Immortal Regiment to be held in Dushanbe on May 9
DUSHANBE. May 8 (Interfax) - The Immortal Regiment will be held in the capital of Tajikistan on the Victory Day, the Russian Center of Science and Culture in Tajikistan told Interfax on Wednesday.
"The event will start at 10:00 a.m. on May 9. The participants will hold a march, holding photos of their relatives, friends, and fellow servicemen who fought in the years of the Great Patriotic War, worked in the rear, and fought for their lives in concentration camps. The march will end in the Victory Park," the center said, adding that the Immortal Regiment is authorized by the country's authorities.
The Russian embassy in Dushanbe, for its part, congratulated residents of Tajikistan on the 74th anniversary of the Victory.
"Russia values very highly the good attitude of the administration of Tajikistan and residents of the republic to the great deed of the peoples of the Soviet Union. There are no attempts at all in Tajikistan to distort the events of that heroic time. The people there keep the traditions of respect for their history, they give Great Patriotic War veterans their due, they give attention to the patriotic education of the youth," the address said.
"Tajikistan had a population of some 1.25 million people in the years of the war. Over 320,000 Tajik people, de facto one out of every four, went to fight on the frontline in the first days of the war, and some 10,000 of them were volunteers. In the years of the war, 55,000 Tajik servicemen were decorated with various combat orders and medals, and 54 frontline combatants were decorated with the highest award of the USSR, the Golden Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union," the embassy said.
"Work in the rear, assistance to evacuees, saving lives in evacuation hospitals and thousands of parcels containing assistance sent to the frontline - all these things are a huge contribution made by Tajikistan. On behalf of all Russians, we want to tell the friendly people of Tajikistan words of sincere appreciation for everything they did to bring our common Victory closer," the document said.