This is one of the most famous shots World War II, he is a very accurate symbol of the Stalingrad tragedy. The author of the photograph is Emmanuil Evzerikhin, it was taken on August 23, 1942 at the Railway Station Square in Stalingrad.

1. 1935 "Sculpture for a Fountain"

[...]The decoration of the fountain on the station square is nearing completion. Yesterday, the installation of sculptures received from Kharkov began. They have to be restored somewhat, since on the way individual figures pieces broke off. Pioneer and pioneer suffered the most. After installation, the sculptures will be covered with white oil paint.

2. In August 42nd.
Stalingrad was first subjected to a massive air strike from August 23 to 25, 1942 - in the picture behind the sculptural group of six children leading a round dance, you can see the building of the destroyed and burning station. It is understandable why the photo makes such a strong impression: the crippled sculptures of children, like an incompletely destroyed part of a past peaceful life, miraculously survived among the ruins of destroyed and burned buildings. The fountain was even more damaged in September 1942 during fierce battles for the station building, which changed hands several times. As can be seen from the pictures taken after the end of the fighting, the fountain received additional destruction: the sculptures of children were damaged, one of the sculptures had no head. The ruined fountain got into newspapers and newsreels, into feature films, and in our time - into computer games.


3. After the battle.


The repaired fountain is visible in color photographs of the first post-war sports parade in May 1945, photo by Mark Redkin.

The fountain existed until the 50s, according to the old residents of the city, it was dismantled during the construction of a new station building. Viewed from the present time, this is seen as an act of outright vandalism, ignorance and misunderstanding of one's own history.

4. Long story recovery.
The issue of restoring the fountain has been raised since the 60s - there was a flower bed on the site of the dismantled fountain, then, in the late 80s, it was successfully rolled up with asphalt, turning it into a paid (for some time) parking lot. But it is worth remembering something else: professionals - architects and sculptors, oddly enough, have always been against recreating it - a remake will always remain a remake, taken out of context, without a background of burnt skeletons of houses, a whole or artificially destroyed sculpture will not look. And their past objections that "the fountain has no artistic value" - no one has yet canceled them: look carefully and with an open mind - the figures of the pioneers are completely disproportionate, the legs are short, and the arms are unnaturally long, and the plot itself, borrowed from a children's poem by Korney Chukovsky ( “The Stolen Sun”, 1925), about animals and guys who took the sun from a crocodile who had previously swallowed it - this is generally beyond criticism.

In addition, the famous Stalingrad fountain was typical - there were similar copies in Voronezh, in Koltsovsky Square, in Dnepropetrovsk - in the Chkalov park, in Orenburg, now in its place - a monument to Pushkin and Dahl and a similar one - in Omsk, on the territory of the Omsk agrarian University.

5. "Children were brought to Volgograd for the Children's Round Dances."
On Thursday, August 15, in the morning, figures were delivered to Volgograd, which will make up the sculptural composition of the new fountain "Dancing Children" on the Station Square and the symbolic monument of the same name on the territory of the "Battle of Stalingrad" panorama museum. Recall that the organizers of the bike show "Stalingrad", which will be held on August 23-24, became the authors and performers of this idea. [...] In order to safely deliver a valuable cargo from Moscow: six figures of pioneer children, one crocodile lying in the center, and eight frogs located along the perimeter of the fountain bowl, and all this in duplicate [...] during transportation sculptural ensemble, the speed of the truck did not exceed 50 kilometers per hour, so the car traveled from the capital for about forty hours.

V1. en "News" , August 16, 2013. http://v1.ru/text/photoreport/690072. html? full=3


6. Now there are two fountains at once.

But one of them is not a fountain. A reduced but non-working copy was mounted on the territory of the Panorama Museum of the Battle of Stalingrad, in this version the sculptures have simulated traces of destruction, in general, next to the ruins of the mill, for tourists this may look quite appropriate.

The second, working remake of the fountain, already without damage, is located on the forecourt of the city (however, not on a historical site) and, purely subjectively, it looks somehow strange there - alas, it all looks a lot like an old writer's tale about the house of the classic of Kyrgyz literature Toktogul Satylganov. They say that when one of the Soviet party bosses visited the house-museum, he was sincerely surprised at the poverty in which the writer lived. And he ordered to demolish the shack and build a good one, two-storey house corresponding to the status of a great akyn.
Opinions on the Internet are also contradictory. Here's one that's mild enough: "There is a man in Moscow nicknamed the Surgeon, he is Alexander Zaldostanov, best friend president. So, this surgeon wanted to put a fountain in Volgograd, which before the war stood on the Railway Station Square in Volgograd. Why exactly with us? Yes, because in the summer a bike show will be held in the city, to which, according to rumors, the president himself will come. Therefore, we decided to give the city such a present, to which none of the local architects has practically nothing to do with. The project seems to exist, the chief architect of Volgograd has it, but no one has seen it, and no one really knows how it will all look like. Therefore, it would be more correct to speak here not about reconstruction, but about some kind of improvement, seasoned with ideology, since it is planned to put only a fountain, without affecting everything else. But, on the other hand, if you still manage to remove this prosecutor's parking lot, located in the middle of the Railway Station Square, then only for this you should say thank you to the Surgeon.

Hey you animals come out
Defeat the crocodile
To the greedy Crocodile
The sun returned to the sky!

Sources: V1. en"News",

Fountain "Barmalei" ("Children's round dance", "Crocodile", "Children", "Children and a crocodile", "Dancing children") - a fountain that was located in the city of Stalingrad and was installed in front of the Tsaritsyn Defense Museum. In 2013, two replicas of the fountain were installed in Volgograd in memory of him: one next to the Gerhardt mill, imitating the ruined fountain depicted on famous photo, another one on Station Square, similar, but somewhat different from the historical Stalingrad fountain. The monument was a circle of six children dancing around a crocodile. It was a typical fountain, there were similar fountains in other cities. For example, in Voronezh, in Koltsovsky Square. In Dnepropetrovsk, in the park. Chkalov. And also in Orenburg. The fountain became famous thanks to several photographs by E. Evzerikhin, who captured the contrast between carelessly frolicking children and the horrifying picture of the destruction of the city during the Battle of Stalingrad. The photographs were taken on August 23 after the German air raid on the city. The photo was called: “August 23, 1942. After a massive raid by Nazi aircraft. None of these fountains have survived to this day. The Stalingrad fountain was restored (it can be seen in post-war photographs, for example, in photographs by Mark Redkin from the first post-war sports parade in May 1945), but in 1951 it was dismantled during the construction of the city center. Fountains in other cities were also dismantled in the 1950s and 1960s. The fountain in Voronezh, in Koltsovsky Square, was replaced by another fountain. Fountain in Dnepropetrovsk, in the park. Chkalov, demolished, and now in its place is an asphalt platform. The fountain in Orenburg was also dismantled, and a monument to Pushkin and Dahl, the work of Nadezhda Petina, was built in its place. There is a similar fountain in Omsk, on the territory of the Omsk Agrarian University. The Stalingrad fountain can be seen in the films "Enemy at the Gates" and "V for Vendetta", "A Clockwork Orange", as well as in computer games Commandos 3: Destination Berlin, Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad, Stalingrad. In July 2013, work began on the arrangement of a replica of the fountain on the Railway Station Square. The author of the sculptural composition is Alexander Burganov, who was a student of the sculptor of the original composition, Romuald Iodko. The initiator was the founder of the Night Wolves biker club, Alexander Zaldostanov. On August 23, 2013, on the first day of the bike show in Volgograd, the fountain was opened. The President of Russia Vladimir Putin took part in the solemn ceremony. Unlike the original, which was made of concrete, the new replica was made from composite plastic. The figures of dancing children themselves have “grown up” compared to the original - instead of the original height of 160 cm, their height in the replica is 180 cm. The new pedestal of the composition is 20 cm higher than the original. Alexander Burganov explained this by the fact that the original Iodko fountain was made to decorate playgrounds, while the replica was installed in another place and was modified to fit more harmoniously into the architectural environment. In September 2013, a month after the discovery, the replica was closed for restoration, as the figures began to rust: it was found that during installation, a cavity was allowed in the base on which the statues rest, in which a lens of water accumulated, covered with plastic on top. Since the sculptures, unlike the originals, were hollow, in order to give them stability, they were filled with foam inside, which eventually sucked in water. Another replica of the fountain, recreated in the form in which it was captured in the famous photograph, was installed next to the Gerhardt mill in the summer of 2013. The authors of the sculptural composition are Pavel Mishanin, a member of the Union of Artists of Russia, and Ilya Mishanin, a member of the Moscow Union of Artists.

Fountain "Barmaley" ("Children's round dance", "Crocodile", "Children", "Children and a crocodile", "Dancing children") - a fountain that was located in the city of Stalingrad and was installed in front of the Tsaritsyn Defense Museum. In 2013, two replicas of the fountain were installed in Volgograd in memory of him: one next to the Gerhardt mill, imitating the destroyed fountain captured in the famous photograph, the other on the Station Square, similar, but somewhat different from the historical Stalingrad fountain.

The monument was a circle of six children dancing around a crocodile. It was a typical fountain, there were similar fountains in other cities. For example, in Voronezh (in Koltsovsky Square), Dnepropetrovsk (in Chkalov Park), Orenburg, Kazan (in Gorky Park), Chernigov (near Red Square). The fountain became famous thanks to several photographs by E. Evzerikhin, who captured the contrast between carelessly frolicking children and the horrifying picture of the destruction of the city during the Battle of Stalingrad. The photographs were taken on August 23 after the German air raid on the city. The photo was called: “August 23, 1942. After a massive raid by Nazi aircraft. None of these fountains have survived to this day. The Stalingrad fountain was restored (it can be seen in post-war photographs, for example, in photographs by Mark Redkin from the first post-war sports parade in May 1945), but in 1951 it was dismantled during the construction of the city center. Fountains in other cities were also dismantled in the 1950s and 1960s. The fountain in Voronezh, in Koltsovsky Square, was replaced by another fountain. Fountain in Dnepropetrovsk, in the park. Chkalov, demolished, and now in its place is an asphalt platform. The fountain in Orenburg was also dismantled, and a monument to Pushkin and Dahl, the work of Nadezhda Petina, was built in its place. There is a similar fountain in Omsk, on the territory of the Omsk Agrarian University. The Stalingrad fountain can be seen in the films "Enemy at the Gates" and "V for Vendetta", "A Clockwork Orange", as well as in the computer games Commandos 3: Destination Berlin, Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad, Stalingrad. In F. Bondarchuk's film "Stalingrad", the fountain is included in the composition of prototypes of objects - a department store, a theater, Pavlov's house (a prototype of Gromov's house) and Struggle Square. In reality, these objects were in different parts Stalingrad, but according to the scenario, they were nearby. On December 29, 2013, an explosion occurred at a railway station near a replica fountain in Volgograd.

Fountain name

The fountain is an illustration of poetic tale K. Chukovsky "Barmaley" (1924), in which the captured villain Barmaley, at the request of the good doctor Aibolit, was swallowed by a crocodile: The repentant bandit was later released by the crocodile at the request of the children.

Fountain replicas

In July 2013, work began on the arrangement of a replica of the fountain on the Railway Station Square. The author of the sculptural composition is Alexander Burganov, who was a student of the sculptor of the original…

In Volgograd, a small square is laid out on the Railway Station Square, the central element of which is a large fountain with a round granite bowl and a sculpture of children dancing around a crocodile located in its center on a small elevation. Six children - three boys and three girls - are dancing around holding hands. toothy crocodile, eight frogs sit around them on the granite parapet of the fountain, from which water jets beat from their mouths. Fountain "Children's Dance" was created in 2013 by sculptor Alexander Nikolaevich Burganov, it is based on the concept of the legendary Stalingrad fountain.

Stalingrad fountain "Children's Dance"(many call it differently: "Crocodile", "Children", "Dancing Children", even "Barmaley" - the fountain did not have an "official" name at that time) appeared during the improvement of Vokzalnaya Square, the date of creation of the fountain is 1930 year. The author of the sculptural group is the Soviet sculptor Romuald Romualdovich Iodko. The fountain was typical for the pre-war period, similar fountains were installed in different cities of the USSR - Voronezh, Dnepropetrovsk, Orenburg. The "Children's Round Dance" was made of concrete, like many sculptures of that time, it was whitewashed with lime every year.

The fountain became widely known from the footage of the military chronicle made by front-line correspondent Emmanuil Noevich Evzerikhin after the Luftwaffe air raid on August 23, 1942 (the burning Stalingrad railway station is in the background). The photo was called: “August 23, 1942. After a massive raid by Nazi aircraft. Thanks to this photograph, which has spread all over the world, the fountain has become one of the recognizable symbols of Stalingrad, the Battle of Stalingrad.

As you can see in the picture, on August 23, the "Children's Round Dance" was not badly damaged, the figures of children were only cut by fragments. The fountain received much more damage during the September battles for Train Station which changed hands several times. By the end of the Battle of Stalingrad, the fountain was a deplorable sight: the figurines of children suffered very badly, each had separate parts missing.

The fountain was restored immediately after the end of the Battle of Stalingrad - snow-white children against the background of the ruins of the city can already be seen in the photographs of Robert Capa in August 1943; snow-white figures and living children dancing against the background of post-war ruins became a symbol of the revival of Stalingrad in the photographs of the first post-war sports parade in 1945 by Mark Redkin.

True, the figurines were restored by forces local residents, among which there were probably no professional sculptors at that time, so the quality of the work left much to be desired. It is possible that this has become additional reason the fact that the fountain, which has no artistic value, was dismantled in the 50s during the construction of a new building of the Stalingrad railway station. Stachala on the site of the fountain broke a large flower bed, and then completely replaced it with a parking lot.

As the years of the Great Patriotic War went further and further into the past, it became more and more clear that the "Children's Round Dance" is one of the most recognizable symbols of the Battle of Stalingrad, both in our country and abroad. Therefore, plans began to arise to restore the legendary fountain in its historical place. These plans were destined to come true only in 2013, largely thanks to the head of the Night Wolves bike club, Alexander Sergeevich Zaldostanov "Surgeon". The recreated "Children's Round Dance" was solemnly opened on August 23, 2013 during the XVIII bike show "Stalingrad" in the presence of the President of Russia Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin.

The new fountain, however, is a completely different building, created, as they say, based on the motives of its legendary ancestor. The bowl of the new "Khorovod" is made of granite, the pedestal for the sculptural group is 20 cm higher. The dancing children themselves also "grew up" by the same 20 cm, turning from children into teenagers as a result. Their faces changed accordingly. All this, according to the sculptor Alexander Burganov, was done so that the new fountain harmoniously coexists with the station tower, which is much higher than the pre-war station building. In addition, the new "Children's Khorovod" is located not on a historical site in the center of Station Square, but much closer to the station building, the rest of the place is given over to parking.

What do you think can be depicted in the composition of such a fountain? The first thing that suggests itself is the fairy tales and poems by K. I. Chukovsky "Doctor Aibolit" and "Barmaley". But when you see the Barmaley fountain, the question will be completely different: what connects its sculptural composition with the above-mentioned fairy tales? This is the question we will try to answer.

Injured in transit

In 1935, the design of the Station Square in Stalingrad (now and historically - Volgograd) was completed. The installation of sculptures brought for the new fountain began here. The newspaper "Stalingradskaya Pravda" reported that several children's figures were damaged during transportation, and it takes time to restore them. When the restoration process is completed, the sculptures will be installed in a bowl and painted with paint in White color.

Author's decision, or What is the fountain "Barmaley"?

Six children aged 10-14 years: three boys and three girls dance in a circle around the image of a crocodile with open mouth. Pioneers are dressed in shorts (skirts) and T-shirts, with a traditional pioneer tie tied around their necks. They rejoice in life, happy Soviet childhood. Under the feet - eight frogs. It is not clear, what does "Barmaley" have to do with it? If we recall the work of the remarkable Soviet poet-storyteller Korney Ivanovich Chukovsky, then only another fairy tale - "The Stolen Sun", in which "the greedy crocodile swallowed the sun in the sky." But if you follow the text, then it was not the children who went to rescue the sun, but the bear: “He already crushed him and broke him:“ Give us our sun here! ”And in general, there is not a word about the pioneers in the fairy tale.

In addition, the proportions of children's bodies also raise questions. If you look closely at the anatomy used in art schools to depict children, then fountain children have short legs, overly long torsos and broad shoulders, as well as very long arms. But their faces speak of openness to the world and happy childhood in the Soviet country.

True, the childhood of both gushing and very real Soviet children turned out to be not eternal. In 1941 Nazi Germany destroyed this fragile ringing world.

Suggested allegories

The fountain stands out with a special dissonance against the background of the buildings destroyed during the bombing. Children are dying all around, and fountain pioneers back in 1942 were quite alive and well. And they danced merrily around the crocodile.

However, you can look at this photo from the other side: a fountain with dancing children can serve as a symbol of stamina and courage, childish courage and courage of the pioneers, who became equal with adults to defend their homeland (remember the exploits of the pioneer heroes who fought against enemies not only at the front , but also in underground organizations, in partisan detachments, at machine tools and in hospitals). In this case, the crocodile also becomes an allegory - an image of an evilly grinning enemy, cowardly under the threat of spiritual strength and stamina, giving in to the desire to live in peace, friendship and harmony.

The fate of the fountain

But tragic fate did not bypass the fountain children: in the same 1942, when there were battles for Stalingrad captured by the Nazis, the railway station and the fountain "Barmaley" were destroyed. The station building turned into ruins, and the fountain children were crippled, just as real children and their destinies were crippled. Some of the sculptures had various injuries, and several had their heads blown off - they were lying around as a reminder of the cruelty of fascism. Only by 1945 the fountain was restored. But it lasted only until 1950 and was dismantled. A flower bed was broken in its place. Then she was removed too. They filled it with asphalt and made a paid parking lot in the 80s.

But the question of restoring the fountain "Barmalei" since 1960 has not ceased to excite the inhabitants of Stalingrad. True, representatives of the art world did not consider this idea a good one, since, in their opinion, the composition did not represent a special cultural value both from the point of view of ideological and aesthetic, and besides, it was also typical - in other cities of the country there are several synonymous fountains.

The history of the Barmaley fountain continued thanks to the action of bikers. On their initiative, a new similar composition was created, somewhat different from the previous one in proportions, postures and faces of children. They also delivered the sculptures to Stalingrad.