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Memorial plaque to Soviet WWII hero to be unveiled in Genoese cemetery on April 29

The memorial plaque was established in the Staglieno cemetery in accordance with an agreement reached by the Italian authorities with a Russian delegation from the Ryazan region
Fyodor Poletayev's medals (archive) Y.Dyakonov/Fotokhronika TASS
Fyodor Poletayev's medals (archive)
© Y.Dyakonov/Fotokhronika TASS

ROME, April 8. /TASS/. The Staglieno cemetery in Genoa, which is the last abode of Soviet WWII hero Fedor Poletayev, will be a scene of commemoration of Soviet soldier Fyodor Poletayev who perished on the Italian soil three months before the end of WWII. A memorial plaque will be unveiled in the Genoese cemetery in memory of the Russian WWII hero on April 29, Russian Consul in Genoa Marat Pavlov told TASS on Wednesday.

The memorial plaque was established in the Staglieno cemetery in accordance with an agreement reached by the Italian authorities with a Russian delegation from the Ryazan region, which was Poletayev's home place, who visited Italy on the occasion of the 70th anniversary since Fedor Poletayev's death marked in February, the consul said.

Fyodor Poletayev's grandson named after his celebrated father, heads the Fyodor Poletayev Foundation in the Ryazan region. Fyodor Poletayev was sent to the Red Army in 1941. He was taken into captivity and sent to a Nazi prison camp in Italy. Poletayev escaped from Nazi prison and joined the guerrillas of the Italian Resistance Movement, who waged a heroic struggle against Nazis. He died as a hero three months before the end of WWII.

Italy posthumously awarded the Russian hero its highest awards - a Gold Medal for military valor and the Garibaldi Medal.

The former Soviet government established a memorial to Poletayev on his grave, where commemoration events in his honor have been held annually.