Putin, Lukashenko to take part in WWII memorial unveiling ceremony in Rzhev on June 30 - Kremlin
MOSCOW. June 29 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko will take part in the unveiling ceremony for a memorial to Soviet Soldiers in Rzhev, the Tver region of Russia, on June 30, the Kremlin press service said.
The idea to erect the monument came from veterans of the Great Patriotic War, who asked the Standing Committee of the Belarus-Russia Union and detectorists from the Russian Military-Historical Society to help commemorate their fellow soldiers on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of Victory.
A project by sculptor Andrei Korobtsov and architect Konstantin Fomin won an open international tender for the best architectural and artistic solution. The monument portrays a 25-meter high bronze figure of a Soviet soldier on a ten-meter high earthen mound.
The project was implemented by the Russian Military-Historical Society with support from the Belarus-Russia Union, the Russian Culture Ministry, the Tver regional administration, and the Victory Museum.
Belarusian presidential press secretary Natalya Eismont has confirmed to Interfax that Lukashenko will participate in the commemorative events on June 30.
"I can confirm this. The president of Belarus plans to take part in the unveiling of the memorial and the commemorative events in Rzhev tomorrow," Eismont said.