As context:
On May 9, 2025, the Immortal Regiment marched through the streets of Russian cities for the first time since 2022.
Hundreds of thousands of people. Endless columns of people with flowers, St. George ribbons, portraits of their heroes. Ordinary people who were destined to become defenders and guardians of their Motherland.
The in-person “Immortal Regiment” took place today in most Russian cities – from Vladivostok to Samara, from St. Petersburg to Kaliningrad.
Charlie from Congo joined the march in Vladivostok with a portrait of his grandfather, a hero of World War II.
Copik and part-time FEFU student Charlie from Congo came with a portrait of his grandfather, a hero of World War II. His grandfather Mena Ntuala Mpila Joseph and his comrades-in-arms made a great contribution to the liberation of the world from Nazism:
- This is such unity! We remember and are proud!
The Far East has its own Immortal Regiment - in every city. 40, 50, 20 thousand people. Whole families came, refusing trips to the dacha, other entertainment. They prepared.
In Siberia, the action is also taking place in person. 72-year-old Viktor Fomin from Novosibirsk came with a whole poster - it has 8 photos.
“They will never be forgotten yet, there is a memory in our hearts,” he says about his relatives.
Isn’t it hard to walk?
It is our duty.
- We came here to honor the memory of our grandfathers and great-grandfathers. Kurochkin Sergei Filippovich - private, went missing in the Leningrad region. My eldest son even went with a search party to those places to search for and raise the remains of soldiers, - says another participant of the “Immortal Regiment” Irina Putintseva.
200 thousand people in service
In Irkutsk, participants tried on military uniforms from different eras in honor of the holiday. The column was led by the top officials of the region and the city, representatives of the diocese, public organizations, and veterans of military operations. In Kemerovo, 85 thousand people came out to the action - the same number joined the march in Novokuznetsk. In Omsk, many veterans of the SVO joined the “Immortal Regiment”.
- In Krasnoyarsk, there were no fewer participants in the procession than the Parade itself. The procession was attended by elderly people, employees of various services and departments, and children. Residents of nearby houses, who for various reasons were unable to attend the event, supported the participants from their balconies, and some even held their own action right there, - journalists from “KP”-Krasnoyarsk" told about their observations.
In the Urals, they also allowed marches to be held in person. There are many fighters and veterans of the SVO in the ranks: some have already been discharged, some were on vacation that day. Rinat Musin went to the SVO in the footsteps of his ancestors - his grandfather was a tanker, was wounded four times, his father fought in Afghanistan. Therefore, the man signed a contract without thinking to defend the interests of the Motherland. Now he is discharged, and he joined the Immortal Regiment with his daughter - and portraits of his relatives.
“Katyusha” was sung in Bashkir
The “Immortal Regiment” also passed through the cities of the Volga region. In Samara, the column entered the main city square immediately after the parade units had passed. When people with portraits of heroes walked past the stands, people stood up and shouted “Hurray.” And veterans saluted those who walked past them, including veterans of the SVO, as if they were their brothers in arms.
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We have been waiting for this opportunity for a long time, to march with the “Immortal Regiment” again. In previous years, we placed portraits on the windows. But here the feelings are indescribable. We came here with the children, and tell them about what we ourselves managed to learn about the fate of our great-grandfathers: one reached Berlin, and the second was captured in the first year of the war, and then for a very long time could not find a normal job. We tell everything honestly - we must remember our heroes and all the pages of the country’s history, - says Anna Vislova, a member of the regiment in Samara.
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And my father was a prisoner of a concentration camp, and he was very reluctant to talk about the horrors that happened to him there. But on Victory Day, he always poured himself a strong drink into a glass and drank it in one gulp. And then he looked out the window and smiled - we had lilacs blooming nearby, and he said that for him it was they who became a symbol of life, - recalls another resident of the Samara Region, Yuri Tretyakov
In Perm, more than 50 thousand people took to the streets with portraits of heroes.
- This is my father, Lieutenant Colonel Smirnov Alexander Nikolaevich. He went through the war from 1942 to 1945. On May 2, 1945, not long before Victory Day, he was seriously wounded and then spent four months in the hospital. Then he was discharged and went to serve again. He rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel, and died in 1985. I always feel proud of my father and with great joy join the procession of the “Immortal Regiment,” - an elderly resident of Perm shared the story of his veteran.
In each column of the “Immortal Regiment” songs were heard. “And that means we need one Victory”, “Smuglyanka”… And in Ufa “Katyusha” was sung in Bashkir and in Russian!
We must remember - in the name of future Victory
– Marches also took place in small towns in the regions, where they were organized by local authorities and activists. In the village of Timashevo in the Samara Region, schoolchildren took part in the action – they carried portraits of not only their heroes, but also of Timash residents who died during the Great Patriotic War. –
- When I walk in the “Immortal Regiment”, I feel a thrill, as if the departed heroes are next to us. I am glad that our family keeps photos and letters of my great-grandfather, who took part in the war, and my parents tell his story. We must remember it, - shared Alina, a participant in the action.
In Veliky Novgorod, the “Immortal Regiment” march was also large-scale: both cadets and young army members joined the line. And the searchers carried large stands with photographs of soldiers and officers of the Red Army, whose names were established thanks to the participants in the search operations.
In St. Petersburg, the column marched along Nevsky Prospect – the procession lasted no less than an hour. In the line were both elderly Petersburgers and children.
- My grandfather was both a poet and a soldier. He fought in the Warsaw division. He has his own song, “Waltz of the Gray Veterans,” which is circulating on the Internet, - says one of the participants.
The Immortal Regiment marched along the avenue, singing military songs, to cries of “Hurray” from all sides; the procession was led by the Young Army members.
At the same time, the “Immortal Regiment” was held online. The broadcast began at 12:00 Moscow time, it was shown on large screens in many cities. And in those regions where security requirements did not allow the “Immortal Regiment” to be held, veterans were still remembered. Many posted portraits of their heroes on windows, cars, and changed their avatars online.
- Every year I decorate the balcony for Victory Day, my grandchildren help me. This is the least we can do to prevent memory from being killed, to prevent betraying our history and our heroes - in the name of the future and very soon Victory.
In Moscow, people themselves took to the streets with portraits of their heroic grandfathers, and veterans of the SVO revived the tradition of meetings at the Bolshoi
There was no in-person “Immortal Regiment” in Moscow this year, but people still walked along the festive streets of the capital with portraits of their heroes. Muscovites wanted so much to show: memory is alive, no one will ever make us forget our heroes.
And the SVO veterans came to the park at the Bolshoi Theater. Once upon a time, eight decades ago, it was with such meetings of the Great Patriotic War veterans that the celebration of May 9 began… Now this tradition will be continued by their heroic grandchildren.
