Penza, 9 May 2012. PenzaNews. The festive event devoted to the 67th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War took place near the monument of military and labor valor of the residents of Penza on Wednesday, May 9. Veterans, representatives of power authorities of the Penza region, labors, cadets, school and university students attended the event. Memorial service in memory of the soldiers who perished in Great Patriotic War and in local conflicts was held in Archangel Michael chapel.

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“Today we gathered to pay a tribute to heroism of our fathers and grandfathers who rescued our land from terrible devilish invasion of German fascism. And on this joyful day we ask the Lord to save souls of leaders and soldiers who “forged” a victory on Great Patriotic War fronts and also of those who worked for the sake of the Victory,” said the bishop of Penza and Kuznetsk Veniamin.

Governor Vasily Bochkarev noted that during the war all the people fought to protect their Motherland, having shown an example of courage, firmness and heroism.

“Having repelled the invasion of the enemy, having overcome an inconceivable hardship and trials, we survived and won. The red banner of Victory was put over the crushed Germany, having announced to the whole world about the crash of Hitler adventure blitzkrieg, about a victory of our free people, our armed forces over evil forces and obscurantism,” said the head of the region.

He emphasized that residents of Penza made a worthy contribution to victory; they battled selflessly on the fronts and forged a victory in the rear from the first until the last day of the war.

The chairman of the city council of veterans Vladimir Kerkhanadzhev on behalf of participants of the Great Patriotic War and homefront workers congratulated all those present at the ceremony on the Victory Day.

“I wish you be happy and healthy. I wish young generation to be deserving successor of the winners. I wish soldiers of Penza garrison to increase fighting capacity and be always ready to protect sacred boundaries of our country,” he added.

Dancing and music bands performed dances and sang military songs for the veterans. Then children let out a few dozens of white balloons into the sky.

At the end of the holiday, there was a parade attended by cadets of training center of Rocket and Artillery Department of Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, cadets of reserve-officer training departments of universities, divisions of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and Interior Ministry.

The ceremony ended by laying wreaths and flowers at the Eternal Flame.