HD photographs of Monument in Memory of the Russian Expeditionary Force 1916 - 1918 in Paris - Page 242
These HD photos show a World War I monumental statues in Paris called the Memorial to Officers and Soldiers of the Russian Expeditionary Force Who Fought Alongside Allied Forces in 1916-1918, and this is located at Place du Canada in the 8th Arrondissement.
Paris Statues
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This first HD photo shows the complete bronze statue located on a large pedestal and base at the Place du Canada in Paris, which we took looking down the Cours la Reine, and it is situated right by the River Seine and the Pont des Invalides bridge in the 8th Arrondissement, close to the Grand Palais.
And this picture of the bronze statue shows an ordinary Russian soldier in uniform next to a horse that was designed to look like it was drinking water, and this was the vision of Vladimir Surovtsev who was the main Russian sculptor of this monument, which he gave it a name of The Spring, referring to the Russian Soldiers homeland, just like he has done with all his different monuments now on display in over 15 different countries.
Yet the official full name of this monument is Memorial to Officers and Soldiers of the Russian Expeditionary Force Who Fought Alongside Allied Forces in 1916-1918, or the shortened version is Monument in Memory of the Russian Expeditionary Force 1916 - 1918, and this was inaugurated on 21st June 2011.
Now starting with a bit of quick history, it was during World War I that the Allies ask for help from Russia, and they responded by sending a total of 750 officers and 45,000 soliders from the Russian Expeditionary Force, with two of the brigades being sent to fight alongside French soldiers in Champagne, France, but unfortunately over 5,000 were killed in battle, most notably defending Reims and on the Somme River.
So, it was back on 27th November 2009 in Rambouillet, that Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and French Prime Minister Francois Fillon approved the idea of establishing a memorial dedicated to the officers and soldiers of the Russian Expeditionary Force and an international competition was launched with the renowned artist Vladimir Surovtev being the overall winner, which is why you can see a Russian soldier in uniform in this image.
Now this photo shows the back of the statue and its large base, which has an inscription either side, one being written in French and the other being in Russian with a memorial wreath in the centre section, and the site was chosen by the City of Paris on 28th September 2010, which is very apt, being right near the Pont Alexandre III bridge, named after a Tsar of Russia, yet providing a lovely unusual view towards the Eiffel Tower as well.
And this close up photo shows a plaque fixed to the base of the monument, which when translated into English reads; In memory of the soldiers and officers of the Russian Expeditionary Force who fought on French soil between 1916 and 1918, and beneath this is France and Russia Recognise, or another English translation can be France and Russia Appreciate.
But getting back to the history of the Monument in Memory of the Russian Expeditionary Force 1916 - 1918, it was at a meeting on 7th October 2010, that the French side pledged to finance landscape improvement and the assembly of the monument at the Place du Canada in Paris, which you can see in this HD photo, and the Russian side pledged to finance the construction of the monument and deliver it to Paris.
And in this photograph you can see a plaque that was fixed to the plinth at the base of the bronze monumental statue, which is written in French and Russian, and in English this reads; This monument was inaugurated on 21st June 2011 by Francois Fillon, Prime Minister of the Republic of France and Vladimir Putin, the President of the Government of the Federation of Russia.
Now in this photo you can see a close up view of the ornate wreath that was sculpted for the Memorial to Officers and Soldiers of the Russian Expeditionary Force Who Fought Alongside Allied Forces in 1916-1918, which is located on the back of the base of the monument.
Here you can see the back of the ordinary French soldier standing calmly next to the horse drinking water, and according to an interview with the artist Vladimir Surovtsev on a Russian radio station, the idea was to present a calming statue and one related to peace rather than a soldier ready for battle or attacking with weapons, etc.
So this is the other side of the memorial monument taken as though we were looking in the direction of the Grand Palais, and according to the some resources, French Marshal Ferdinand Foch once said that France was not erased from the map of Europe due largely to the courage of these Russian soldiers over the course of the war, which is now referred to as World War I or The Great War.
And as you may have noticed from the image above, there was some white writing on the base, and this is a close up photo showing this with the names of the two sculptors and two architects that contributed to the execution and production of this monument in Paris, with, as we have mentioned previously, Vladimir Surovtsev being the main Russian sculptor involved in the whole project and the overall winner of the international competition.
This is a close up photo we took showing another inscription on the base of the memorial, and translated into English it reads; In 1916, at the request of the Allies, Russia sent to France two special brigades of the Russian Expeditionary Force. More than 20,000 men participated in military operations in Champagne. Over 5,000 of them, Russian soldiers and officers were killed on French battlefields.
And in this last close up HD photo, you can see the same inscription as above, but this time written in Russian rather than French, yet you may have realised from what we mentioned earlier on, is that the Monument in Memory of the Russian Expeditionary Force 1916 - 1918 is dedicated to only two of the four brigades sent by Russia, as the other two, that initially landed in Brest, were sent to Macedonia.
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