Rita

Mamaev Kurgan is a majestic monument-ensemble to the heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad in the city of Volgograd. Height 102 is the highest point of the Mamayev Kurgan, which went down in history. For the possession of this height, a thousand defenders of Stalingrad died. It is here at this height that the Small Mass Grave is located. And above the grave there is a monument to a woman soldier. Woman soldier with a wreath in her hands. Her cloak flutters in the wind. Previously, the sculpture was in plaster and appeared here during the war. Later, the monument was replaced with a bronze one and named "Rita". There is a history of the appearance of this name. Among the defenders of Stalingrad would be a nurse, Margarita Sergeeva. Here she was awarded the Order of the Red Star. But she did not have time to get it, she died in December 1942. After the war, Margarita's mother Anna Pavlovna came to Volgograd from the Urals. And when she saw the sculpture of the girl, she recognized her as her daughter. "This is my Rita" - said the mother and since then she began to come to Volgograd every summer ... Albina Mikhailovna Lyakhova, cousin and goddaughter of Rita, Zlatoust (Chelyabinsk region): “Although I am already 82 years old, I will always remember Rita, even though a hundred years will pass. She was for me the second closest person after my mother, dearer than my own sister. As a child, I called her "coca" because I could not pronounce the word "godmother". I got used to it - all my life she was Coca for me. We constantly went to visit each other, she shared her thoughts with me. Once - this was already during the war - Estonian soldiers arrived in Zlatoust, and Rita went to dances with them. She came and said: "When you grow up, you will also go to dances." Those Estonians were sent to the front in a few days ... Rita really wanted the war to end as soon as possible, so she was very eager to go to the front. It seemed to her that she could bring the end of the war closer. But they didn’t take her for a long time - she had a wounded heel, once while swimming she stepped on something sharp under water. But Rita did not give up, finished nursing courses and soon began to say that, probably, she would soon be taken to the front. And so it happened. Rita was assigned to the Far East, and she was glad that she did not immediately go to the front line. But in the Far East, she did not serve for long - she was sent to Stalingrad. The train was supposed to go through Zlatoust, and Rita wrote to us about it - maybe we will be able to meet. We gathered with the whole family and went to the station to meet the train with Rita. And he rushed past the station without stopping. We never saw Rita again ... When Rita was still in nursing training, she trained me in dressing techniques. She said: “Your leg is shot,” “Your head is punctured,” and she bandaged me all over - arms, legs, head. Then Rita began to go to the hospital and bandage the already real wounded. There was not enough money, there was not enough bandages, so our Rita wore bloody bandages from the hospital home. To wash, boil, dry and carry back. In this I helped Rita. She taught me how to roll bandages. It's not as easy as it sounds. I was then 10 years old. When the funeral came, Rita's mother Anna Pavlovna cried a lot. Until the end of her life, she arranged a wake every year. And when I went to Stalingrad to look at the famous monument, I planted a birch tree on Rita's grave. I hope it grows there to this day. Rita was very kind and taught me to help people while she was alive. I help, although I am already 82 years old. I run a club of Alcoholics Anonymous, teach gymnastics, and do a lot of things. Sometimes I tell people about Rita - what she was, so they won't forget. "