MOSCOW, May 9. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin took part in the Immortal Regiment march in Moscow to commemorate those who fought or died in the Soviet Union’s Great Patriotic War against Nazi Germany in 1941-1945.
Putin took part in the Immortal Regiment march carrying the portrait of his father.
Putin stressed on many occasions the importance of this action and the need to keep the memory about the Great Patriotic War. In his opinion, the May 9 celebration unites all the generations of Russians with a history of courage because each family has its own dear heroes who live in their hearts.
For Putin, like for an absolute majority of Russians, the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 is a part of his family’s history.
As Putin used to recall, his father, Vladimir Spiridonovich Putin, went immediately to the front after the war broke out where he fought and was heavily wounded near besieged Leningrad.
The head of the Russian state also frequently recalls his mother, Maria Ivanovna, who lived through the Leningrad blockade, and his senior brother who died from diphtheria in 1942. Vladimir Putin was born seven years after the Victory.
The Immortal Regiment movement was first launched in Tyumen in West Siberia in 2007 and was initially called "Victors’ Parade." It acquired its current name in 2012 in Tomsk, and in 2013 it involved 120 cities. The movement officially became nationwide in 2015.
About a million people are set to take part in the Immortal Regiment march in Moscow on May 9 this year. By now, the Immortal Regiment march has spread beyond Russia. This time, over 100 countries have joined it and about 200 coordinators have helped hold the event in more than 500 cities. People from Copenhagen, Geneva, Rome, Istanbul, Lisbon, New York, Manchester, Toronto, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, five Israeli cities and other countries, including in Syria, took part in Immortal Regiment marches to commemorate WWII heroes.