Voronezh + Lizukov street

Now we are in the Northern district of Voronezh on Lizukov street. This street was named in honor of General Lizukov. Александр Ильич Лизюков commanded the 5th Panzer Army, which liberated the city of Voronezh and the Voronezh region from Nazi troops at the time of the Great Patriotic War. He was killed in 1942. His burial place is unknown. But it is believed that he was buried not far from here. He is the Hero of the Soviet Union. This street is named after him.
The war ended 65 years ago. On the 9th of May we celebrated the jubilee of the Great Victory.

And now the Liukov street is known throughout the country for another reason. Here you can see a sculpture. It is a monument to the Kitten from Lizukov street. This cat is character of the cartoon which was created by the studio "Soyuzmultfilm" in 1988 by the producer Vycheslav Kotenochkin (if to translate ”Kotenochkin” into English it will sound like “kitten’s”). The name of the Kitten character is Basil (in Russian - Василий). Василий lives in Voronezh. And like any cat, he always has problems with dogs. Therefore, Василий wants to become some strong beast that which can scare any other animals. The Crow makes his wish comes true and Basil, turns into a hippo and moves to Africa. But there the kitten realizes that "there is no place like home" and after all he comes back to Voronezh and stays a kitten forever. Film features the voices of popular artists - Vyacheslav Nevinny and Olga Aroseva.

This animation lasts 10 minutes, but thanks to it the entire country became aware about the Voronezh City and very young to that moment Lizukov street. The monument was unveiled on the 5th of December 2003.