Memorial to Defenders of the Fatherland and pioneers of the land of Ugra

The most important and noticeable part of this memorial is a real MiG-25PU fighter or «spark», as professional pilots call it. It was on such training aircraft that the members of the flight crew of the 763rd fighter aviation regiment practiced their skills for a long time. In total, the military had three such interceptors at its disposal. They served faithfully for eight years – from 1986 to 1996. After this time, the resource of the fighters was developed, and two of them were put into processing. And the third one was decided to be located in the center of the Memorial to the Defenders of the Fatherland and Pioneers of the land of Ugra. So the last commanders of the regiment decided to support the idea of the first mayor of the city R. I. Bzenko. On August 30, 1998, on the city day, this monument was unveiled in the Central square. The plane is specially installed on a pedestal five meters high and is directed to the North at an angle of 30 degrees so that the nose is at a distance of 12 meters from the ground. Thanks to this location, the car is clearly visible from all sides, and you can see the monument even just passing by the city by train. The lighting of the memorial is designed to create the feeling of a real military airfield runway. And at night, the plane lights up the marker lights and the light in the cabin. At the foot, as usual, the eternal flame burns – as a symbol of gratitude to the defenders and creators of the city. On all memorable dates, residents of the city gather in this place to honor the memory of their heroes. And on may 9, 2000, a message to descendants was even laid at the foot of the pedestal. It will be opened in 2045 during the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the victory in the great Patriotic War.