MOSCOW, August 13. /TASS/. Great Patriotic War veteran Yevgeny Znamensky, a participant in the Berlin operation who turned 101 today, recalled the inscription he left during the storming of the Reichstag in the Battle of Berlin, sharing his memories in an interview with TASS Director General Andrey Kondrashov for the Victors project.

"I looked and saw guys climbing up across the canal, scratching something on the walls and raising a flag. The guy in front of me was finishing an inscription, perhaps with a piece of shrapnel: either 'Tambov' or 'Saratov', I do not remember. I told him: 'Friend, leave me at least a little space there'. It was quite a gallery! I am from Serpukhov, it is my hometown. I took that thing from him and wrote: 'Serpukhov, Znamensky,'" he said.

The veteran added that he was proud to have made it "to that lair from his hometown." After the interview, he again left the inscription "Serpukhov," this time on a replica of the Reichstag at the Moskino film park.

Znamensky was born on August 13, 1925, and was drafted in January 1943. Serving as a submachine gunner and artillery reconnaissance officer, he fought from Stalingrad to Berlin and participated in the liberation of Ukraine, Belarus, Poland and Germany.

Kondrashov's interview with the veteran was recorded for the Victors project, supported by the Presidential Foundation for Cultural Initiatives and the National Center for Historical Memory under the Russian president. The project features a series of interviews conducted by prominent television presenters, journalists, war correspondents, actors and musicians with the last surviving Great Patriotic War veterans. Filming began during the 80th anniversary of Victory and is continuing this year. The episodes air on NTV's morning broadcasts and are also available online.

TASS is the project's general information partner.