In Stalingrad (Volgograd) there is an unusual monument to a girl with an accordion.
The statue was erected in honor of a real girl, Elia (short for Alexandra), who during the Great Patriotic War visited hospitals and played there for hours, lifting the spirits of wounded soldiers.
Elia was 13 years old, but she looked much younger. She was thin and frail, but she held the heavy accordion very tightly.
The wounded soldiers always expected her arrival. And the girl with the accordion went to the hospital every day to make the patients happy.
This girl will dedicate her life to music and write many beautiful songs. Her name is Alexandra Nikolaevna Pakhmutova.
In 2019, a statue was erected in Volgograd in honor of Alexandra Pakhmutova on the occasion of her 90th birthday.
The young pianist Nadia Ponomera was entrusted with the festive opening of the composition "Girl with an Accordion". Nadia is a multiple winner in Russian and international competitions, and she considers Alexandra Pakhmutova her idol.
Alexandra Nikolaevna herself saw the monument in person much later. In the spring of 2024, she visited her native Stalingrad, came to the park where the statue was installed and sincerely thanked the residents of the Stalingrad region for their love and attention to the songs she created together with Nikolai Dobronrabov.
Today, November 9, 2026, Alexandra Nikolaevna Pakhmutova celebrates her 97th birthday.
Congratulations! Good health and many years under peaceful skies!
Source - edited.