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Russian ambassador lays flowers at Spirit of the Elbe plaque in Washington

Unknown Soldier Day commemorates the valor and immortal accomplishments of the Russian and Soviet soldiers, killed during World War II in Russia and elsewhere whose names have remained unknown
Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov lays a wreath at the Spirit of the Elbe memorial Anton Chudakov/TASS
Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov lays a wreath at the Spirit of the Elbe memorial
© Anton Chudakov/TASS

WASHINGTON, December 3. /TASS/. Russian ambassador in Washington Anatoly Antonov on Tuesday laid a wreath at the Spirit of the Elbe memorial plaque.

"Today we are remembering the Unknown Soldier. In my country the war claimed more than 27 million lives. Not a single republic of the former Soviet Union remained unaffected… Naturally, none of us will forget our fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers. Grief lingers in the hearts of citizens of any country of the CIS," Antonov said.

Unknown Soldier Day commemorates the valor and immortal accomplishments of the Russian and Soviet soldiers, killed during World War II in Russia and elsewhere whose names have remained unknown. It has been marked since 2014. On December 3, 1966 the remains of an unknown soldier were moved from a mass grave at the 41st kilometer of the Leningrad Highway, where the Red Army had stopped the Nazi offensive on Moscow in 1941, and buried in a special ceremony in the Alexander Garden at the foot of the Kremlin wall. On May 8, 1967 the Unknown Soldier’s Tomb memorial was inaugurated and the Eternal Flame lit.