Belgrade celebrated the anniversary of the city's liberation from the Nazis
On October 20, 1944, troops of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts and parts of the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia liberated Belgrade from the Nazi invaders.
Commemorative events were held in the Serbian capital to mark the occasion, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
A wreath-laying ceremony took place at the Belgrade Liberators Memorial Complex, which was attended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia, Nikola Selakovic, and the Minister of Labour, Social Protection and Veterans Affairs, Darija Kisic-Tepavcevic. The city authorities were represented by the Speaker of the Belgrade Assembly, Nikola Nikodijevic. Defense Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic also laid a wreath at the monument to the Unknown Hero in Avala.
In turn, the President of Serbia on this day met with a delegation of the Association of Veterans of the People's Liberation Wars of Serbia (SUBNOR), among which were two veterans who personally took part in the liberation of Belgrade 78 years ago - Ljubisa Antonijevic and Dragoslav Dimitrievich.
It is noteworthy that the most influential newspaper in Serbia, Politika, devoted most of its front page to text about the Belgrade operation of 1944, illustrating it with photographs of Red Army soldiers on one of the central streets of the city, Terazije.
Wreaths were laid at the graves of Soviet and Yugoslav soldiers by the ambassadors of the Russian Federation, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan in Serbia - Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko, Valery Brylev, Madi Atamkulov and Kamil Khasiev, organizers of the Immortal Regiment movement, head of SUBNOR, Major General Vidosav Kovachevich, representatives of patriotic and public organizations, as well as numerous citizens.
For their participation in the liberation of Yugoslavia, about two thousand Soviet military personnel were awarded awards from this country, 16 of them received the title of People's Hero of Yugoslavia. 30 military units were given the name Belgrade.
In the USSR, on June 9, 1945, the medal “For the Liberation of Belgrade” was established, which was awarded to many Soviet military leaders, in particular, the commander of the 4th Guards Mechanized Corps of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, Vladimir Ivanovich Zhdanov, who directly led the operation to liberate Belgrade.
Belgrade celebrated the anniversary of the city's liberation from the Nazis.