Sevastopol stand at the RUSSIA EXPO celebrates Victory Day

The stand of the Hero City of Sevastopol at the International RUSSIA EXPO, as well as the whole country, today celebrates a significant day — Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War and the 80th anniversary of Sevastopol's liberation from the German fascist invaders.

"Congratulations to all of us on the holiday of the Great Victory. It is a great happiness that we are all together today. As Russian President Vladimir Putin said in his inaugural speech: "Together we will win!" said Natalia Virtuozova, Director General of the RUSSIA EXPO.

On behalf of the head of the city, Deputy Governor Maria Litovko congratulated the audience on the holiday.

"I greet you on behalf of our Governor Mikhail Vladimirovich Razvozhayev and congratulate you on the 79th anniversary of the Victory and, of course, on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Hero City of Sevastopol from the German fascist invaders. May 9 is not just a double holiday for Sevastopol residents. As Lev Valerianovich Leshchenko sang in his song, it is joy with tears in our eyes. On the one hand, the almost completely destroyed city endured and won, on the other hand, it lost thousands of its defenders and liberators. And now we honor the memory of those who at the cost of their lives stopped this bloody war. And it is in our cultural code. We are obliged to pass this memory from father to son, and, of course, now the citizens of Sevastopol also stood up in defense of the Motherland. Those on the home front are helping: knitting camouflage nets, helping our defenders with various good deeds in order to bring our victory closer. On behalf of our governor, on behalf of the Government of Sevastopol, we wish, of course, a peaceful sky, good health to everyone, love and happiness to always be in your home. And most importantly, that we always remember, because 2024 is actually a year full of various significant dates for us: 170 years since the first defense, the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Sevastopol, 10 years of the Russian Spring, when finally Sevastopol returned to its native harbor. Happy holiday!" — Maria Litovko congratulated those present.

The day began with raising the flag of the Russian Federation and singing the anthems of the country and the Hero City. The flag was solemnly raised by the honorable citizen of Sevastopol, Admiral Alexander Vitko and Tatiana Alexander, daughter of the legendary commander of the 30th Coastal Battery, Guards Major Georgy Alexander.

Alexander Vitko was commander of the Black Sea Fleet from 2013 to 2018 and was actively involved in the events of the Russian Spring. On March 19, 2014, he warned the Ukrainian Navy against using violence.

"Dear friends, today is a great holiday — the 79th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War and the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Sevastopol. I want to remind you of another date: 10 years ago, in 2014, on May 9, for the first time after a long break, the troops sang the Russian national anthem, the most beautiful anthem in the world, on Nakhimov Square. And we in Sevastopol, in my opinion, have the most beautiful city anthem in the world. Now our guys are fighting in Ukraine. It is hard for them, we wish them good luck and a quick victory. And everyone to come back, definitely come back. And I think that not much time will pass, and our most beautiful anthems in the world will sound in the liberated cities. Thank you," said Alexander Vitko.

A number of commemorative events were held in Sevastopol for the memorable date, one of which was the reburial of the remains of fallen soldiers.

"80 years ago Sevastopol was liberated. You know, Sevastopol held a series of festive events that preceded this holiday. Every year we attend the fraternal cemetery, where we reburied the remains of our soldiers every year. 261 soldiers were lifted from Sevastopol soil and reburied according to Christian customs. Think about it, 80 years have passed — and we still find the remains of our soldiers. Our task is not to let anyone rewrite our history. This is our Victory, our grandfathers, great-grandfathers, and they fought not for glory, they fought for the sake of our future, so that you and I could live in a peaceful, wonderful, the best city on earth, in the Hero City of Sevastopol. And the President of Russia Vladimir Putin was right to say that together we will win. Because the people of Sevastopol, like no one else, knew how to come together in the most difficult times," said State Duma deputy Tatyana Lobach.

State Duma deputy Dmitry Belik recalled the events of ten years ago. "This year we celebrated and are celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Russian Spring. Many of you probably do not remember anymore how 10-11 years ago the so-called country of Ukraine tried to teach us a different history. It tried to make us forget our native Russian language and culture. They did not succeed. And they will never succeed, we will get back everything that is ours, Russian. We won then, we will win today. Happy Victory Day!" emphasized Dmitry Belik.

On May 9, festive events are held at the Sevastopol standall day long: here you can get acquainted with re-enactors in the form of a captain and sanitary instructor of the Red Army, a sailor of the Black Sea Fleet, get a St. George ribbon and take it with you, participate in a family quiz "80th Anniversary of the Liberation of Sevastopol" and a masterclass "Postcard of Victory", learn to knit real sea knots and guess the ranks on the epaulettes, and also unravel the message encrypted by Morse code.

Let us remind you that the operation to liberate the entire peninsula began on April 8, 1944. On April 14, Kacha was liberated, on the 16th — Andreevka, on the 18th Soviet soldiers took Balaklava, on May 7 our troops broke through the strongest defense and stormed Sapun Mountain, and on May 9, a year before the Victory, Sevastopol was liberated. On May 12, the remnants of enemy troops laid down their arms on Cape Chersonese, the offensive operation to liberate the peninsula was completed.