MADRID, May 6. /TASS/. An Immortal Regiment march in memory of those who defeated Nazism in World War II was held in Madrid on Sunday.
Participants marched down Calle de Claudio Moyano to Plaza de Colon.
Immortal Regiment marches were also held in other Spanish cities, including Alicante and Barcelona.
Russian Ambassador to Spain Yuri Korchagin told TASS he had taken party in previous Immortal Regiment marches. "Last year, when in line of duty I was in Paris, I took part in the march there, along with our diplomats," he said. "This year in Madrid, we will take part with my wife. We will carry the portrait of my father, Pyotr Korchagin, who was drafted in the army after graduation from the Moscow State University in 1941. We was appointed a machinegun platoon commander as he already had a higher education diploma. He fought on the frontline and managed to survive. But as he had a military lawyer diploma, he was transferred to serve as such to finish the war in Berlin."
"I think such an event is of special significance here," he noted. "It draws attention of the Spanish and tourist, and there are a lot of tourists here. They come up to watch, asking us what is happening." "We are paying tribute to our parents, grandfathers, relatives who fought during WWII to liberate Europe and the world from the Nazi," the Russian diplomat stressed. "The march plays a consolidating role."
According to the organizers, about 1,500 people, including diplomats from the Russia embassy, took part in the march in Madrid. Some said they took part in Immortal Regiment marches every year.
The ‘Immortal Regiment’ march is an annual event held throughout Russia and in other countries. The event is dedicated to the victory in Great Patriotic War (part of WWII) that claimed lives of about 28 million Soviet people, both soldiers and civilians. During the march, people carry portraits of their relatives who fought or died during the war. For the first time the event was held in 2007 in the city of Tyumen, then it was called Victory Parade. The name Immortal Regiment appeared in 2012 when a similar rally was held in Tomsk. Since 2015 the ‘Immortal Regiment’ march has become nationwide.