‘Immortal Regiment march’ - Tribute to World War II victims |09 May 2017

The part of the Second World War when the USSR was attacked by the fascist Germany (1941 - 1945) and the people of the Soviet Union fought against Nazi is known as the Great Patriotic War. It was one of the most terrible trials that fell to the shoulders of the Soviet people. This shocking tragedy lasted for four years and brought much misery. This war affected the fate of nearly each family of the multinational Soviet Union and that is why it is necessary to cherish the memory of our loved ones who bravely fought against fascism, defeated it and thus provided a bright future for all humanity.

According to the latest declassified data of the State Planning Committee of the USSR, the losses of the Soviet Union who brought the main hardships of the Second World War (Great Patriotic War) and defeated the fascists and their allies in the main battles amount to 41 million 979 thousand, and not 27 million, as was previously thought. It is almost one third of the current population of the Russian Federation. Behind this terrible figure are our fathers, grandfathers, great-grandfathers. Those who gave their lives for our future, defending our motherland and liberating many European countries and capturing Berlin - the capital of Germany. Perhaps, the biggest betrayal would be to forget their names, their heroism, which have developed into our common great Victory.

The trouble that struck the country, as never before rallied the whole nation. All people worked for a common Victory: at the front, in partisan units, at military factories and field hospitals, in industrial and agricultural sectors. Children participated in military operations and worked in military industries on their own initiative.

Since 1945 every year on May 9 a grand military parade is held in Moscow on the Red Square and in some other countries to celebrate the Victory Day. Four years ago, the new initiative - the nationwide march ‘Immortal Regiment’ arose, dedicated to the memory of our relatives and friends who fought during the Great Patriotic War on the battlefield and worked on the labour front.

The march of the Immortal Regiment is an international public action held in Russia and in a number of countries near and far abroad on Victory Day, during which participants go by a column and carry banners with photo portraits of their relatives who fought against fascism in the Great Patriotic War.

Last year millions of people took part in marches of the ‘Immortal Regiment’, which was held on May 9 all across Russia, as well as in quite a few foreign countries. In Russia, as many as 16 million people in total took part in the event. In addition to relatives of veterans, more than 100 veterans of those few who are still alive, participated in the action. The march was accompanied by songs of the war years. People sang together, played musical instruments, launched balloons into the sky and told the stories of their families to the numerous film crews who conducted live broadcasts of the march of the ‘Immortal Regiment’.

One of the participants in the action was the Russian President Vladimir Putin. The head of state took part for the second time in a memorable march. He carried a portrait of his father, a front-line soldier in his hands.

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