Photo credit: RF Ministry of Defense (CC BY 4.0)
Defender of the Fatherland Day is celebrated on Tuesday, February 23. It is celebrated in Russia, Belarus, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. In a year the holiday will be one hundred years old. It was established in 1922 to commemorate the 4rth anniversary of the founding of the Red Army.
Over the years of its existence, the holiday has changed its name several times, for more than 40 years in the Soviet Union it was celebrated as the Day of the Soviet Army and Navy.
Defender of the Fatherland Day will be celebrated in Russia with festive fireworks. According to the order of Sergei Shoigu, who heads the defense department, the action will cover nine hero cities. Salutes will also take place in cities where the headquarters of military districts, fleets, combined-arms armies and the Caspian Flotilla are located. In particular, fireworks are planned in Moscow, Volgograd, Kerch, Murmansk, Novorossiysk, St. Petersburg, Sevastopol, Smolensk and Tula.
The Minister of Defense conveyed congratulations to all those who guard the Motherland. Sergei Shoigu is sure that Defender of the Fatherland Day has long acquired a national character. He has always remained a symbol of the heroic pages of the military history of our country, personifying "the strength of spirit, valor and glory of the brilliant victories of the Russian army," says Sergei Shoigu.
Russkiy Mir
