Mikhail Kotyukov laid flowers at the monument to internationalist soldiers in Krasnoyarsk (video)
15 February 14:12
Governor of the Krasnoyarsk Territory Mikhail Kotyukov honored the memory of internationalist soldiers who performed their duty outside the Fatherland. This day marks the end of the war in Afghanistan, in which more than 4.5 thousand Krasnoyarsk residents took part.
The head of the region laid flowers at the monument to internationalist soldiers in Krasnoyarsk. The ceremony was also attended by Chairman of the Legislative Assembly of the region Alexey Dodatko, representatives of the deputy corps, law enforcement agencies and armed forces, as well as relatives of military personnel who died in the line of duty abroad. Combat veterans, members of veterans' organizations and residents of the region marched in a separate column.
Those gathered honored the memory of the heroes with a minute of silence. A three-shot salvo was fired in honor of the dead.
Alexander Novikov, a veteran of the Russian FSB Directorate for the Krasnoyarsk Territory, shared his memories of participating in the Afghan conflict: “In December 1979, we, together with other comrades, ensured the entry of troops into Afghanistan. At that time there were five people from the Krasnoyarsk department there who showed themselves in the most worthy manner, all of them were awarded. I was lucky enough to go through the biggest test together with my comrade Anatoly Kolmakov – we took part in the storming of Amin’s palace on December 27, 1979. Our Zenit detachment, in cooperation with the 9th company of the 345th separate airborne regiment and the so-called Muslim battalion, took the palace in just 43 minutes.”
Alexander Novikov believes that young people should remember the exploits of their ancestors and preserve the truth about the war, because this is the only way to preserve the country and pass on to future generations a sense of patriotism, which is brought up by knowledge of history.
It should be noted that today more than 19 thousand people live in the Krasnoyarsk Territory who took part in hostilities outside the country – from Afghanistan to peacekeeping operations in different regions of the world.
Related links:
