A reception dedicated to the Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War was held on Friday at the Russian embassy in Astana. A TASS correspondent reports about it from the place of the event.
"Today, being on the soil of Kazakhstan, we must first of all celebrate the contribution of Kazakhstanis to the victory. I want to emphasize that this is a holiday of pride and glory, and at the same time a day of memory and mourning. Kazakhstanis have much to be proud of - their grandfathers and fathers heroically fought near Moscow and Stalingrad, Leningrad and Rzhev, and liberated Eastern Europe," Russian Ambassador to Kazakhstan Alexei Borodavkin said.
He recalled that 528 soldiers and commanders of the Red Army from Kazakhstan were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. "Kazakhstan played an outstanding role in supplying the Red Army, accommodating evacuated enterprises, and receiving refugees. The war brought a lot of grief to the land of Kazakhstan - of the 1 million 350 thousand Kazakhs who went to the front, almost half did not return. The memory of the victims is sacred for all of us," the diplomat stressed.
In turn, Deputy Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan Roman Vasilenko who attended the event noted that during the Great Patriotic War the peoples of both countries were a united front against the Nazi threat. "On this holy day, we rightfully feel a sense of pride for our common great victory and for those who made a decisive contribution to defeating fascism with their heroism at the front and selflessness on the home front. We express our deep gratitude to our grandfathers and fathers for preserving peace and freedom," he said.
According to data of Kazakhstan's ministry of labor and social welfare, there are 222 participants of the Great Patriotic War and people with disabilities because of injuries received during the Great Patriotic War as well as 60,106 other citizens who contributed to the Victory. Lump-sum financial assistance of at least of 1.5 mln tenge ($3,300) is provided to veterans in all regions of the country. Veterans will also receive mementos to mark the 78th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo: Ken and Nyetta/Creative Commons 2.0
Based on materials from TASS