"On June 22, exactly at four o'clock, Kiev was bombed, they announced to us that the war had begun." These folk lines were hummed by people to the tune of the famous "Blue Handkerchief" in 1941. On June 22, 1941, at 4 o'clock in the morning, fascist troops invaded the territory of the USSR. The Great Patriotic War began, the bloodiest in the history of the country.
By the decree of the President of the Russian Federation Boris Yeltsin of June 8, 1996, June 22 was recognized as the Day of Remembrance and Sorrow. On this day, it is customary to remember and honor not only the soldiers who fell for their Motherland during the Great Patriotic War, but also the heroes of all wars who have ever fought for the freedom and independence of Russia. In addition to Russia, the Day of Remembrance and Mourning is also celebrated in Belarus and Ukraine.
June 22 is one of the saddest dates for Russia. This day does not allow us to forget about the millions of compatriots who fell on the battlefields, tortured in concentration camps, and died in the rear from hunger.
On this day, solemn events are held in all cities of the Russian Federation. First of all, this concerns the hero cities that suffered during the war - St. Petersburg, Volgograd, Moscow, Smolensk, Sevastopol, Odessa, etc. The main events, as a rule, take place in places connected in some way with military battles. These are, for example, the Motherland Monument on the Mamayev Kurgan in Volgograd, the wall of the Brest Fortress, on which the messages of the soldiers who shed their blood for the defense of the Motherland are still scrawled.
Traditionally for June 22, the laying of wreaths at the monuments and memorials erected in honor of the soldiers of the Great Patriotic War. National flags are flying on all government buildings.
Concerts are held on the venues of Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian cities - songs and poems of the war years and those dedicated to the war are played. Every year on June 22, as well as on May 9, there is a solemn moment of silence. Cultural institutions, TV channels and radio stations of the country are not recommended to broadcast entertainment programs and advertisements on this day.
However, people's sorrow and memory do not need any presidential decrees - this tragic bloody date cannot be forgotten even after several decades.
