Bender, 9 May. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. Today, thousands of Bendery residents took part in the Immortal Regiment procession. The annual patriotic action gave a start to the festivities dedicated to Victory Day. The head of the city, Roman Ivanchenko, took part in the march with a portrait of his grandfather, BTV reports.
"Polishchuk Viktor Fedoseyevich participated in the Great Patriotic War, participated in the liberation of the Soviet Union. He participated in the liberation of Western Ukraine from the Nazis. He was awarded the Order of the Red Star and the Medal For Courage," said Ivanchenko.
For the first time this year, the column of the Immortal Regiment was accompanied by a vocal flash mob: the legendary Katyusha song was performed in Liberation Square. The soloists were members of local vocal groups. The song was picked up by city residents.
A large-scale procession through Bendery's centre to the Pantheon of Glory is a tribute to the memory of the victorious generation. Veterans drove up to the memorial on retro cars. A solemn rally began with the anthem of the PMR.
"We will never forget that it was the Soviet Union, which we are all part of, that had disrupted the bloody and inhumane plans of the Nazis, prevented the fascists from conquering the whole world. It was the Russian soldier who had defended freedom and independence. The victory of May 1945 is an alarm bell which proclaimed a world without war," Ivanchenko addressed to Bendery residents.
2,300 city residents took part in the Great Patriotic War. Not all of them survived to see the victory - 290 people were killed in battles. About 3,000 soldiers from different parts of the Soviet Union laid their lives while liberating Bendery. A total of 27 million Soviet citizens fell on the battlefields of WWII.
A minute of silence was observed to honour the memory of the fallen heroes and the veterans who passed away. Then, to the wartime melodies, a string of people moved to the memorial plates to lay flowers.
