Day of Remembrance and Sorrow
June 22 · Level 1 · #2062 of 2238
Russia's Day of Remembrance and Sorrow marks the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet war against Nazi Germany. It honours fallen soldiers and civilians, including people killed under occupation or lost in captivity.
How it is celebrated: people lay flowers at war memorials, light candles and observe a minute of silence. Museums and schools share wartime letters, eyewitness accounts and family memories.
Some commemorations begin before sunrise, recalling the early hours of 22 June 1941, when Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union.