Gratsinsky Monument in Rzhev, Historic monument in Rzhev, Russia.
The Gratsinsky Monument is a black marble obelisk in Rzhev's Gratsinsky Park, marking the grave of Vasily Gratsinsky, the city's first military commissar. It consists of a cylindrical column on a four-sided base, with a plaque at the foot inscribed "Remember October 1917-1918, years of the great struggle for socialism." The monument was made in Moscow to a design by local architect D. V. Chupyatov.
The obelisk was unveiled on 7 November 1918, the first anniversary of the October Revolution, over the grave of Vasily Vasilyevich Gratsinsky, Rzhev's first military commissar. The 27-year-old commander of a 1,000-bayonet detachment died on 2 September 1918 fighting White Czech forces near the village of Morkvashi by Kazan; his body was brought to Rzhev and buried with military honours on 11 September in Nikolsky Garden, now Gratsinsky Park. The monument was made in Moscow to a design by the Rzhev architect D. V. Chupyatov.
The obelisk stands on the grave of Vasily Gratsinsky, the first military commissar of Rzhev, buried here with military honours on 11 September 1918. The park around it, formerly Nikolsky Garden, now bears his name. The plaque at the base reads: "Remember October 1917–1918, years of the great struggle for socialism."
The obelisk stands in Gratsinsky Park in Rzhev, on the grave of Vasily Gratsinsky in the former Nikolsky Garden. Since the Great Patriotic War the monument has been ringed by a fence of artillery shells placed in a circle and linked by chains. Look for the bullet and shell-fragment marks left on the black marble.
The black marble obelisk still bears bullet marks and shell-fragment scars from the fighting around Rzhev in the Great Patriotic War. After the war it was enclosed by a fence of artillery shells set in a circle and linked by chains, which visitors often mistake for part of the original 1918 design.
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