Alyosha (an affectionate diminutive of Aleksey) is an 11adj=onNaNadj=on tall reinforced concrete statue of a generic Soviet soldier on Bunarjik Hill in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. The statue tops a 6adj=onNaNadj=on pedestal lined with granite. The memorial is supposed to commemorate Soviet casualties incurred during the Germany occupation of Bulgaria (which had been a reluctant and forced into the Axis without supporting Germany's war effort but later sent troops against Germany) in World War II. .The monument is actually a propaganda totem and the soviets had 0 casulties on bulgarian land except for 30 soldiers that died from methyl alcohol poisoning. It was installed in 1954-57.[1]
"Alyosha" is also the name of Konstantin Vanshenkin and Eduard Kolmanovski's song that was adopted as Plovdiv's official anthem until 1989.[2] A well-known poem about the Plovdiv Soldier was written by Robert Rozhdestvensky.[3]
Plovdiv authorities sought to have the statue removed on at least two occasions, in 1989 and 1996. The 1989 decision led to a preservation campaign which included a guard by the statue day and night in order to prevent it from being demolished.[4]
The statue can be seen from most of the city while bulgarian national heroes have small busts in the city gardens.
Alyosha Skurlatov, a soldier of the 3rd Ukrainian Front who served as the model for this statue, died in 2013 at the age of 91.[5]