{"id":6395,"date":"2022-05-11T11:31:08","date_gmt":"2022-05-11T09:31:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/?p=6395"},"modified":"2022-07-31T22:07:54","modified_gmt":"2022-07-31T20:07:54","slug":"victory-day-russia-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/victory-day-russia-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"Victory Day Russia 2022 brings Record Turnout"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Attendance at Kaliningrad’s 9th May celebration <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Published: 12 May 2022 ~ Victory Day Russia 2022 brings Record Turnout<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year\u2019s attendance at Russia\u2019s annual 9th<\/sup> May Victory Day celebration of the Soviet Union\u2019s defeat of Nazi Germany in the Great Patriotic War (WWII), which liberated the world, ensured Russia\u2019s preservation and determined its future role on the international stage, was nothing short of spectacular. In Moscow it was reported that more than a million people took part in the annual procession of the \u2018Immortal Regiment\u2019, and a friend, contacting us by VK messenger, said that the crowds in St Petersburg were literally overwhelming.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here, in my hometown, Kaliningrad<\/strong>, the volume of people making the yearly pilgrimage to Victory Park to place flowers of respect and gratitude on the monuments to their Soviet forbears who had risked and layed down their lives by the millions to free the world of Nazism was a truly phenomenal sight. Russian citizens of all ages from the very young to the very old streamed towards the park, proudly holding aloft placard-mounted photograph portraits of grandparents and great grandparents who had fought and died defending their country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Victory<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Victory<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Victory Day Russia 2022 brings Record Turnout<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Such was the magnitude of the throng that when we arrived at the edge of the park we found further progress impeded by a redoubtable network of crowd-control barriers. However, with a little effort and ingenuity we gradually joined the vast procession as it slowly made its way towards the Monument to 1200 Guardsmen, the city\u2019s foremost war memorial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here, the crowds would pause to say a silent prayer, to reflect on the sacrifice made by previous generations and to lay flowers at the foot of the 26-metre obelisk. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Monument to 1200 Guardsmen is Kaliningrad\u2019s open church. Its landmark obelisk, eternal flame ~ lit more than fifty years ago ~ and spacious square flanked by two figural sculptures depicting Soviet troops storming the city of K\u00f6nigsberg (renamed \u2018Kaliningrad\u2019 after the war) is a living memory embodied in stone and bronze of the fortitude and heroism exemplified by the Soviet people in resisting and vanquishing fascism and in lifting the shadow of the dark forces that it had cast upon the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Victory<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Crowds<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Like the eternal flame of which it is a part, the Monument to 1200 Guardsmen is a holy place of patriotism. The crowd brought more of it with them. In addition to the portraits of their ancestors, many people carried and waved small commemorative flags and some of the more adventurous full-sized Soviet banners. The Georgian ribbon, a one-time component of military decorations but latterly used to honour veterans who fought on the Eastern front, a symbol of glory instantly recognised by its striking combination of contrasting black and orange stripes, was everywhere. And many people, including my wife and our comrades, also donned wartime pilotkas<\/em> ~ olive-green military side caps complete with Soviet insignia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • \"Victory<\/li>
  • \"Mick<\/li>
  • \"Obelisk<\/li>
  • \"Olga<\/li><\/ul><\/div>