London commemorated the fallen heroes of the Great Patriotic War

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Events in honor of the 75th anniversary of the Great Victory began with the laying of flowers at the memorial to Soviet servicemen and civilians who died as a result of the bloodiest conflict in human history, which was established in London in 1999 in a park near the Imperial War Museum. The event is annually held by the Soviet Memorial Trust Fund. Due to the epidemic of coronavirus, the ceremony this year was different from those that are held annually on May 9 in the British capital and gather up to 2000 people. In fact, it was held behind closed doors - the memorial did not have representatives of either veteran or public organizations. Flowers, both from their countries and on behalf of organizations that were forced to miss the solemn event, were laid by the Ambassador of the Russian Federation Andrei Kelin, the representative of Rossotrudnichestvo Anton Chesnokov and the ambassadors of Armenia, Belarus,Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.

“We will always remember that the Soviet Union made a key contribution to this victory by paying an incredibly high price for it. 27 million Soviet citizens died, thousands of cities and hundreds of thousands of villages were completely destroyed,” Kelin said. “We will always remember the help of our allies in the anti-Hitler coalition - about convoys with vital cargoes set off by the dangerous northern sea route. We honor the memory of all those who died liberating humanity from Nazism,” he added.

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The Russian diplomat cited a letter from Princess Anne on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Victory addressed to the ambassador. "It is extremely important to recognize the enormous sacrifices that the peoples of the Soviet Union have suffered. Few have fought more boldly or suffered more deeply for the Victory. Children and grandchildren of those of you who live today from this heroic generation are proud of what you did to achieve victory." Kelin read her words.

"In preparing to face the challenges of our time, we draw inspiration from the courage of people who believed in each other and wrote the most important chapter in the long history of friendship between the people of the United Kingdom and the peoples of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and other countries of the former Soviet Union," the princess said in a statement Anne, the only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II.

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In the twin city of Stalingrad, British Coventry, Deputy Chairman of the Coventry City Council, Deputy Abdul Khan, took part in the ceremony at the War Memorial Park. Flowers were laid at the Volgograd sign in Coventry and at the ruins of Coventry Cathedral, destroyed during the bombing during the Second World War. Flowers and wreaths also fell to the monuments and places of military burial in other cities - in Leeds, Dundee, Belfast, Kingston-on-Halle. The same day, a 6-hour procession of the Immortal Regiment took place online. Congratulations and appeals have come to all corners of the world. The live broadcast was organized by RuCentre and the Immortal Regiment - London. 

On the evening of May 9, an online concert was organized by Ensemble Productions in conjunction with Rossotrudnichestvo. It was attended by Larisa Dolina, Oleg Gazmanov, Lev Leshchenko, ex-member of Iron Maiden Tony Moore, keyboard player Yes Rick Wakeman, tenor Russell Watson and other famous Russian and British artists. “It’s important for us to hold a worthy action in the UK together with Rossotrudnichestvo and with the assistance of the Russian Embassy, ​​dedicated to this significant date, even at times when public events are not possible,” said Olga Balakleets, director of Ensemble Productions. - 75th anniversary, dedicated to the Victory, Russian and British artists will celebrate online together, which means that we all continue to play for peace in this world, that no one is forgotten, nothing is forgotten! "

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On May 9, an online concert of the winners of the international song contest Victory Songs 75 was held, organized by the Council of the Russian-speaking community of Great Britain and Northern Ireland with the support of the Music Academy Nova Music, the Russian Embassy and the Rossotrudnichestvo representative office in the United Kingdom. The concert was attended by artists from Russia, Belarus, Great Britain, Germany, Israel, Iceland, Kazakhstan, New Zealand, Ukraine, Finland, Estonia.
 

GALA CONCERT OF LAUREATES OF INTERNATIONAL ONLINE MUSIC CONTEST "VICTORY SONGS 75" from Musica Nova Academy on Vimeo.

Параллельно в режиме онлайн проходит выставка "Города-герои России". Экспозиция организована представительством Россотрудничества в Лондоне совместно с обществом "Вестминстерский форум по России" (Westminster Russia Forum) в честь 75-летия Победы и в память о британском художнике Джанет Трелоар (1940-2019). Художница создала цикл картин, посвященных Второй мировой войне. Для этого она приезжала в декабре 2004 года в Россию, где начала писать картины военного цикла в местах, которые были в эпицентре страшного периода 1941-1945 годов. Так, она побывала на Пискаревском мемориальном кладбище в Санкт-Петербурге, в ледяных траншеях и блиндажах, сохранившихся в военном мемориале в Москве, на Мамаевом Кургане в Волгограде. "Сейчас выставка идет в онлайн-режиме, но когда карантинные меры, введенные в связи с коронавирусом, будут сняты, мы обязательно покажем оригиналы картин Трелоар. Это, безусловно, стоит того", - сказал представитель Россотрудничества Антон Чесноков.

По материалам ТАСС.

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