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Putin commemorates heroes of Great Patriotic War

He laid down a wreath to the Eternal Flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the Alexander Garden in Moscow
Photo ITAR-TASS
Photo ITAR-TASS

MOSCOW, June 22 (Itar-Tass) —— Russian President Vladimir Putin commemorated the warriors fallen during the Great Patriotic War on the Day of Memory and Mourning that is marked on Friday.

He laid down a wreath to the Eternal Flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the Alexander Garden in Moscow.

To the accompaniment of the mourning music soldiers from the squadron of the Guard of Honour brought a wreath of fir branches decorated with scarlet carnations and roses, which was belted with the ribbon in the colours of the Russian national flag with the inscription “To the Unknown Soldier from the President of the Russian Federation”. Putin came up to the wreath, spread out the ribbons, bowed his head in memory of millions of people fallen during the Great Patriotic War.

Along with the president Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko, head of the presidential administration Sergei Ivanov, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, the heads of other ministries and agencies, the war veterans, who occupied the command posts, and public figures attended a ceremony, which was held on the occasion of the mourning date.

The flower-laying ceremony to the Eternal Flame ended with a ceremonial march of the troops of the Moscow garrison, which represented three arms of the Armed Forces, namely the Ground Troops, the Air Force and the Navy.

The president went up to the war veterans and shook hands with them.

Then Putin laid flowers to the obelisks of the Cities of Military Glory.

At dawn on June 22, 1941, the Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union without announcement of the war. On the first day thousands of servicemen of the Red Army and civilians were killed, 1,200 airplanes, tanks and artillery guns were destroyed. According to the latest official reports, over 26 million Soviet citizens and servicemen were killed in the war.

On October 25, 2007, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed amendments in the law on the days of military glory and memorable dates of Russia. June 22 became the Day of Memory and Mourning, which is the date of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, on the list of memorable dates.

On this day, the national flags are half masted and entertaining events and TV programs are cancelled in all Russian regions.