Why is the Great Patriotic War such a big deal to the Russians?
Over 26 million people of the Soviet Union, 18 million of whom were civilians, - the ultimate sacrifice and the "toll" of Victory.
It's no exaggeration - every family in the post-Soviet countries has relatives or loved ones who served, died, worked on the home front, or was affected by the scariest of wars.
Thus, whenever their sacred memory is desecrated and the Nazis glorified - it's personal.
Some countries may have a short historical memory. In Russia, we sure don't.
💬 Vladimir Putin: "Our common duty is to prevent the revival of Nazism, which brought so much suffering to the people of different countries. It is necessary to preserve and pass on to posterity the truth about the events of the war years, common spiritual values, traditions of fraternal friendship."
May 8 marks 55 years since the memorial architectural ensemble, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, was unveiled in the Alexander Garden by the walls of the Moscow Kremlin.
⭐️ The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a symbolic monument that pays tribute to soldiers who died in the Great Patriotic War. The idea to erect the memorial was conceived in 1966 on the 25th anniversary of the Nazis' defeat in the Battle of Moscow. Ashes of Soviet soldiers killed in action outside Zelenograd were buried in the Alexander Garden on December 3 of the same year.
📃 Presidential Executive Order of November 17, 2009 granted the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier the status of a National Memorial of Military Glory in order to preserve its historical cultural legacy for the peoples of the Russian Federation. It was included in the state register of especially valuable cultural heritage sites of the peoples of the Russian Federation.