MOSCOW, September 19 - RIA Novosti. On Wednesday, State Duma deputies at a plenary session honored the memory of the dead Russian military during the Il-20 crash in Syria with a minute of silence.
"Dear Vyacheslav Viktorovich (Volodin), dear comrades, colleagues. As it became known, yesterday a large group of our military personnel died while on duty in the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic. I propose to honor their memory with a minute of silence," said a member of the State Duma Committee on Security and Countermeasures corruption Mykola Ryzhak (SR) during the plenary session.
The parliamentarians supported the proposal and stood to honor the memory of the dead.
The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that on September 17, at about 23.00 Moscow time, communication was lost with the Russian Il-20 aircraft returning to the Khmeimim airbase, which was located 35 kilometers from the Mediterranean coast. Around the same time, four Israeli F-16 fighter jets attacked Syrian targets in Latakia, the ministry said. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, hiding behind a Russian aircraft, Israeli pilots exposed it to the attack of Syrian air defense systems, the Il-20 was shot down by a S-200 missile. 15 Russian servicemen were killed.
The Russian Defense Ministry noted that Israeli planes deliberately created a dangerous situation in the Latakia region, aviation control facilities could not help but see the Il-20, as it was landing. At the same time, Israel did not warn the command of the Russian group of troops in Syria about the planned operation in the Latakia region. The Russian military department regards Israel's provocative actions as hostile and reserves the right to adequate response.
After the incident, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia would take retaliatory actions, which would be aimed primarily at additional security for its military and facilities in the SAR. According to the head of state, these will be steps that will be noticed by everyone. On the same day, in a telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Putin said that the operations of the Israeli Air Force in Syria were being undertaken in violation of the sovereignty of the Syrian Arab Republic, and in this case, the Russian-Israeli agreements on preventing dangerous incidents were not observed. He urged the Israeli prime minister not to allow situations like the one that led to the Il-20 crash in the future.
Netanyahu, in a conversation with Putin, expressed his readiness to provide Russia with all the information necessary to investigate the Il-20 crash, and also called for continued coordination of the military of the two countries in Syria. At the same time, he blamed the SAR for the plane crash.
The Day of Remembrance of the Soldiers-Internationalists is celebrated annually on February 15. On the eve of the 29th anniversary of the withdrawal Soviet troops from Afghanistan, veterans - "Afghans" honored the memory of the dead soldiers-internationalists in Donetsk.
"Miserly Man", Afghan songs and memories of those for whom the first battle was the last ...
The rally took place in the park. Lenin Komsomol, at the monument to the soldiers-internationalists, a memorial rally was held, at which the soldiers remembered their dead comrades.
And today, many "Afghans" continue to defend the state. DPR Minister of Defense Vladimir Kononov thanked the soldiers for their invaluable military experience, which helped the young Republic to withstand the onslaught of the enemy.
Dear warriors - internationalists, what happened during the years of the Afghan war showed that you fulfilled your duty with honor and dignity. Your combat experience has made it possible for us to keep the evil spirits that have come to our land. A low bow to you and a huge human thank you! - Vladimir Kononov addressed the "Afghans".
Thousands of residents of the Republic came to honor the memory of "those who did not return from the battle". Afghan veterans from the cities of Donbass, temporarily controlled by Kyiv, also arrived in Donetsk.
Hello, dear brothers. Today, our comrades from the cities are present at the rally Donetsk region temporarily controlled by Ukraine. The Afghan war is going down in history. But we will tell the younger generation about our service, military fraternity, heroic deeds and our fallen comrades, - Vladimir Savelov, chairman of the Union of Afghanistan Veterans of the DPR, told his comrades.
The ten-year war claimed the lives of more than 10 thousand Soviet soldiers. For the “Afghans”, the day the last column of Soviet troops crossed the Afghan-Soviet border became special forever.
The withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan is a great holiday for us. Today we are going to remember our military service and honor the memory of our fallen comrades. I am happy that I can talk with my comrades who came from the cities of the Donetsk region, temporarily controlled by Ukraine, - Dmitry Ogilets, chairman of the Makeevka branch of the Union of Afghan Veterans of the DPR, told Komsomolskaya Pravda.
Among those present at the rally were the wives of veterans of the Afghan war. During the moment of silence for the dead, many women wept.
We met my husband after he returned from Afghanistan. I am very proud of him. He often remembers the dead and rejoices at any opportunity to meet with his comrades-in-arms, - said the wife of an Afghan veteran, Lyudmila.
Friends of the dead "Afghans" came to honor the memory of the fallen. - Many of my comrades-in-arms were in Afghanistan. Some of them, unfortunately, died. My close friend Oleg Sirotin was seriously wounded, miraculously survived and returned home, - said the former soldier Anna Nikolaevna.
The longest day of the year on our calendar is forever marked as the Day of Remembrance and Sorrow. On June 22, 76 years ago, the Great Patriotic War began. In Russia, the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of those who defended the world from fascism took to the streets that night to remember that very tragic moment in the history of the country at dawn.
“Today at four o’clock in the morning, without any declaration of war, the German armed forces attacked the borders Soviet Union". On June 22, 1941, the announcer Levitan repeated this mournful appeal nine times on the air. On Thursday night at four in the morning it sounded again from loudspeakers throughout the country. 76 years are already behind, but from these words, many even now have tears in their eyes.
“This memory probably remained at the genetic level, because the day is really mourning. Glad that Moscow, and in others major cities, today at dawn people commemorate this day,” said Vitaliy Chebotkevich, a participant in the commemorative action.
In Belarusian Brest, which was the first to take a hit fascist army, at 15 minutes past five, thousands of people lined up at the memorial. Not only descendants. Let a few, but the defenders of the Brest Fortress are still alive, such as Pyotr Kotelnikov. In 1941, the veteran was only 12 years old. But he will never forget those terrible days when schoolchildren took up arms, replacing exhausted and fallen soldiers.
“When he fell down, we came up and helped, took a rifle and watched: a fascist appeared, and when they themselves shot, and when they woke him up, they picked him up and he shot,” says Pyotr Kotelnikov, a participant in the defense of the Brest Fortress.
At dawn, the assault on defensive lines is a reconstruction of that very first battle for Brest fortress. Also here, on the border with Poland, on the anniversary of the start of the war, a convoy of armored vehicles came from Moscow - the Road of Courage rally on the restored equipment of the 50s - five days on the road.
Near Samara, the townspeople marched in an immortal regiment with photographs of their fighting ancestors. In memory of the victims of the war, hundreds of balloons were released into the sky.
At this time, on the Krymskaya embankment in Moscow, despite the wind, the flame of the lamps flared up. 1418 candles, each of them - the day of the war.
“I will put it by the date of June 30, because on June 30, 1943, my grandfather died in the Smolensk region,” says a participant in the action.
In the afternoon, candles of memory continued to be lit, already by tradition, in the Museum of Victory on Poklonnaya Gora near the memorial in memory of the millions of dead and missing in 1941-1945. The action is being held for the thirteenth year, and each time thousands of people take part in it.
The fire was lit at night in the Yelokhov Cathedral, brought here, to the Watch of Memory, and now it goes from candle to candle.
At noon, according to tradition, to the Tomb Unknown Soldier the president arrived. Soldiers of the Guard of Honor company carry out a wreath of spruce branches and red carnations. Vladimir Putin straightens the ribbons, and then bows his head, paying tribute to the memory of the fallen in the battles of the Great Patriotic War.
The pouring rain didn't change the protocol commemorative events. Three companies of the guard of honor battalion traditionally marched along the Alexander Garden. The President laid scarlet carnations at each of the commemorative memorials of hero cities and cities military glory.
Flowers and candles, still in the dark, were carried to Mamaev Kurgan in Volgograd.
“I found my great-grandfather. He went through the whole war, from beginning to end,” says Vasilisa Popova, a participant in the action.
“I remember my grandfather, who died near Kharkov,” says Stepan Gogolev, a participant in the action.
“And we, the youth, almost all went to the military registration and enlistment offices. And there was no time for studying, and no time for school,” recalls Alexander Zgibnev, a veteran of the Great Patriotic War.
In order to convey this memory, which no textbook can contain, Volgograd police officers every year on significant days great war bring children to the main height of Russia.
“They are probably a part of their patriotism, their love for the motherland, their faith in better life, into the future, handed down to our generation, another generation. And that's why there are so many young people here,” said police officer Vladimir Evsigneev, a participant in the action.
Youth at night on the embankment in Sevastopol. At three o'clock in the morning, dozens of people launched paper boats from the Grafskaya Wharf. Even the pre-war tradition of graduates received a completely different meaning after fascist bombers hit the city on the night of June 22, 1941.
“We must always remember the horror that once began. All my four great-grandfathers participated in the war in one way or another, some were in the ranks of the partisans, some were directly at the front, one of my great-grandfathers did not live eight days before the Victory, ”said the participant in the action.
Petersburg, even when over the memorial heroic defenders The sun was already shining brightly in Leningrad, no one extinguished the fiery inscription: “1941. We remember."
On February 15, on the Day of Remembrance of Russians who performed their duty outside the Fatherland, a solemn rally was held in Belozersk near the monument of military glory - the Infantry Fighting Vehicle, installed in honor of internationalist soldiers.
Despite a fair frost, a lot of people gathered for this important event: schoolchildren, students and their teachers, veterans, working youth, representatives of the district administration, the public, Afghan soldiers. There were songs about Afghanistan, about the army, the luminary bright sun. The atmosphere was lively, many came with sprigs of red carnations.
The event was opened by the host, a specialist of the House of Culture A.V. Vasilyeva, and, briefly telling the background of the Day of Remembrance, previously known as the Day of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan, announced: “The Anthem of Russia sounds”.
Then the floor was given to the head of the district, E.V. Shashkin. Evgeny Vladimirovich congratulated fellow countrymen on the national holiday and said: “We are in great debt to those who, with dignity and honor, sometimes at the cost of their lives, carried out the order of the Motherland outside its territory. Our compatriots selflessly solved international tasks in Afghanistan, showed courage during military operations and in other "hot" spots. We are proud to be on guard Russian state real patriots of their Fatherland are standing, ready to represent the interests of the country where circumstances require - in combat formation or in the civilian field. Therefore, the establishment of the Day of Remembrance for Russians who performed their official duties outside the Fatherland is, of course, very important and necessary.” He reminded the audience that the land of Belozersk has always been famous for its heroes, during the war in Afghanistan, the Shol guy Aleksey Foteev died on February 23 ... We remember him. We will also remember the Russian military pilot Roman Filippov, who died heroically on February 3 this year in Syria.” Evgeny Vladimirovich urged respect for our compatriots, all those who performed their military duty outside their homeland.
“We recognize those who served in “hot” spots not only by order stripes on civilian clothes… We recognize them by their calm, firm faces,” the rally leader addressed the rally participants. “These are people you can always rely on. Everyone would like to have such friends. It is very true that someone noticed that human life measured not by duration, but by what fills it. All those who, not sparing their lives, performed their military duty, before whose eyes fellow soldiers died, who returned home and who remained on the battlefields - they all accomplished a feat! Then Arina gave the floor for a greeting to a participant in the hostilities in Afghanistan, VN Fomin. Vladimir Nikolaevich in his speech wished that the military events would become a thing of the past, he in turn recalled such people as G.A. Kochurov, who personal example service to the Fatherland brought up patriotism in youth, wrote a book about Afghanistan. Also, V.N. Fomin thanked the workers of culture and education for preserving the memory of the soldiers-internationalists, he said special thanks to the Center for Assistance to Children Left without Parental Care, and their director S.I. Neronova for organizing warm meetings of the Afghan soldiers within the walls Center.
A moment of silence was declared in memory of the dead soldiers who honorably fulfilled their international duty. Fireworks were fired, flowers were laid at the foot of the monument. And those who gathered were photographed in memory of this unforgettable Day of Military Glory.
Tatyana Gavrilova
On February 15, a commemorative rally dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan was held. Veterans, parents and widows of the dead, representatives of public organizations and youth associations came to honor the memory of internationalist soldiers at the memorial to combat veterans in the park of the 50th anniversary of the USSR.
First Vice Governor - First Deputy Prime Minister Orenburg region Sergei Balykin noted that this year memorable date is filled with a special meaning: 30 years ago, the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan was completed.
– For a whole decade, our guys participated in an international mission. This is a generation of defenders of the Fatherland who risked their lives in the service of the Motherland. Not everyone was destined to return home. And those who survived had unhealed wounds on their hearts. Throughout their lives, veterans of Afghanistan carried unbroken pride and bright memories of their comrades in arms. Thank you, dear Afghan soldiers, for the honor and dignity. A deep bow to the families of the fallen soldiers and officers who steadfastly endure this cruel test of fate, - Sergey Balykin stressed. - I thank everyone who is here at this moment, at the monument to the Orenburgers who died in local wars and military conflicts. May the history and memory of the exploits of our people live forever in every heart and in every home. Peace and goodness to the native Orenburg region and all of Russia.
Participant in hostilities in Afghanistan, chairman of the Orenburg regional branch of the All-Russian public organization veterans "Combat Brotherhood", deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Orenburg region Nadir Ibragimov noted that in the history of Russia there are many heroic and tragic pages. In the memory of grandfathers and great-grandfathers - the events of the Great Patriotic War, and in the memory of fathers and older brothers - other wars and local conflicts.
- The names of those who forever remained in the Afghan land, the names of sons, brothers, friends who did not return from combat sorties and forced marches will never be forgotten. With pride and gratitude, we keep the memory of the exploits of the soldiers who with honor and dignity passed the fire of the war in Afghanistan, Nadir Ibragimov emphasized.
The head of the city of Orenburg, Dmitry Kulagin, emphasized that the people of Orenburg sacredly keep the memory of the events of the Afghan war.
– Today is a special date: an anniversary, mournful, solemn and bright date. The more time passes, the brighter the feat of our army, our people is highlighted. We must say thank you to all those who performed military, state duty in the Republic of Afghanistan. To all those who ensured the conduct of the military operation. And we must bow our heads to the memory of those who did not return from Afghanistan,” Dmitry Kulagin said.
Mother of the Hero of the Soviet Union Vyacheslav Aleksandrov Raisa Aleksandrova also addressed the participants of the commemorative rally.
- Guys, you are an excellent example for young people with your heroism and courage. Know that you are our modern day legends. We will always remember and know what you suffered. Therefore, be healthy, well-being to you, and to all of us - a peaceful sky above our heads, - said Raisa Aleksandrova.
The rally participants observed a minute of silence in memory of the fallen soldiers-internationalists.
February 15 at Russian Federation remember not only veterans of the war in Afghanistan, but also compatriots who took part in more than 30 wars and armed conflicts outside the country. Since the end of World War II, more than 1.5 million Russians have taken part in hostilities abroad, 25,000 of them have lost their lives in the line of duty.
More than 18 thousand of our fellow countrymen took part in the hostilities on the territory of 16 foreign states. On granite pylons in Orenburg, the names of 430 Orenburgers who gave their lives in hot spots, fulfilling the tasks of the Motherland, are immortalized.
In native towns and villages, streets and schools are named after the dead. They are immortalized in memorial plaques installed on building facades educational organizations, where today at the same time with the participation of the soldiers of the Orenburg garrison are laying flowers.
