"Tornado of Cranes": blacksmiths from all over Russia are involved in the creation of a monument to the heroes of the Northern Military District in Tuapse

In the fall of 2022, Denis Milchenko, a blacksmith from Tuapse, learned about the death of his cousin during the SVO - former policeman, pensioner Alexander Kutovoi was posthumously awarded the Order of Courage.

He was survived by elderly parents and three daughters.

In honor of the deceased brother, Milchenko made a memorial stone with a tablet, poems and a dedication and sent it to the hero's small homeland - to Adygea.

To perpetuate the memory of his brother and other Russian soldiers who died during the special operation, Denis decided to create a memorial in his native Tuapse.

For help, he turned to blacksmiths from other cities - the man asked the craftsmen to send him forged cranes for the monument.

Memory of generations

According to Milchenko's plan, the cranes, symbolizing the dead soldiers of the Northern Military District, will "take off" from the ground and circle like a tornado around the stele.

The monument combined two times: the column of the stele is dedicated to the heroes of the Great Patriotic War, and its foot and the cranes surrounding the monument are dedicated to the soldiers who died during the special operation to protect Donbass.

According to the master, he originally planned to decorate the top of the stele with forged fire - this would be a reference to the Eternal Flame.

“In the end, I decided to make a big, 50-70 centimeters, great-grandfather crane, which, as it were, accompanies the younger generation to heaven, to paradise,” Milchenko explained.

• Denis Milchenko works on a stele in his workshop in Tuapse

• RIA News

• © Vitaliy Timkiv

Denis also attracted local enterprises to work on the monument: someone provided metal sheets and a pipe for the stele, someone shared paint, work gloves and tools.

“For everything, of course, (materials. -

) are not enough, I buy something myself, but still thank you very much to everyone!”

Milchenko says.

According to the author of the stele, the place for the installation of the future monument has already been chosen.

“It will stand in the center of the city, near the stele of military glory.

This is the central square, there is an Alley of Heroes.

There is a small lawn on the side of the stele of memory, and we will place it there.

It will be necessary to make footpaths so that the new monument can be approached,” Denis shared his plans.

Peace bird

Forged birds have already been sent to Tuapse from blacksmith shops in Belgorod, Tomsk, Yuzhnouralsk, Vologda, Ufa, and Pyatigorsk.

Each respondent sends Milchenko a crane.

From the Guild of Blacksmiths of Donbass, Andrey Konstantinovsky sent seven cranes from his forge in Belgorod.

The man had to leave the DPR back in 2014, and he equipped the workshop from scratch in a new place.

“I’m thinking of sending a few more smaller cranes,” the master told RT.

“I used to make birds to order before - I participated in the Cranes project in memory of the victims of the air crash over Sinai, I forged birds for the monument.”

Denis Milchenko has already collected more than 40 birds ranging in size from 10 to 35 cm. Now the master asks the project participants to forge cranes no larger than 25 cm.

“I communicate with blacksmiths online, and even from America, craftsmen wrote to me who would gladly take part in my project if it were not for their policy.

People from there will not be allowed to send a crane, - says the blacksmith.

So the Americans won't participate.

But in Kazakhstan they have already made cranes, in Belarus they are doing it in Israel too.

Let's see what happens."

Farid Garifullin from Ufa learned about the request of a colleague from his student from the blacksmiths guild and also decided to respond.

“In a day, I probably made a bird, packed everything and sent it right away.

I shot a video, wrote to Denis - meet me!

Garifullin told RT.

Olga Kornachenko from Biysk sent a parcel to Tuapse with a crane forged by her and her husband.

According to her, they had to make a flying bird for the first time.

“We talked to Denis before, he is a very talented person.

The main thing is that he does not give up, that he completes everything to the end.

Not everyone can fulfill such a mission, it needs strength of mind,” says Olga.

According to her, comments from ill-wishers regularly appear on the page of Denis Milchenko.

“We supported him and advised him not to pay attention to the negative from people.

These are people who do not want to do anything themselves and do not give others,” Kornachenko concluded.