Penza, 23 February 2015. PenzaNews. Less than 30 people participated in a public rally organized by the regional office of “A Just Russia” together with the Cossack representatives on the Defender’s Day. The event took place by the “Glory to Heroes” monument on the Sura river embankment in Penza on Monday, February 23.

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Valery Plakhuta, leader of the Penza branch of “A Just Russia” and director of MUE “Advertising agency ‘Anshlag’,” did not attend the event. In his stead, Alexander Demkin, chairman of the local branch of the party, led the crowd.
The first to speak to people was a poet Dmitry Pyatkin, who read a poem dedicated to the memory of the heroes of the Fatherland.

Afterwards, Alexander Demkin expressed his gratitude to the soldiers who defended their country, and asked those gathered to honor their memory with a moment of silence.

During the rally, the member of “A Just Russia” party Artem Nikonov reminded the audience about the history of the holiday; he read out a text, worrying and stumbling and without much enthusiasm, and received poor applause.

Later on, Alexander Demkin said that the Defender’s Day is a truly national holiday because “today we all are soldiers and defenders of our country.”

In his speech, he drew attention to the participation of the party’s regional branch in the charity event “Sursky Krai to Novorossiya” that helped gather humanitarian aid for the people of the southeastern part of Ukraine.

Then, the gathered were addressed by Cossack Colonel Evgeny Puchkov, Ataman of Penza Cossack Union.

“I would like to wish the defenders sound health, happiness and success in everything. I wish them to always stay on guard, I wish for our country to always remain united and strong and be able to defend its independence and sovereignty,” he said.

After that, the party officials announced the end of the meeting: it lasted less than 15 minutes.

As PenzaNews agency reported earlier, representatives of two other opposition parties, the Communist Party and the Liberal Democratic Party, also held rallies in Penza on Defender’s Day.

The event organized by the Liberal Democrats on the square near the former “Rodina” cinema, was attended by over 300 people.

The Communists chose the same location as the members of “A Just Russia” party. However, their rally was held three hours earlier and gathered about 100 people.

The United Russia did not organize any rallies on February 23. Instead, its representatives took part in official celebrations held on Pobedy prospekt by the Military and Labor Valor Monument.