Like most cities, Kursk has a memorial to its sons who were killed in the Soviet-Afghan War of December 1979 to February 1989. Whereas most Soviet war memorials to the Second World War are rather bombastic and focus on the victory, Afghan war memorials tend to be more poignant and focus on the loss of human life. The memorial in Kursk is no exception; it depicts a mother lying face down on the floor and weeping.