Countries across the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) are holding memorial and celebratory events over several days to mark the 81st anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. The main commemorations will take place on 9 May.
In Moscow, hundreds of events dedicated to Victory Day are scheduled, including concerts, exhibitions, theatrical performances, historical reenactments and guided tours. Twenty-eight city parks, among them Muzeon Park, Sokolniki, Gorky Park and the Victory Museum, are hosting themed exhibitions, live performances and film screenings.
At VDNKh, visitors will be able to listen to poetry, wartime songs, radio broadcasts, as well as narrated diaries and letters from those who fought in the war. The Kremlin Equestrian School cavalry ceremonial performance will also take place there. Near the Stone Flower fountain, an interactive photo zone featuring an installation of a train arriving at Belorussky Railway Station will open. It was on the square outside Belorussky Station that trains carrying victorious soldiers arrived in 1945. During the festive period, a photography exhibition dedicated to retro trains is also on display there. A Victory Ball will be held on the dance floor along the central avenue of Gorky Park.
In Minsk, the festive programme will unfold across more than twenty venues. The city will host historical reenactments, patriotic campaigns, sporting and family events, fairs and exhibitions. Parks will feature themed quests and performances by creative ensembles. A major concert programme will take place near the Palace of Sports. The celebrations will conclude with fireworks visible from several districts of the city, according to the Minsk City Executive Committee
website.
In Mogilev, the concert marathon “81 Hours Until the Great Victory” has been running continuously since 6 May, as reported by
BelTA, TV BRICS partner. Around 1,000 participants are taking part, including creative groups, students, cadets and children’s ensembles performing patriotic songs and wartime compositions. The campaign also includes theatrical performances, overnight open-air film screenings, exhibitions and museum displays. The project will conclude on 9 May at 19:00 Moscow time, when all ensembles will perform the song Victory Day together on stage.
In Astana, a Victory Day programme combining cultural, social and educational events has been prepared, ranging from concerts and theatrical productions to historical exhibitions and meetings with veterans. The State Archive of the capital is presenting a historical documentary exhibition and materials dedicated to home front workers. A themed exhibition is also operating at Astana Nurly Zhol railway station. Concerts featuring popular performers, theatre productions and symphony orchestra performances are taking place across the city,
Kazinform, media network partner, reports. In Almaty, a patriotic march will be
held, during which participants will carry portraits of Great Patriotic War veterans and lay flowers at the Eternal Flame in the Park of the 28 Panfilov Guardsmen.
In Bishkek, concerts, requiem rallies, flower-laying ceremonies, festive evenings and campaigns distributing traditional “soldier’s porridge” have been organised. As part of the international “Flame of Memory” campaign, lamps lit from the Eternal Flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow’s Aleksandrovsky Garden have been brought to Kyrgyzstan. Memorial events will take place in Victory Square, parks, memorial sites and cultural institutions across the capital, according to the city mayor’s office
website. The National History Museum is hosting an exhibition reflecting the chronology of wartime events.
In Tashkent, festive and educational events are being held, while veterans are being honoured. The National Palace of Cinema Arts is
organising film screenings dedicated to the memory of participants in the Great Patriotic War.