Catalog of monuments of Ukraine

Full name of the monument :

A group of mass graves of Soviet soldiers and a monument to compatriot soldiers

Region :

Sumy region

Address of the monument :

Zarichna Str., a square in the center of the village of Bilytsia, Shostkinsky district

Status :

Historical monument of local significance

Monument installation year (s) (if available) :

1965

Time classification according to the installation epoch :

Soviet period (1922-1991)

Person/event, object the monument is dedicated to :

real person(s)

Gender :

mixed group

Social status :

persons of war

Components of the monument :

sculpture - 2.5 m, pedestal - 3.2 m, stele - 2.69 x 4.23 m

Material :

mixed materials

Type of art composition :

complex

Artistic approach :

synthesis

Main text, additional text (if available) :

Yes

memorial inscription

Language(s) of the text :

Ukrainian

Narrative commemorates :

Honoring the culture of war victims, including memorialization

The preservation state of the monument at the time of the research :

exists

Institution responsible for maintenance :

Shostka City Council

Institution’s website :

https://shostka-rada.gov.ua/

Free text that contains data valid for interpretation :

1,428 Soviet soldiers are buried in three mass graves, who died in defensive battles for the village in late September and early October 1941 and soldiers who died on September 5, 1943 during the liberation of the village from the Nazi invaders, and soldiers who died of wounds in August-September 1943. In 1949, the remains of the victims from different places were transferred to a mass grave, on which an obelisk was erected in the same year. In 1965, the obelisk was replaced by a reinforced concrete sculpture of a warrior on a brick pedestal. In 1965, 2 plastered brick steles were installed on both sides of the sculpture, on which 4 memorial plaques made of small marble with inscriptions and names of 74 compatriot soldiers and partisans who died during the Great Patriotic War were fixed.