Gratitude for the Victory & Bravery

Victory Day is also a day of the Veterans. It's a day when tribute is paid to them.  A program is held which highlights the military parade.

But the most important part of it is when the veterans parade at the middle where people can see them - the surviving heroes of WWII.

After the program, the veterans mingle with the crowd where people come and personally thank them.

Flowers, kisses, hugs, handshakes, greetings, conversation, smiles, photos, songs, are some ways people give or do to express gratitude. There are countless reasons and ways to be thankful to these people and to those whose lives were sacrificed.

"SPASIBO DEDU ZA POBEDI"

"THANK YOU GRANDFATHER FOR THE VICYORY"

DEDU is short for dedushka which means grandfather and it can refer to any elder man.

Some malls and organizations 

Children made cards and drawings, some businesses and other organizations provided walls indoors and outdoors where people can write messages.

These people and all other veterans in the world deserve this gratitude & recognition. It is too late to bring back the lives of those who parted but it is not too late to thank these veterans now that they still can feel, hear and see your appreciation. I have witnessed it happen.

It is very heartwarming to see that people actually care, for veterans, it is very gratifying. 

The Eternal Regimen

The Commemorative March of the Eternal Regimen was the highlights and the most important part of the 70th Victory Day celebration/commemoration in Russia.

Thousands of people in every city have taken part in the march bringing the portraits of their relatives who died during the WWII. 

As you probably know that Russia and the former USSR republics lost some 25 000 000 ++ lives in the war. It then will not surprise you to know that every Russian person you meet has someone in his family or someone he knows amongst the casualties of the war.

70 years passed but the sorrow it brought to every family is still strongly evident. People could not have forgotten a close relative passing away in such a tragic event.

Many of those portraits are parents, brothers, grandparents & great-grandparents to some.

It is heartbreaking to witness such march especially when you know many of them in the crowd. 

It is one thing when you just learn about it in history books. It is one thing when you just hear people talk about it. But it is another when you hear stories yourself from first hand witnesses, survivors and families of those who perished.

"NO ONE IS FORGOTTEN, NOTHING IS FORGOTTEN"

That's what they would tell you and that's  what the message they would like to convey.

The march halted at the eternal flame where people laid flowers, uttered prayers and stood in silence while watching the flame.

Flames can be very mesmerizing. If you stand in silence and stare at it, many thoughts will flourish into your mind ... especially philosophical questions about life & death.

Note: This is a different flame from the other war memorial I have posted before. There are at least 2 in the city. 

The pictures of many people holding portraits of their deseased loved ones are not my shots, I took them from the interenet since I didn't get a good chance to take photos myself. The rest however are mine.

I'm  linking this post to:

Our World Tuesday

WATW

Today in 1945

May 9th marks the end of WWII

and the proclamation came the day after on newspapers.

"10 MAY 1945"

"OUR CAUSE IS RIGHT, WE HAVE WON!"

Soviet Leader: Joseph Stalin

British Prime Minister: Winston Churchill

U.S. President: Harry Truman

The WWII has ended 70 years ago.

People in Russia and the former Soviet Republics celebrate Victory Day on May 9 as a national holiday.

May people never forget what it had caused the world. May people remember those who have fallen and keep in mind what they fought for. 

May people understand the value of peace, life and future.

May any bloodshed NEVER again happen in any lifetime.

RIP to all lives taken by the war.

PEACE to the world!

WWII Memorial & Eternal Flame

May is a month of holidays in Russia. May 1-4 is a holiday celebrating Labor Day and May 9-11 is a big holiday celebrating and commemorating the Victory Day of the WWII.

Since the country has been to many different wars, memorials to those wars are seen all around. Losing 20,000,000 lives of both army and civilian, WWII was an extremely important part of their history. 

Many memorial monuments come with an eternal flame. It is an eternal flame of glory forever lit for the known and unknown lives that were lost in the war. 

I like this massive sculpture of a man trying to rise after having fallen. It represents the people, the country that no matter how much the war has taken from them, they stood to survive.

The whole complex is with the sculpture, stele, and the eternal flame. This is just one of the complexes. I'll  show you what's in the Victory park next post.

The city is busy preparing for the big event on May 9. 

Linking with: 

Our World Tuesday