A guest post by Tatiana Yugay, faculty member of the state university of Moscow. Published here in occasion of the "Russia day" on June 12
On
May 9, 2015, my friends and I participated in the grand manifestation
“The Immortal Regiment” in order to commemorate known and unknown
heroes of the World War II and the 70th anniversary of the Great Victory.
I
arrived at the Belorusskaya metro station at
14 p.m. It
was already boozing with hundreds of people carrying portraits of
their parents and grandparents. I was afraid that I'd lose my friends
in the crowd. Fortunately, we met after some minutes of waiting.
Meanwhile, I climbed at the bench and made some shots. Already then,
in the closed space of metro, I felt a strong positive energy of
participants. Unlike the aggressive metro crowds in the rush hour, they
were very kind, polite and … smiling.
When
we went out to the Belorusskaya Square, the column had already
started to move in the direction of the Tverskaya Street. The
organizers were unveiling a huge St. George ribbon. We walked for a
while holding it on both sides but there were too many people willing
to hold it, so we were driven out.
I was very busy making photos and my friends suggested me more and more
interesting personages. There were people of all ways and ages. WWII
veterans with “iconostasis” of awards and medals and babies
sleeping in buggies. Many people were very well prepared to the event
and wore war time attributes, such as helmets, soldier's blouses,
all-weather raincoats. We saw a whole families with kids dressed in
the military uniform.
Some
participants not only carried portraits but had printed them on their
T-shirts.
Almost
all demonstrators wore forage caps. We bought field caps, too, and
they appeared to be very helpful because the sun was rather hot.
I
liked very much a boy, wearing war awards of his great grandfather.
When I asked him to pose, he straightened
his chest. It was obvious that he was very proud of his mission to
represent his great grandfather.
The
most amazing thing was very high and positive spirit of people.
Almost half of million walked in a calm, cheerful and benevolent
mood. There weren't any political appeals or slogans, only grateful
commemoration of heroes and beautiful nostalgic singing of wartime
songs.
One
woman began singing “The Cranes” and dozens of young voices
picked up a sad motif.
“It
seems to me, sometimes, that soldiers
Who
didn't come back from bloody battlefields,
They
didn't perish once in our earth,
But
turned into white cranes”.
When
I looked back and saw an ocean of people carrying portraits of their
kinsfolk, it
seemed to me that all those known and unknown heroes were marching in
the same ranks with us. Soldiers of the Great Patriotic War won't die
and will stay immortal until their descendants and their country
remember them.
While
marching, we didn't know how many people participated in the
manifestation, but it was clear that there were hundreds of
thousands. All the broad Tverskaya Street was full of people. On the
whole route from the Belorusskaya railway station to the Red Square,
thousands of people with portraits were standing on the sidewalks. So
when I heard in the evening news that there were nearly half of a
million in Moscow, it wasn't at all a surprise for me. Though, we
didn't know that Vladimir Putin participated in the march with the
portrait of his father, we felt that he was with us.
This
year, the Immortal Regiment was marching in the Red Square for the
first time. When we reached the square, everybody was busy making
photos and selfies.
It
took us two hours and a half to make 2.4 km from Belorusskaya Square
to the Red Square along Tverskaya Street. However, the final
destination wasn't the end in itself. The main thing was the process
of walking, communicating with each other, feeling the unity and
solidarity of those around us. It was one of the greatest experience
of my life. I've understood some simple and crucial things.
A
well-fed and prosperous life relaxes and separates us from each
other, but difficulties and dangers drive us together. People of good
will prevail in the society but they are worse organized than evil
ones.
I'd
wish that those politicians who nourish illusions to defeat Russia
would watch not only the military parade but the march of the
Immortal Regiment, as well. The parade demonstrates the revived
military power of Russia and the march shows the great spiritual
strength of Russian people. These two components render our country
invincible.
