BARNAUL, May 9. /TASS/. Over 110,000 residents of the Altai Territory in south Siberia took part in an Immortal Regiment march to celebrate the 71st anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, the regional administration’s press office reported on Monday.
During the march, the Altai Territory residents carried the photographs of their relatives who had taken part in the Great Patriotic War (a term used in Russia and other former Soviet republics to describe hostilities on the eastern fronts of World War II in 1941-1945).
"Over 50,000 people marched in a column in Barnaul [the capital of the Altai Territory] and, according to preliminary data, over 60,000 people marched in municipalities in the Altai Territory," the press office said.
"The victory in the sacred war will remain in the memory of our people forever. The war years became a tremendous trial for regions. Of 2.5 million residents of the region [the Altai Territory], about 600,000 went to the front. Almost every second didn’t return home. And now the great-grandchildren of the war participants have entered upon life. They are now marching in the Immortal Regiment event. This is a bright day of the spiritual unification of people," Altai Territory Governor Alexander Karlin said.
The Immortal Regiment
The Immortal Regiment public event was first held in the Siberian city of Tomsk in 2012. In 2013, it was already held in 120 cities, and in 2014, in 500 cities and towns in seven countries. The action officially became all-Russian since 2015.
According to official data, about 27 million Soviet citizens, including both civilians and servicemen, died in the Great Patriotic War against Nazi Germany in 1941-1945.