Putin Lays Wreath At Tomb Of Unknown Soldier In Moscow On Defender Of Fatherland Day

Russian President Vladimir Putin laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow on Saturday on the occasion of the Defender of the Fatherland Day

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd February, 2019) Russian President Vladimir Putin laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow on Saturday on the occasion of the Defender of the Fatherland Day.

By tradition, the servicemen of the presidential regiment installed a wreath with a Russian flag-colored ribbon and the inscription "To the Unknown Soldier from the President of the Russian Federation" at the Eternal Flame.

Putin approached the wreath, straightened the ribbon and lingered for a moment, paying tribute to all fallen defenders of the Motherland.

The ceremony was also attended by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, and parliamentary speakers Valentina Matvienko and Vyacheslav Volodin.

Together with the head of state, the flowers to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier were laid by members of the government, political figures, and representatives of veterans' organizations.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a monument-symbol in honor of soldiers who died in battles. The ashes of an unknown Soviet soldier were transferred from the mass grave to the Moscow region and reburied in a solemn atmosphere in Alexander Garden in 1966. The following year, a memorial with the Eternal Flame in its center was opened there. The Guard of Honour of the Kremlin Regiment, also referred to as Post number 1, was introduced at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in 1997. In 2009, the monument was given the status of the National Memorial of Military Glory, and the memorial itself was soon supplemented with an obelisk listing the Cities of Military Glory.