Gallipoli obelisk, War memorial in Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois, France.
The Gallipoli obelisk is a white stone monument located within the cemetery grounds of Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois that commemorates Russian soldiers. The structure bears inscriptions that preserve the identity and fate of these fighters.
The monument was laid on 9 May 1921 in the presence of General Wrangel and General Kutepov, who placed a copper plaque in a lead envelope at its base, and consecrated on 16 July 1921. It is a copy of an obelisk near Gallipoli (Gelibolu), damaged by an earthquake in 1949 and later dismantled. Gallipoli veterans funded this replica in the 1950s and 1960s.
The monument's name recalls an earlier obelisk near the Turkish port of Gallipoli (now Gelibolu), where White Army units were interned in 1920–1921. That original was damaged by an earthquake in 1949 and later dismantled; in the 1950s and 1960s Gallipoli veterans collected donations to build this copy on the Society of Gallipoli Members' plot.
The monument stands on the Gallipoli plot of the Russian cemetery at Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois, south of Paris, among the surrounding graves. A chain on four low corner posts runs around its base, so the stepped pyramid is best viewed from outside that ring. Two plaques face forward: the lower one carries the name "GÉNÉRAL DIMITRI" and the date "18 SEPTEMBRE 1941".
The monument is a copy of an obelisk near the Turkish port of Gallipoli (now Gelibolu), which was damaged by an earthquake in 1949 and later dismantled. In the 1950s and 1960s, Gallipoli veterans collected donations to rebuild it here. The lower plaque on the base bears the name "GÉNÉRAL DIMITRI" and the date "18 SEPTEMBRE 1941".
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