river, along the central axis of the memorial, rises the main monument in honor of the Soviet Army soldiers, partisans, and underground fighters who liberated the Vitebsk region from the Nazi invaders. The monument itself consists of three trapezoidal pylons-obelisks, sharply narrowed at the top and joined at a height of six meters by a three-sided monolithic frieze, on the faces of which are reliefs "Soldiers," "Partisans," and "Underground Fighters." In the middle, the pylons-obelisks are connected by a ring. It bears the inscription "Glory to the Heroes." At the bottom, on a low star-shaped podium, burns the Eternal Flame. Three staircases descend from the monument to the Western Dvina. The memorial complex in honor of the liberator soldiers, partisans, and underground fighters of the Vitebsk region was created in 1974. In 2009, a large-scale reconstruction of the entire Victory Square began. Repair work on the cultural and business part was completed in the autumn. -0-