Exodus and Return Monument

The Exodus and Return monument is a memorial in the east of Elista (Kalmykia) in memory of the victims of Stalinist repressions of 1943-1957. Officially opened in late December 1996. The authors of the monument were sculptor Ernst Neizvestny and architect Sergey Kurneev.

The monument is cast in bronze and consists of several parts: a mound on which stands the monument "Exodus and Return" with the image of metamorphic images - the head of a horse (symbol of time), a crying sheep (symbol of patience), a lotus with the embryo of a child (symbol of rebirth), swords (symbol of violence), human traces (going family), mechanical details. The picture is completed by a railway car and a memorial plaque with words from a poem by D. Kugultinov.

Around the monument, there are 14 columns – just as many years the Kalmyk people suffered from Stalinist regimes.

Once a year, on December 28, the city commemorates the victims of repression.