Festive events dedicated to the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 (GPW 1941-1945) will take place in Dushanbe and other regions of Tajikistan on May 6 and 9.
The Dushanbe Administration says a wreath-laying ceremony will be held at Victory Park in Dushanbe with the participation of President Emomali Rahmon on May 8.
A military parade, involving 5 will take place, will take place at Victory Park on the same day, an official source within the Ministry of Defense told Asia-Plus in an interview.
On May 9, Victory Day, the Immortal Regiment march will take place in Dushanbe.
Shavkat Mirzoyev, Chairman of the Union of Internationalist Veterans (veterans of the Soviet-Afghan War from December 1978 to February 1989) of Tajikistan, told Asia-Plus, the gathering of participants for the event will begin at 8:30 AM near the Sadriddin Aini Opera and Ballet Theater.
The column will start at 9:00 AM from the 800th Anniversary of Moscow Square and head towards Victory Park, Mrzoyev said.
According to him, similar events will also take place in other cities and districts of the country.
The Immortal Regiment is a massive civil event in major cities in Russia and around the world every May 9 during the Victory Day celebrations.
In 2011, journalists Sergey Lapenkov, Sergey Kolotovkin and Igor Dmitriyev noticed that fewer and fewer veterans took part in street processions on Victory Day. In the spirit of the holiday, they built on this idea and created an official organization. May 9, 2012 became the birth date of the movement in its modern form. A column of city residents passed through the streets of Tomsk, who carried placards with photographs of their relatives who fought in the Great Patriotic War. The rally, called the Immortal Regiment, was attended by more than 6,000 people who carried more than two thousand portraits of war participants.
Since it was introduced in 2012, the Immortal Regiment has been conducted in cities such as Moscow, Washington D.C., Tashkent, Berlin, and Yekaterinburg. By 2015, it had received national status in Russia. The Immortal Regiment therefore has become one of the most important elements of the celebrations of Victory Day in Russia and other CIS member nations.
As of today, there are 17 GPW 1941-1945 veterans remaining in Tajikistan (down from 24 in May 2024). Of them, 8 live in Khatlon province, 2 in Sughd province, 2 in Dushanbe, and 5 in districts subordinate to the center (RRP). There are no GPW 1941-1945 veterans remaining in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region, or GBAO..
More than 300,000 residents of Tajikistan reportedly took part in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 and 92,000 of them died in battle. 55 of residents of Tajikistan were given the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Besides, 15 other Tajikistan's residents were Full Holders of the Order of Glory.
Victory Day marks the end of World War II in Europe, specifically the capitulation of Nazi forces to the Allies (the Soviet Union, United Kingdom, France, the United States and other principal Allied nations) on May 8, 1945.
In Russia and other countries of former Soviet Union, the day of Victory over Nazi Germany is celebrated on May 9, because when the German Instrument of Surrender actually entered into force (May 8, 1945 at 23:01 CET), it was already May 9 by Moscow time. Post-Soviet countries have continued the tradition.
