Monument “Courage"

Nowadays Tashkent abounds with squares and parks for walking. One of such bright sights of the city is the Monument “Courage". After the recent reconstruction of the territory adjacent to the monument, the number of citizens walking here has increased significantly. In this area, children's laughter, the sounds of roller skates and bicycles, conversations on benches do not stop. However, the ennobled and beautiful territory, as well as the monument itself, tell the story of human horror and at the same time huge human support and unity of people.

Residents of Uzbekistan have always been accustomed to frequent seismic activity on the territory of the Republic. However, on April 26, 1966, at 5:23 a.m., everyone was woken up by a terrible rumble, followed by a devastating earthquake of magnitude 8, the epicenter of which was in Tashkent. As a result of this tragedy, hundreds of houses were completely destroyed and could not be restored, about 300 residents were left homeless and were forced to stay in a tent city. And the echoes of the earthquake – numerous tremors of small magnitude, continued for several more days.

Help arrived almost immediately. Experienced engineers, architects and builders came to Tashkent from all the Union republics. Tashkent was restored gradually. The affected buildings were reconstructed, new multi-storey buildings were erected on the site of the destroyed ones, as a result of which whole new districts were rebuilt. Some buildings were even signed by the builders with the name of the city from where they were sent. These inscriptions can be found on houses to this day. A terrible earthquake through pain and horror led to unity, help, participation, perseverance and heroism. It showed all the strength, courage and responsiveness of the peoples.

So, on May 20, 1970, the sculptor Dmitry Ryabichev designed and erected the Monument “Courage”, which consists of the following compositions: a black cube, a family and bas-reliefs complete the composition in the background. 

The black cube is made of black labradorite on a granite stand. On one side of it is written the date of the earthquake, and on the other the dial shows the time at which it occurred. The cube itself is split into pieces in the middle, the split is a symbol of the earthquake that occurred and leads to the sculpture of the family.

A woman holding a child on one hand, and with the other hand trying to push away the impending danger. A man stands slightly in front of a woman, so as to cover her and the child with his back and hand covering the family from the elements. The completion of the composition is the bas-reliefs in the background. Bas–reliefs are a symbol of all architects, military, builders who helped to restore the capital destroyed after the disaster. 

Before the impact of the nature, everyone is equal, but after its impact, the help, participation and unity of the people are important.