A monument to Marshal of the Soviet Union Konstantin Rokossovsky has been unveiled in Homiel. Created at the initiative of the Russian Military-Historical Society, it was installed in the square near the “8 Marta” factory to mark the 82nd anniversary of the liberation of the regional centre from Nazi occupation.
The sketch of the monument was created by Russian sculptor Yulia Pashina. Its height, together with the pedestal, is six metres. Konstantin Rokossovsky is depicted in bronze on horseback during the 1945 Victory Parade on Red Square in Moscow. The pedestal features key operations and battles under his command. One section of the pedestal shows a map of the Homiel–Rechytsa offensive, which he led, as well as depictions of German standards thrown at the foot of the Mausoleum in Moscow.
According to the Homiel Regional Executive Committee, the ceremony was attended by the chairman of the House of Representatives Ihar Sergeyenka, the chairman of the regional executive committee Ivan Krupko, aide to the Russian president and head of the Russian Military-Historical Society Vladimir Medinsky, the governor of Bryansk Region Aleksandr Bogomaz, and the chairman of the city executive committee Vladimir Privalov. Rokossovsky’s grandson, also named Konstantin Rokossovsky, travelled to Homiel for the occasion.
“Exactly 82 years ago, long-awaited peace came to the streets of Homiel. The city lifted its head after months of pain, loss, and destruction. But along with the pain came strength: the strength of a liberating people, the strength of faith in the future, the strength that allowed Homiel to live again,” Krupko said.
“As promised, we have installed a monument to K. Rokossovsky in Homiel. The marshal commands the Victory Parade. A stylised Red Square paving and defeated Nazi standards. We unveiled it together with Belarusian colleagues on the Liberation Day of Belarus’s second-largest city (1943) by the Belarusian Front (Rokossovsky). The monument is unique. Such an equestrian composition is remembered only from those to Nicholas I in St Petersburg and Kotliarevsky in Feodosia,” Medinsky wrote on his Telegram channel.
The events concluded with a military parade. Along Praspiekt Pieramogi, 33 pieces of military equipment and 24 parade units marched from Vosstaniya Square. The column included both retro vehicles and modern equipment used by the Belarusian army. A T-34 tank led the procession. Schoolchildren from military-patriotic classes and members of military clubs also took part in the parade.
