Kumzhensky memorial

Set along the park's main avenue, the Kumzhensky memorial includes five pylons, four stelae of Glory, a "Storm" monument, and memorial plaques engraved with the names of the combat units that participated in the battles for Rostov.

The central object of the Kumzhensky memorial is the "Storm" monument. A sculpture depicting a group of soldiers on the attack sits atop a granite plinth. Above them rises an 18-meter (59 ft) metal spire indicating the direction of the Soviet Army's primary offensive.^[2]

The sculptural group depicts the real faces of the liberators of the city: a woman with a gun in her hands represents Alexandra Nozadze, a native of Abkhazia and the political leader of a company of the 1151st regiment of the 343rd rifle division of the 56th army; next to her is the commander of the company, Karelian Lieutenant Vladimir Milovidov, whom Nozadze succeeded; and Second Lieutenant Alexey Filippov, the commander of a machine-gun company.^[8]

Initially, the memorial complex was a museum, but in 2000 a restaurant was opened in the former museum building.^[1] In subsequent years, various journalists and public figures noted that the memorial was suffering from a lack of upkeep and repair.^[4][5][9] Trash had accumulated on the memorial grounds.^[4][9] In April 2012, non-governmental organizations in Rostov cleaned the area around the memorial complex, filling over 100 garbage bags with trash.^[1] At that time its architect, Ruben Muradyan, said "Today the memorial is fully realized - I see it. In recent years, thanks to our search teams, the heroes of the war have been buried in a common grave. There are new memorial plaques with the names of the heroes."^[1]

In 2015, in preparation for the 70th anniversary of the Allied victory in WWII, the memorial complex was renovated.^[10]