Memorials

Around the city there are many memorials to politicians, poets, and wars.  Today I'll feature two of the more memorable ones we've come across in our travels.  This one is located outside of Laura's university and memorializes students who served and died in World War II.

And from the opposite angle which makes it nearly and entirely different statue all together.

The other memorial was a small one  off one of the main streets around the university.  You could easily miss it and unless you walked right up to it you would never know what it was in honor of.  This one is to honor citizens of Kharkiv who died in The Afghanistan War.

I think it's easy for Americans to forget that Russia was at war with Afghanistan for ten years from 1979-1989.  A few of the other museums that we've been to have also had sections devoted to the Afghan War and as America's war with Afghanistan enters its twelfth year I imagine we will have more memorials built to honor the fallen.