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Moscow-Paris Cossack cavalry march starts at Poklonnaya Hill

The Cossacks will repeat the route which the Russian army covered in 1812-1814

MOSCOW, August 12 (Itar-Tass) ——MOSCOW, August 4 (Itar-Tass) — Russian Cossacks are starting a Moscow-Paris cavalry march from Moscow’s Poklonnaya Hill on Sunday, August 12.

The Cossacks will repeat the route which the Russian army covered in 1812-1814. It will lie through the territories of six countries: Russia, Belarus, Poland, Lithuania, Germany and France.

The organizers say that this unprecedented project is not meant to glorify the victory or highlight the defeat of any country during the Napoleonic wars. Its aim is to commemorate all soldiers who fell in those wars: Russian, French, German, Polish etc.

“The Moscow-Paris equestrian race is not a parade of victors but a march to glorify those who fell in that war,” says Andrei Belyaninov, the head of the Russian Federal Customs Service and a member of the organizing committee of the Cavalry march.

The project is designed to maintain the patriotic upbringing of young people, strengthen cultural ties between Russia and Europe and the equestrian communities of Russia and France as well as between Russians and the compatriots who permanently reside abroad.

Twenty-three riders will take part in the march. They will demonstrate horseback stunts, organize concerts and thematic exhibitions as well as stage historical re-enactments on their way to Paris. Besides, the organizers want to demonstrate the best qualities of the Don breed of horses.

The Russian Army Song and Dance Group named after Alexandrov, the Kuban Cossack Choir and riders of the Kremlin equestrian school will give a gala-concert in Fontenblaue.