Putin and Lukashenko opened the Rzhev Memorial to the Soviet Soldier in the Tver Region.

President of Russia Vladimir Putin and President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko attended the ceremony to unveil the Rzhev Memorial to the Soviet Soldier.

The Heads of States plan to hold a separate meeting later. In particular, Lukashenko has earlier said that he intended to discuss with Putin the issue of foreign interference in the Belarusian presidential elections to be held on August 9.

The initiative to build a memorial near Rzhev, where Soviet soldiers were engaged in fierce battles with the invaders, came from Great Patriotic War veterans. They contacted the Committee of the Union State of Russia and Belarus and to scouts of the Russian Military ‑Historical Society (RMHS) with a request to eternize the memory of their wartime comrades on the occasion of the 75‑th anniversary of Victory. Sculptor Andrei Korobtsov and architect Konstantin Fomin won the open international competition for the best architectural ‑and artistic design with the project of a 25‑-meter bronze statue of a Soviet soldier standing on a 10‑-meter high mound. The project was implemented by RMHS with the support of the Union State, the Russian Ministry of Culture, the Government of the Tver Region, and the Victory Museum. In addition to the monument, the Memorial Complex also includes a pavilion where you can learn the stories of those who, at the cost of their own lives, contributed to winning the Victory.

When creating the Rzhev Memorial, the Tver Region assumed the site improvement costs: more than 15 hundred seedlings were planted on the territory of the Complex, electricity was wired, signs were installed. On May 9, 2020, after the repair, a section of the Moscow – Riga – Khoroshevo road near the Memorial was commissioned, the road was expanded to four lanes, and exits from the Complex were arranged.

As Vladimir Medinsky, Assistant to Russian President, previously reported, the Memorial was ready in April, but because of the coronavirus pandemic, it was decided to postpone the opening ceremony.

According to the regional government, about 34 million rubles were allocated from the federal budget in 2020 to create an infrastructure that will significantly increase the number of tourists in the park with no damage to the environment. The tourism eco potential of this area – 120K tourists a year – is currently only half achieved.

Source: TASS