A cannon shot and a post at the Eternal Flame will be enshrined in the charter of Sevastopol as important traditions
The midday cannon shot and the “Memory Watch” at post No. 1 at the Eternal Flame will become historical and cultural traditions of Sevastopol, enshrined in the charter of the hero city.
Legislative Assembly deputies today unanimously passed the bill amending the Sevastopol Charter in its first reading, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
Presenting the document, speaker Vladimir Nemtsev noted that, first of all, changes are needed to bring the charter of Sevastopol in accordance with federal standards. For this reason, the chapter “Judicial Power” is removed from it, since these issues are not regulated at the regional level.
Also, the governor of Sevastopol will have an official first deputy and the right to create consultative and advisory bodies - commissions, working groups, etc.
In addition, the charter proposes to consolidate the traditions of Sevastopol, which have already become its “cultural code.”
“As a historical tradition, it is proposed to establish a noon shot from the Konstantinovskaya battery - a tradition that has existed in Sevastopol since pre-revolutionary times, and attempts to revive which have been made repeatedly,” Nemtsev noted. – In 1819, Sevastopol became the first city in Russia where the tradition of a midday cannon shot appeared. This shot began to be fired by order of the commander of the Black Sea Fleet as a signal by which ship, church and admiralty clocks were checked and set.”
In Soviet times, the noon shot was abolished and this tradition was revived only in 1982 on the eve of the bicentenary of Sevastopol. In 2003, the tradition was canceled again due to the lack of blank shells of the required caliber. Now, every day, at exactly noon, the sound of a cannon shot is heard in the city, which is fired from the Konstantinovskaya battery.
Also, as a historical tradition, it is proposed to establish a “Memory Watch” at the Memorial Wall in honor of the heroic defense of Sevastopol in 1941-42.
“On May 9, 1973, on Nakhimov Square near the Memorial Wall, in honor of the heroic defense of Sevastopol, Post No. 1 was opened, which today is the calling card of the city from Sevastopol,” Nemtsev emphasized. – Since then, the “Memory Watch” at the Eternal Flame has not been interrupted even once, even in 1991, when out of 148 permanently operating Posts No. 1 throughout the former Soviet Union, all but one in Sevastopol simultaneously ceased to exist. Keeping the “Memory Watch” by high school students is a long-standing tradition in Sevastopol, which turned 49 this year. During this time, more than 75 thousand Sevastopol residents kept watch at the Eternal Flame. The draft law proposes to consolidate this long-standing tradition as a historical tradition of the city of Sevastopol.”
The proposed changes to the charter will be made after the second vote, which will take place no earlier than in a month.
English version :: Read in English The cannon shot and the vigil at the Eternal Flame will be enshrined in the Sevastopol charter as important traditions.