Russian guards monument description and photos - Bulgaria: Sofia (Topic)

Russian guards monument description and photos - Bulgaria: Sofia. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photos and a map showing the nearest significant objects.

Photo and description

During the liberation war with the Turks, many Russian soldiers died on the territory of Bulgaria. Monuments and memorials have been erected in their honor in Bulgarian cities, and in Sofia, in front of the building of the telegraph agency on Tsarigorodskoye Highway, a Russian Guards Monument has been erected, also known as the Monument to Russian Generals. It is dedicated to generals D.A. Filosofov and V.V. Catalea, who died in 1877 on December 21.

On this day, the Turks, pursued by the 3rd Guards Infantry Division, retreated from Tashkesen, Shandornik and Arabakonak. Vasily Vasilyevich Kataley, lieutenant general, division chief, and Dmitry Alekseevich Filosofov, major general, commander of the first brigade, walked at the head of the column. The rearguard of the Turkish troops organized an ambush, which was well disguised, at the entrance to the Petrichskoye gorge near the village of Mirkovo. From a distance of seven hundred paces, the Turks opened fire to kill with rifles, which fell mainly on the division commander and his entourage. Vasily Kataley was shot to death on the spot, and the seriously wounded Philosophers died on the same day in Orhaniye.

The Guards monument in 1885 was erected with donations made by the employees of the third infantry division of the guards. Almost half a century later, in 1942, by order of a Bulgarian fascist officer, the monument was destroyed. It was fully restored only in 1978, a hundred years after memorable historical events. However, later, in 1989, when the Bulgarian Communist Party was ousted from power, none of the state institutions took care of the monument. Looters and vandals destroyed the monument removing parts of the cladding and metal products from it.

Several years ago, the guards monument was restored again, its grand opening took place in 2008 on February 19. The event was attended by representatives of the Bulgarian and Russian sides - diplomats, politicians, officers, cultural figures.

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Topic: Russian guards monument description and photos - Bulgaria: Sofia.