Today is the Memory and Sorrow Day in Russia - 76 years ago the Great Patriotic War started. It took lives of 27 million people.
Various commemorative events are planned across the country, in every city, every town and every village.
Schools in St Petersburg will involve in the action Scarlet Sky of 41st. They are going to release red balloons into the sky to pay tribute to the young homeland defenders. Memory Waltz of 1941st in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is to involve locals who will dance soldier waltz outdoors. IVolga forum will have a teleconference with the Brest Fortress.
The most wide-range action, the Commemorative Candle campaign will take place in tens of thousands Russian cities this evening.
The Crimea embankment is a venue for the campaign in Moscow. At 9.30 p.m 1418 candles will be lit, by the number of days the World War II lasted. According to organizers, the campaign demonstrates connection between several generations. A veteran of WW2 will light the first candle, and his great grandson will light the last one.
Lighting candles is not the only activity planned on this date. A record of Yuri Levitan’s voice announcing the beginning of the war will be switched on in the Alexander Gardens at 4.00 a.m. The campaign participants will come to the Unknown Soldier’s Grave to lay flowers and honor the memory of the perished soldiers by a moment of silence.
Other regions join the campaign as well. Following the tradition, Voronezh will host it at the Victory Square. Its organizers are students and volunteers. Voronezh citizens will put candles in a form of a phrase We Remember during the ceremony. A rally, a moment of silence and a ceremony of lighting candles at the Eternal Flame are planned in Tula. A campaign called Remember. Do. Come will last for the whole next day here. People will be able to make a dove out of paper and stick it to the blue wall.
A requiem meeting named 41 Willed to Remember will be held in Galich, Kostroma Region. A memorial service to commemorate the perished warriors will start by the monument to the Soldier-Winner at 4 a.m. there.
Apart from the Commemorative Candle campaign, an open-air theatre performance titled Young Army is Marching Along the Country and a bike ride will be arranged in Vladimir.
Russkiy Mir
