Monument to Valery Chkalov (Nizhny Novgorod, Russia) - description, history, location, reviews, photo and video.

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The monument to the famous pilot Valery Chkalov is considered the second most popular attraction in Nizhny Novgorod after the Kremlin. Wedding corteges come here, dates are made here, and tourists consider it a matter of honor to take a picture next to him and walk along the huge Chkalovskaya stairs. Valery Petrovich Chkalov - Soviet test pilot, participant in an unprecedented flight over the North Pole. As a teenager, he saw an airplane for the first time and became "sick" of the sky. At the age of 15, the boy went to the front of the First World War as an apprentice aviation fitter. In 1936, together with his comrades, he made the first ever non-stop flight of almost 10 thousand km - from Moscow to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, for which he received the Lenin Prize, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and Stalin's personal gratitude.

Chkalov's sculpture was installed on the Volga embankment on December 15, 1940, two years after the death of the pilot. The idea was brought to life by his friend, sculptor, laureate of the State Prize of the USSR I. A. Mendelevich, and the architects I. G. Taranov and V. S. Andreev gave it significance thanks to the pedestal. The basis of the monument is three steps in the form of a polyhedron and a high cylindrical foot, lined with black granite, on which the name of the hero and a map of the northern hemisphere with the routes of famous flights are engraved. Chkalov is depicted in black stone in anticipation of the flight. The figure is facing the city, he is dressed in a pilot's uniform, pulls on a glove and looks up, as if planning his next meeting with the sky.

Practical information

Address: Nizhny Novgorod, Verkhnevolzhskaya office. Coordinates: 56.330048, 44.009390.

How to get there: from the Moscow railway station by car 6.5 km (11 minutes), by buses No. 3, 4, 19 to the Minin and Pozharsky Square stop.

In the center of the observation deck of the former Volzhsky slope, today one of the main city attractions and a "visiting" card of the city.

There are always a lot of people around it, both local and visiting tourists. Many central streets converge here, the famous Chkalov Stairs start from here. And yet - it looks great from here Volga, Nizhegorodskaya Strelka and Borsky district of the city.

Monument to V. Chkalov near the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin

The fate of the tester

Legendary test pilot Valery Chkalov will be born in one of the villages of the Nizhny Novgorod region, which today has become the city of Chkalovsk. All the men in the Chkalov family were physically strong, stubborn and assertive people. His great-grandfather was known as one of the strongest Volga barge haulers, grandfather, working port loader, was also famous for his amazing physical strength. The father of the legendary pilot was the best boiler master and received a very decent reward for his work, which allowed the family to live in a nice house with a garden.

But Valery did not follow in the footsteps of his father, and as a result of a long search for himself, he chose aviation. Interestingly, the place of his service after the flight school was the Leningrad Fighter Squadron, which bore the name of another legendary Nizhny Novgorod pilot P. Nesterova.

AT. Chkalov - fearless test pilot

Gradually, V. Chkalov moved into the category of test pilots and was engaged in the development of new models of fighters and bombers, for which he was awarded Order of Lenin. In 1936, a group of pilots consisting of Chkalov, Baidukov and Levchenko took the initiative to carry out a long direct flight from Soviet Russia to capitalist America. over the North Pole.

The plane on which V. Chkalov and his friends made non-stop flights

In the same 1936 a trial long flight was made from Moscow to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky ( 56 hours non-stop flight). This flight brought the pilots title of Hero of the Soviet Union, national love and recognition.

The newspaper "Izvestia" talks about the feat of Soviet pilots

After such a successful flight, permission was given to realize the main dream - flight to America, which took place summer 1937. This difficult but worthy flight made the pilots national heroes. And the birthplace of V. Chkalov - the village of Vasilyov, it was after that that it became a city Chkalovsky.

The following year, during tests in the Moscow region on a very hastily prepared new fighter and under bad weather conditions V. Chkalov carried out a test flight, during which the fighter's engine stalled. The pilot took the plane away from residential buildings and even managed to land it, avoiding a fire, but as a result of the fact that a large car caught on wires and hit wood heaps, the pilot was thrown out of the car.

Having received severe injuries incompatible with life, the legendary conqueror of the sky died in the hospital. It happened December 15, 1938.

Monument to the legendary tester

Two years after the tragic death of V. Chkalov (1940), a Monument heroic tester and innovator in the field of aerobatics. Chkalov loved Nizhny Novgorod, where he had many friends and acquaintances, and often came here.

He liked to walk around the former Volzhsky slope and stop at the observation deck near the Kremlin walls to admire the Volga landscapes.

Volga landscapes from the observation deck of the former Otkos

One day, walking here with my friend sculptor I. Mendelevich, they said that it would be nice in this place, instead of the Ice Cream Cafe located there at that time, a monument to the most prominent Nizhny Novgorod citizen would be erected - M. Gorky. It would be symbolic and historically justified.

But events developed in such a way that soon V. Chkalov died, and then I. Mendelevich began to insist that this place of the Volga Escarpment become the place for the installation of the Monument to Chkalov himself. The sculptor developed the main idea of ​​the future sculpture, and architects helped him to realize this idea I. Taranov and V. Andreev.

Monument to V. Chkalov on the observation deck near the St. George's Tower

On a granite cylindrical pedestal, the heroic pilot is immortalized at the most important and crucial moment of preparation for the next test takeoff. He's already dressed in his flight suit and is finishing putting on his gloves. His gaze is fixed on the sky, where he is going to take off, and all his thoughts are only about the upcoming flight, about testing a new aircraft.

Fragment of the Monument to V. Chkalov

The sculptor managed to create portrait decisive and strong-willed person with big working strong hands. His character fails in compressed, well-defined lips, and in a stubborn chin, and in the expressive gaze of eyes full of life. For this monument, the sculptor I. Mendelevich was awarded an honorary Stalin Prize in 1942.

Interestingly designed pedestal, to which the three-step base leads. The surface of the pedestal is covered with a map depicting the two longest flights of V. Chkalov. The capital of Russia stands out with a familiar shape - of course, it is a ruby ​​star.

Today, the Chkalov Monument is the most famous place in the city, where hundreds of tourists and citizens come, and from where the famous staircase begins, built in the difficult war and post-war years, also named after the pilot Chkalovskaya. Although the staircase was created completely independently, today it forms a single symbolic complex with the Monument - the Pilot, preparing for new achievements and the eight-shaped staircase - Infinity sign.

Monument and Chkalov Stairs

Both of these architectural structures are an integral part of Nizhny Novgorod, its past, present and future.

Arriving in Nizhny Novgorod, tourists are sure to get acquainted with one of the most popular monuments - a sculpture depicting Valery Pavlovich Chkalov. He dreamily looks into the sky and seems to be preparing for a new flight.

Locals treat this attraction with special trepidation. It seems as if the monument has always been there. Today it is a meeting place, an obligatory point of the tourist route and a symbol of the city. Do you know how this statue appeared near the Kremlin?

History of the place

We will walk to the St. George's Tower. If you turn to face the Volga, the figure of Chkalov will rise to your right, who, like a hospitable host, greets guests.

The very place on which the monument stands is remarkable. At the beginning of the 17th century there was a nunnery here, which in the 19th century was moved to Lyadova Square. The fact is that at that time space was being cleared. Along the walls of the Kremlin, it was planned to equip a recreation area for citizens who could walk along the paths, admire the green spaces and views of the Volga.

In the last century, on the site of the pedestal, there was a cafe where you could enjoy delicious ice cream.

Today, a truly amazing view opens up from here. Bor flaunts on the opposite bank, a new bridge can be seen in the distance, and various ships float importantly and majestically along the river: pleasure boats, steamships, business barges.

Who was supposed to take Chkalov's place?

The great pilot liked to walk along the Volga slope and stopped at the observation deck near the Kremlin wall to admire the river landscapes. He often came to the city, here he had many friends and acquaintances. With one of them, the sculptor Isaac Mendelevich, he talked about the fact that such a remarkable place should have a monument to an outstanding Nizhny Novgorod citizen. The figure of Maxim Gorky would be perfect for this role.

Although the idea was good, it was not given to be realized. After the death of Valery Chkalov, the sculptor insisted that the monument really be erected, but it belonged to the pilot. The project was developed by Mendelevich himself with the help of architects Ivan Taranov and Viktor Andreev.

The monument was supposed to be on the territory of the Kremlin, but Isaac Mendelevich installed the figure of a friend in his favorite place.

Transfer of stairs to the monument

What appeared first - a monument to the legendary test pilot or the famous Chkalov Stairs? The idea of ​​building steps arose long before the Great Patriotic War. Valery Chkalov was familiar with the chairman of the City Executive Committee, Alexander Shulpin, and told him more than once about the need to connect the observation deck with the embankment at the very edge of the river.

The idea of ​​building a staircase grew into the development of a whole project, which was carried out only in 1949. Initially, the steps were supposed to be closer to the Kazan Congress, but the death of Valery Chkalov changed its location and name.

History decreed that the memory of the legendary pilot-hero is securely kept in the hearts of his countrymen, Nizhny Novgorod residents. It is here, where he thoughtfully looked into the distance, admiring the incredible landscapes, that his bronze counterpart is installed. The staircase connecting the Kremlin and the Volga, the main building of the city and the mighty river proudly carrying its waters, is named after him.

ANASTASIA ASTAKHOVA

Valery Pavlovich Chkalov (January 20 (February 2), 1904, Vasilevo, Balakhna district, Nizhny Novgorod province, Russian Empire - December 15, 1938, Moscow, RSFSR, USSR) - Soviet test pilot, brigade commander (1938), Hero of the Soviet Union. Chkalov is a legendary person in our country. The idol of the pre-war youth - the very one that defeated the fascist aggressors.

The monument to Chkalov on the Volga bevel stands at one of the towers of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin, crowning the Chkalov Stairs. The Chkalov Stairs is one of the most beautiful places in Nizhny Novgorod. Its shape is very interesting - in the form of a figure eight or an infinity sign. From here you can enjoy magnificent views of the Volga, the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin, and the Trans-Volga region. The monument to Chkalov appeared before the Chkalov Stairs by almost 10 years - in 1939. He stands facing the city, against the background of the sky. Today the monument to Chkalov is one of the symbols of Nizhny Novgorod.

Valery Chkalov

a photo

The fate of the future Hero was not easy. Mother died early, when Valery was 6 years old. At the age of seven, Valery went to study at the Vasilevsky elementary school, then at the school. In 1916, after graduating from school, his father sent him to study at the Cherepovets Technical School (now the Cherepovets Forestry Mechanical College named after V.P. Chkalov). In 1918, the school was closed, and Valery had to return home. He began to work as an assistant to his father, as a hammer in the forge, and with the beginning of navigation he went to work as a stoker on an excavator.

In 1919, Valery Chkalov worked as a stoker on the steamship Bayan on the Volga, and then he saw an airplane for the first time. After that, having retired from the ship, he left to serve in the Red Army in the same year. He was sent as an aircraft fitter to the 4th Kanavinsky Aviation Park in Nizhny Novgorod.

In 1921, Chkalov obtained a referral to study at the Yegoryevsk Military Theoretical School of the Air Force, after graduating in 1922 he was sent for further study at the Borisoglebsk Military Aviation Pilot School, graduating from it in 1923.

In June 1924, military fighter pilot Chkalov was sent to serve in the Leningrad Red Banner Fighter Squadron named after P.N. Nesterova (Commandant airfield). During his service in the squadron, he proved himself to be a daring and courageous pilot. He made risky flights, for which he received penalties and was repeatedly suspended from flying. According to legend, once Chkalov even flew under the Equality (Troitsky) bridge in Leningrad, which, however, is not confirmed by documents. For the film "Valery Chkalov" this flight was made by the pilot Evgeny Borisenko. At the same time, he had serious problems with discipline, which ended in major troubles - on November 16, 1925, he was sentenced by a military tribunal to one year in prison for a drunken fight, then the term was reduced to 6 months.

In 1926, the 1st Red Banner Fighter Aviation Squadron was relocated from the Commandant airfield to the Trotsk airfield (today Gatchina), where Chkalov served from 1926 to 1928. In 1927, Chkalov married a Leningrad teacher, Olga Orekhova. In March 1928 he was transferred to serve in the 15th Bryansk Aviation Squadron, his wife and son Igor remained in Leningrad.

In Bryansk, Chkalov made an accident, was accused of aerial recklessness and numerous violations of discipline. By the verdict of the military tribunal of the Belarusian Military District of October 30, 1928, Chkalov was convicted under article 17, paragraph "a" of the Regulations on military crimes and under article 193-17 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR to one year in prison, and was also dismissed from the Red Army. He served his sentence for a short time, at the request of Ya.I. Alksnis and K. E. Voroshilov, less than a month later, the sentence was changed to a suspended sentence and Chkalov was released from the Bryansk prison. Being in the reserve, at the beginning of 1929 Chkalov returned to Leningrad and until November 1930 he worked in the Leningrad Osoaviakhim, where he led the school of glider pilots and was an instructor pilot.

In November 1930, Chkalov was reinstated in military rank and sent to work at the Moscow Research Institute of the Red Army Air Force. For two years of work at the research institute, he made more than 800 test flights, having mastered the technique of piloting 30 types of aircraft. On December 3, 1931, Chkalov participated in the testing of an aircraft carrier (aircraft carrier), which was a heavy bomber that carried up to five fighter aircraft on its wings and fuselage.

In 1932, the Air Force Research Institute was transferred from the Khodynka field in Moscow to an airfield near the city of Shchelkovo, Moscow Region. The relocation from an ordinary event turned into the first air parade in the USSR with a flight over Red Square. 45 aircraft flew in a column of three cars in a row, and at the head was a TB-3 bomber with tail number 311, controlled by the crew of Valery Chkalov.

Since January 1933, Valery Chkalov was again in the reserve and transferred to work as a test pilot at the Moscow Aviation Plant No. 39 named after Menzhinsky. Together with his senior comrade Alexander Anisimov, he tested the latest fighter aircraft of the 1930s I-15 (biplane) and I-16 (monoplane) designed by Polikarpov. He also took part in the testing of tank destroyers "VIT-1", "VIT-2", as well as heavy bombers "TB-1", "TB-3", a large number of experienced and experimental vehicles of the Polikarpov Design Bureau. Author of new aerobatics - ascending spin and slow roll. On May 5, 1935, aircraft designer Nikolai Polikarpov and test pilot Valery Chkalov were awarded the highest government award, the Order of Lenin, for creating the best fighter aircraft.

In the fall of 1935, the pilot Baidukov offered Chkalov to organize a record flight from the USSR to the USA via the North Pole and lead the crew of the aircraft. In the spring of 1936, Chkalov, Baidukov and Belyakov turned to the government with a proposal to conduct such a flight, but Stalin indicated a different route plan: Moscow - Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, fearing a repetition of Levanevsky's unsuccessful attempt (in August 1935, the flight of S. Levanevsky, G. Baidukov and V . Levchenko on the route Moscow - North Pole - San Francisco was interrupted due to a malfunction).

The flight of Chkalov's crew from Moscow to the Far East started on July 20, 1936 and lasted 56 hours before landing on the sandy spit of Udd Island in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. The total length of the record route was 9375 kilometers. Already on the island of Udd, the inscription “Stalin's route” was applied on board the aircraft, which was also preserved during the next flight - over the North Pole to America. Both Chkalovsky flights officially bore this name until the beginning of the "fight against the cult of Stalin's personality" and literary erasures. For the flight to the Far East, the entire crew was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin: the Gold Star medal, introduced in 1939 after Chkalov's death, was awarded only in 2004 to his children. In addition, Chkalov was presented with a personal U-2 aircraft (now located in a museum in Chkalovsk). The exceptional propaganda importance of this flight for its time is evidenced by the fact that I.V. Stalin personally arrived on August 10, 1936 at the Shchelkovsky airfield near Moscow to meet the returning plane. From that moment on, Chkalov gained national fame in the USSR.

Chkalov continued to seek permission to fly to the United States, and in May 1937 permission was received. The launch of the ANT-25 aircraft took place on June 18. The flight took place in much more difficult conditions than the previous one (lack of visibility, icing, etc.), but on June 20 the plane made a safe landing in Vancouver, Washington, USA. The length of the flight was 8504 kilometers. For this flight, the crew was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

December 12, 1937 Valery Chkalov was elected to the Council of Nationalities of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR from the Gorky region and the Chuvash ASSR. At the request of the residents of Vasilyov, their village was renamed Chkalovsk. I. Stalin personally offered Chkalov to take the post of People's Commissar of the NKVD, but he refused and continued to engage in flight test work.

Chkalov died on December 15, 1938 during the first test flight of the new I-180 fighter at the Central Airfield.

The flight was prepared in a hurry to be in time before the end of the year. The release of the aircraft to the airfield was scheduled for November 7, November 15, November 25 ... On December 2, 190 defects were detected on the assembled machine. N.N. Polikarpov protested against the unnecessary race in preparing the I-180 for the first flight, as a result of which he was removed from these works ...

Valery Chkalov was buried in Moscow, the urn with his ashes was installed in the Kremlin wall.

After the death of Chkalov, a number of leaders of the aviation plant involved in organizing this flight were arrested, they were sentenced to long terms of imprisonment for releasing an aircraft into flight with numerous malfunctions that led to the death of the pilot.

In 1943, funds were allocated for the construction of a huge memorial staircase in honor of the victory of the Soviet army in the Battle of Stalingrad. The construction involved, among other things, German prisoners of war. In 1949 the staircase was completed.

The project of the Chkalov stairs of the war years:

Chkalov stairs and monument to Chkalov from the Volga embankment.

The monument was erected as a tribute to the great deeds of Nizhny Novgorod, famous throughout the country, a countryman who managed to make a record flight across the country in 1936 (Moscow - Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky), and in 1937 an unprecedented flight from the USSR to the USA through the North Pole. On December 15, 1938, during the first test flight on the new I-180 fighter at the Central Airfield named after M.V. Frunze (formerly the Central Airfield named after L.D. Trotsky), an experienced pilot Valery Pavlovich Chkalov died. Making a landing approach, the M-88 engine stopped, but Chkalov V.P. heroically controlled the plane to the end and managed to land it outside the area occupied by residential buildings. The pilot himself hit his head on the metal armature that was at the crash site, and died from his injury 2 hours later in the Botkin hospital.

In the same year, after the death of the pilot, the residents of Gorky applied to the city authorities with a request to erect a monument to Chkalov. On the day of the second anniversary of the death of the legendary test pilot, brigade commander and Hero of the Soviet Union Valery Pavlovich Chkalov on December 15, 1940, a monument in his honor was solemnly opened in Nizhny Novgorod. The monument was installed in one of the most beautiful places in Nizhny Novgorod - on the Upper Volga embankment near the Georgievskaya tower of the Kremlin, where Valery Pavlovich Chkalov loved to walk so much. The authors of the project were the Laureate of the State Prize, sculptor I.A. Mendelevich and architects V.S. Andreev and I.G. Taranov. The monument is located on three high steps, lined with black granite. Bronze statue of V.P. Chkalova was cast at the Monumentsculptura plant in Leningrad. The figure of the pilot rises on a cylindrical pedestal, the head is slightly thrown back, the right hand pulls the glove on the left hand. Everything in the guise of a great pilot speaks of his courage, fearlessness, perseverance.

On the polished surface of the cylinder, the contours of the map of the Northern Hemisphere with the routes of two historical flights of the ANT-25 crew under the command of Chkalov are applied. The flight routes of the heroic crew of Chkalov-Baidukov-Belyakov to the Far East and across the North Pole to America are depicted with nickel-plated plates, Moscow as the starting point of the flights was marked with a red ruby ​​star. At the bottom of the pedestal there is an inscription in bronze letters: “1904-1938. To the great pilot of our time Valery Chkalov.