The road from Millerovo to the famous stanitsa of Veshenskaya is a popular route in the Rostov region. Anyone traveling along this highway sees a tall monument dedicated to the Cossacks of the Quiet Don. The bronze horseman majestically rises on a small mound, gazing into the distance as if waiting for someone or reminiscing about the past. The monument, erected in 1995, is named "To the Cossacks of the Quiet Don." It is often associated with Grigory Melekhov and is frequently referred to by that name. However, this monument has a long history. It did not receive its current name immediately and was cast 40 years after the model was created. I will tell you about this and the fate of the Cossacks.

The idea to erect a monument appeared in 1956, but initially, it was dedicated not to the Cossacks, but to their enemies from the Red Army, who committed genocide against the Cossacks. At first, the monument was called "The Trumpeter," then there was an idea to name it "The Eaglet," but it did not progress beyond exhibitions and a Komsomol award. The Don land seemed symbolically unwilling to see this monument with such a name, and only in 1995 was the sculpture cast in bronze. By that time, it was already possible to speak about what happened to the Cossacks during the Civil War and the Red Terror. Therefore, instead of the original Soviet version, it was decided to dedicate the monument to the Cossacks of the Quiet Don. Such is the metamorphosis of the monument's fate and the 20th century.

Today, at the foot of the mound, there is a plaque with the inscription "To the Cossacks of the Quiet Don." This is just, for the Cossack land must not forget that it was the Cossacks who guarded the borders of Russia for centuries, fought for its freedom, and distinguished themselves in all the wars in which the country participated. In the 20th century, the Cossacks were treated unjustly, and a terrible terror fell upon their heads. May this monument serve as a memory of those sons of the Quiet Don who fell or were forced to leave their native land in 1920.