Vladikavkaz prepares for Victory Day

A military parade in the North Ossetian capital will involve about 1500 servicemen.

"Our task is to organize people to celebrate the great victory as the most significant and important event of 2010," - this was the leitmotif of a video conference conducted by presidential official Vladimir Kozhin, with the participation of representatives of federal ministries of Defense, Home Affairs, Health and Social Development, Foreign Affairs, Culture, Transport, and several leaders of a number of subjects of the Russian Federation.

One of the main events of the celebration of the 65th anniversary of victory in World War Two, the plan of which was approved by President Dmitry Medvedev, should be an all-Russia Victory parade with the participation of military units and military hardware. Vladikavkaz was also included in the list of seven hero cities and 11 cities awarded the title of "City of Military Glory", where military parades will be held on May 9, 2010.

According to the representative of the headquarters of the 58th Army Oleg Ikaev, about one and a half thousand servicemen from the Vladikavkaz garrison will take part in the military parade in the North Ossetian capital. Columns of the veterans of the Great Patriotic War, the Emergencies Ministry and the republic’s Interior Ministry, as well as 68 units of advanced military hardware will cross the main square of the capital of North Ossetia.  About half a thousand veterans will be present on the stands erected in Liberty Square.

After the parade through Vladikavkaz there will be concerts and shows by professional and amateur artistic groups, as well as meetings of participants of the war with youths. Veterans will also go to a reception with the head of the republic. Wreaths and flowers will be laid at all the monuments, obelisks, and the graves of soldiers who perished during the war. In the evening of May 9 in Vladikavkaz, 30 artillery volleys will sound and there will be a firework display. A day earlier, on May 8 in the North Ossetian Drama Theater a solemn meeting devoted to the 65th anniversary of Victory Day will take place.

The leadership of the republic is already presenting awards to veterans. A commemorative medal dedicated to the 65th anniversary of victory will be awarded to 18 620 veterans from North Ossetia - participants and war invalids, victims of the blockade of Leningrad, prisoners of concentration camps, home front workers. Among the 17 veterans who were the first to receive the medal of Full Chevalier of the Order of Glory were Viktor Konyaev, the retired Colonel of Air forces, who was awarded the three Orders of the Patriotic War, The Order of Red Star and the Order of Red Banner, Islam Mamsurov, member of the Victory Parade in 1945, who was awarded the two Orders of Red Banner, the Order of the Red Star, Fedor Gadiyeva,  Mariya Kokoreva, who participated in the Battle of Stalingrad, a nurse, who  was awarded the Order of the Red Star Antonina Karpov.  Presenting the awards to the veterans, the head of North Ossetia Taimuraz Mamsurov said: "We bow deep to you, because you have taught us to  love truly our  homeland, to defend her in a moment of danger and overcome all the difficulties which time challenges us ... Veterans are especially  valuable, our main human factor, the source from which we will always draw. Calm, wise, but with the invincible strength and will to win ... The 65th anniversary of Victory Day is a cause for us all to rouse ourselves, to see how we live, to what extent we are honest with ourselves,  with the homeland and   to what extent we are ready to confirm with our deeds our words about the significance of the great victory ... It is important that the modern youth should know the truth about the war, about the great battle against fascism, by means of which from the brown plague Europe and all the world was freed . Attack the youth with your exclusive truth, do not give anyone any opportunities to discredit the heroism of the Soviet people in that war, and teach them to be worthy of successors of the traditions of older generations, to be prepared to be the true defenders of the interests of the homeland. "

Altogether the theme of patriotic education sounds in Vladikavkaz during all the events devoted to the preparations for the celebration of the anniversary. Here people proceed from   the fact that if the youth are taught to "live through the prism of the Great Victory", they will get a generation strong and worthy of its history - the youth of Ossetia should be in the flow of the media truth about the victory, should perceive this not as fireworks and parades, but as a great story of struggle against fascism.  At the next meeting of the republican headquarters for the preparation and conduct of celebrations Taimuraz Mamsurov explained to the officials that "the commemoration of the victory is a very serious matter, both in from the aspect of morality, as well as from the aspect of our internal state of responsibility before the military and present generations." He urged the members of the government, the heads of the districts,  all those  who are involved in the organizing of the anniversary celebration, "to be particularly sensitive and aware of their responsibility for each point of the plan intended for the celebration",  because "the most important participants of the anniversary celebrations are the veterans, so all of their addresses and wishes should be taken  special care over, and everything in our power should be done so  that the participants of the great war should feel our care and boundless gratitude for all that they have done for the country. "

"One of the main tasks is to ensure the safety of people during the mass events and to give no opportunity to those who want to spoil our holiday", - emphasized the head of the republic.

Pavel Martynov specially for VC