Activists of the Russian-speaking community in New York are visiting Soviet WWII veterans living in the state to wish them a happy Victory Day, group member Anton Konev told Sputnik on Tuesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th May, 2022) Activists of the Russian-speaking community in New York are visiting Soviet WWII veterans living in the state to wish them a happy Victory Day, group member Anton Konev told Sputnik on Tuesday.
"On May 9 and today we are congratulating our veterans of the Great Patriotic War and survivors of the Leningrad siege of 1941-1944. Victory Day has always been very special for them, and we are delivering them small tokens of our appreciation," Konev said.
He expressed regret that now there are fewer and fewer veterans left. "Last year, we had eight veterans in our cities of Albany and Schenectady, and now only four," he added.
Konev called them the last remaining representatives of the generation of winners.
These people are very happy that somebody comes to congratulate them. "One lady told me that nobody wished her a happy Victory Day. "How can we forget those who survived the worst years in history? We are able to live today because of their heroism," he said.
Though the war ended 77 years ago, the psychological trauma has not been healed, he added.
"The Victory Day is a happy day, but it also brings memories, the memories of the cost of the war. It is very painful. Veterans feel pride, but they also feel pain. This is a very hard and very special day for them," Konev noted. "It is not a glorious celebration that we have in some other holidays. This is a very mixed emotional day."
Russia and many former Soviet republics celebrate Victory Day on May 9. Major Russian cities conducted military parades to mark the 77th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.
V-day events also took place across the US, including in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, Cincinnati and other cities.
