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Defender of the Fatherland Day was celebrated the day before, February 23. It is celebrated in Russia, Belarus, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. The holiday was established in 1922 to commemorate the fourth 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 forty years in the Soviet Union it was celebrated as the Day of the Soviet Army and Navy. Defender of the Fatherland Day was celebrated in Russia with festive fireworks. Russian President Vladimir Putin laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Events dedicated to the holiday took place in many other countries. In the German capital, wreaths and flowers were brought to the Tiergarten park, where a monument to a Soviet soldier was erected. The ceremony was attended by Russian, Armenian, Belarusian, Kazakh, Kyrgyz diplomats, representatives of other republics of the former Soviet Union. They were joined by German politicians and public figures, Berliners and clergymen.
Russian and foreign diplomats took part in the ceremony, which took place in the capital of Bulgaria. They gathered in the Lozenets quarter. There is a Soviet military cemetery, where more than 150 Soviet soldiers are buried, who died in hospitals after the battles for the liberation of Sofia. Together with representatives of the embassies, local residents, representatives of political parties and public organizations honored the memory of the victims.
In Belgrade, Russian diplomats and military personnel laid flowers at the monuments to the soldiers of the First and Second World Wars. The ceremony began in the Belgrade Liberators Park with the laying of wreaths at the central colonnade. Then wreaths and flowers were brought to the Eternal Flame and the Monument to the Red Army. After that, the participants went to the Russian Necropolis, a special part of the New Cemetery in Belgrade, where Russian emigrants during the period between the world wars erected a magnificent monument in honor of Russian soldiers who died in World War I.
A solemn ceremony of presenting awards to Russian military doctors in Sukhumi was timed to coincide with the holiday. They were awarded by the Abkhaz authorities for their help in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
Russkiy Mir
