On Mira Square, in the very center of Kostroma, there is an impressive monument dedicated to one of the most tragic and heroic pages in the history of Russia. This is the Memorial to Those Killed in the Great Patriotic War, erected in 1972 on the site of the old market that had been demolished.
Sculptors M.F. Baburin and G.P. Levitsky and architect E.I. Kutyrev created a bronze composition depicting a Soviet soldier who holds a submachine gun in one hand while supporting the figure of a fallen young man with the other. The dynamic effect of the sculpture is emphasized by the soldier's billowing military cape behind his back. Fresh flowers always lie at the foot of the majestic monument as a symbol that the heroes of the war always live in the hearts of grateful descendants.
During the Great Patriotic War, thousands of residents of Kostroma died at the front in bloody battles against the German-fascist invaders. 29 residents of Kostroma were awarded the honorary title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and several thousand more people received orders and medals. In Kostroma itself, during the war years, there were military schools and hospitals evacuated from frontline territories.
