RUSSIA CELEBRATES 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DAY OF REMEMBRANCE AND SORROW

On June 22, 1941, the largest and the bloodiest war in the history of Russia began. The victims of this war were 26 million people and tens of millions of people were injured.

As in the text of the famous song, the offensive blow of the Nazis began at 4 am in three main directions: Moscow, Kiev and Leningrad. During the offensive blow, numerous border towns were captured, and the heroic defense of the Brest Fortress began.

In the morning of June 22, 1941, the German ambassador to the USSR, Count Schulenburg, handed a note declaring war to Vyacheslav Molotov, the acting People's Commissar of Internal Affairs of the USSR.

A similar document was received by the USSR Embassy in Germany. In the afternoon, Molotov spoke on the radio with an appeal to the Soviet people - at the same time, a general mobilization was announced.

It is worth noting that June 22 became a memorable date already in the post-Soviet period - in the Soviet Union, people preferred not to touch upon bad memories. Since 1992, it has been the Day of Remembrance of the Defenders of the Fatherland, and only since 1996 - the Day of Remembrance and Sorrow.

On June 22, it is customary in Russia to participate in commemorative events, to lay wreaths at the Eternal Flames and the Tombs of the Unknown Soldiers. National flags are lowered throughout the country and patriotic events are held.

The traditional event on the Day of Remembrance and Sorrow is the ‘Candle of Remembrance’.

Since 2009, people have been coming to places associated with the Great Patriotic War with candles. The action has already gone beyond the borders of Russia - it is being carried out in the former Soviet republics, as well as in countries that were not associated with the Great Patriotic War at all.

In Moscow, the ‘Memory Line’ event is being held with the lighting of 1418 candles on the Crimean embankment - each candle symbolizes one day of the war. At the walls of the Kremlin, in the Alexander Garden, the action ‘Watch of Memory - Eternal Flame’ is taking place. A year ago, another event was introduced – ‘A Handful of Memory’, within the framework of which the earth from the mass graves was transferred to the memorial complex of the Main Church of the Armed Forces in the Moscow Region.

In St. Petersburg, the ‘Fiery Pictures’ action takes place - light projections are reflected on the opened Trinity Bridge in memory of the victims. Participants of commemorative events throughout the country light candles and lay flowers and the moments of silence are held.

Similar commemorative actions also take place in neighboring countries. In Belarus, June 22 is called the Day of National Remembrance of the Victims of the Great Patriotic War, in Ukraine it is the Day of Mourning and commemoration of the victims of the war.