850 thousand people on the streets

How was the Immortal Regiment campaign in Moscow. Report "Medusa"

On May 9, in many cities of Russia, as well as in several dozen countries around the world, the next action “Immortal Regiment” was held - a procession that people go with portraits of their relatives who participated in the Great Patriotic War. In Moscow, nine central metro stations were closed for the procession. According to official figures, the action broke its own record for the number of participants; Among them was Vladimir Putin. "Medusa" tells how the Moscow "Immortal Regiment" went.

Already two hours before the official start of the campaign in the subway and buses traveling to the center of Moscow, there were many people with portraits of relatives participating in the war in a special framework (on the eve of the march they sold in many Moscow supermarkets). Those who are older, faces were especially joyful; Almost everyone had a St. George ribbon on his chest; Someone lively discussed yesterday's broadcast of the Zvezda television channel.

Although people came to the Dynamo metro, from where the march of the Immortal Regiment was supposed to start, many of them were in no hurry to leave the metro-in Moscow there were no snow in Moscow, but it was still cold in winter; Due to cloudy weather in the morning, even the air of the military parade on Red Square was canceled . Not far from the completed Dynamo stadium stood several dozen people with Tajik flags and in national headdresses. They joyfully welcomed suitable fellow countrymen, repulsing the rhythm into the drum. “We are the Pamir, and every year we participate in the Immortal Regiment,” two girls who were heading to the group explained to the Medusa correspondent. “Oh, are you Tajiks? Well done! " - the woman passed by. Other representatives of national communities - Azerbaijanis, Moldavians, Armenians were also on shares; People reacted to them about the same.

At two o’clock without any special announcement, the crowd began to go along Leningradsky Prospekt towards Red Square. In the course of the movement, volunteers of various charitable organizations worked - for example, the Foundation "Memory of Generations", which is headed by the former cosmonaut and State Duma deputy from United Russia Valentin Tereshkova, and sellers of souvenirs. The second most popular after the St. George ribbon with the attribute of the holiday were caps. The man who asked at the hats at the hats said that they cost 150 rubles - but after a couple of tens of meters the same caps were sold for two hundred.

Metal detectors installed on Leningradsky Prospekt between the Dynamo and Belorusskaya metro station stood a group of retirement women with flags and portraits. When the Medusa correspondent tried to ask them a question, they sent them for the answer to Valentine, the organizer of the group. “We came here to sing and dance,” Valentina said. - On their own initiative, of course! We are a well -known team: the chorus of Muscovy, DC "Zagoria". " According to the impressions of the Medusa correspondent, organized groups from institutions who took part in the Immortal Regiment, there were few on the action; Their participants invariably said that they came to march of their own free will.

About twenty minutes after the procession in the crowd, conversations about the field kitchen began. “They give porridge on Red Square,” someone said, but it quickly became clear that the kitchens were slightly broken throughout the march; Just the closer to Red Square - the longer the turn. More precisely, two lines: first it was necessary to get a disposable plate and devices; Then - actually porridge and coffee.

As the march marches, more and more people joined the march-if Dynamo still could be called a little, then on Tverskaya-Yamskaya it became much more dense. In crowded, many fell on asphalt flowers and St. George ribbons; One of the girls said: “You can’t” and raised a dirty flag from the ground. People now and then shouted in chorus "Hurray!" And “thank you!”, They sang along “Katyusha” and other military songs that sounded from the speakers; Several groups of living musicians with accordions and guitars participated in the actions. “We from the Moscow Water Can on the holiday to please people, play music for the people,” the Medusa Chordonist Sergei told Medusa. - The leadership knows that we were the musicians and suggested participating. It is difficult, of course, to shout out music from the speakers, and the rain with snow goes, but it's okay. ”

By the time people who began to march from the Dynamo metro station, they reached Red Square, the most official part of the march was already over - at three in the afternoon, Russian President Vladimir Putin with a portrait of his father was held on the square; Next to him was the head of the Board of Trustees of the “Immortal Regiment” Vasily Lanova and actor Mikhail Zhozhkin. An hour after that, near the Mausoleum, a hundred people with the flags of Armenia and Nagorno -Karabakh were driven by the Mausoleum. “This dance is called Kochari,” one of the participants in the action explained to the correspondent. - My grandfather reached Berlin with the Soviet Army, and then - as we are now - he and other Armenians danced Kochari, noting the victory with the Reichstag. There is even a video. What will the Azerbaijanis who came here say about the flag of Nagorno -Karabakh? And we should ask them, should we? "

Also, many young volunteers were on duty on Red Square - they distributed free water and St. George ribbons, sang and entertained the crowd, danced so as not to freeze, in a darned next to the GUM. “Our college called us here,” one of the volunteers explained. -But no one forced, did not scare a heavy session and all-such. There is really fun. ”

Foreigners also participated in the Immortal Regiment-for example, an elderly Parisian Gilles Leroux, a member of the Normandy-Neman memorial society from Paris. “I came here to honor the memory of two soldiers. The first is the pilot Gael Taburo. The second is Igor Eichenbaum. We lived in the neighborhood and were very friends, ”said Lerus. “When I was little, he often talked about the war, and now I came to pay tribute to my old and good friend.”

When the first group of marching reached the temple of Basil Blessed and began to diverge home, there were almost three hours left until the end of the action - and a huge crowd of people continued to go along Tverskaya. Formally, the “Immortal Regiment” was supposed to be seven in the evening; Already at 17.00, representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs informed TASS that 850 thousand participants took part in the action, having broken last year's record (then 700 thousand people came to the procession).

Evgeny Makariya