Priests of a number of dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church take part in commemorative events on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan

Priests of a number of dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church take part in commemorative events on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan Священнослужители ряда епархий Русской Православной Церкви принимают участие в памятных мероприятиях по случаю 30-летия вывода советских войск из Афганистана print version February 14, 2019 15:35 On February 15, Russia celebrates the Day of Remembrance of the Russians, who performed their official duties outside the country. In 1989, it was on this day that the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan was completed. In the Russian regions are events dedicated to this date. More than 4.5 thousand people from Smolensk region fought on the territory of Afghanistan. On the eve of the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the withdrawal of a limited contingent of Soviet troops from the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, a solemn event was held in Smolensk in the cultural center "Gubernsky". The event was attended by member of the Federation Council Committee of the Federal Assembly of Defense and Security, head of the Russian Union of Afghan Veterans Franz Klintsevich, deputy governor of the Smolensk region Konstantin Nikonov, head of the regional Duma Igor Lyakhov, Metropolitan of Smolensk and Dorogobuzh Isidor , leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Smolensk region , generals and officers, heads of law enforcement agencies of the region, representatives of public veteran organizations, intern soldiers tsionalisty, employees of internal affairs, wives, mothers and relatives of soldiers who performed their international duty, yunarmeytsy, Smolensk military academy cadets, students of the Cadet Corps. Metropolitan Isidor conveyed the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill to those gathered. Addressing the participants of the event, the head of the Smolensk Metropolis said: “This is an event, the 30th anniversary of which we celebrate, joyful and at the same time sorrowful. Joyful, because it became an important event in national history, underlined the heroism of our people, who are able to carry out the peacekeeping mission. This event is sad because we have lost forever our great heroes — the defenders of the Fatherland — from our lives. ” Franz Klintsevich in his address to the participants of the event spoke about the intention to erect in Smolensk a temple-monument, on the walls of which 15028 names and surnames of soldiers-internationalists who died in Afghanistan will be immortalized. Next to the temple is planned to plant an apple orchard of 90 seedlings, according to the number of Smolensk residents who died in Afghan soil. After the official part, the concert began, in which the ensemble of the military-patriotic song “Tracer”, the folk group “Kudesy” and other Smolensk creative groups performed. February 12 in Tambov, the opening of the monument to the people of Tambov who died during the execution of military duty in the Republic of Afghanistan in 1979-1989 took place. The event was attended by Metropolitan of Tambov and Rasskazovsky Feodosy , chairman of the Tambov Regional Duma E.A. Matushkin, First Deputy Head of Administration of the Tambov Region O.O. Ivanov, Chairman of the Tambov City Duma V.V. Putintsev, the head of the city Tambov S.A. V. Chebotarev, Deputy Commander of the 40th Army of the OXV in the Republic of Afghanistan V.A. Vasenin, representatives of the TRO OOO Russian Union of Veterans of Afghanistan. In total, the opening ceremony of the monument was attended by more than three thousand people, including soldiers, men, soldiers of TSTU, cadets, students of educational institutions of the city, members of the public. The consecration of the memorial complex was performed by Metropolitan Theodosius. Prayer chants were performed by the choir of the Tambov Theological Seminary conducted by priest Maxim Nasonov. Welcoming the participants, the head of the Tambov Metropolis noted that the monument testifies to the deep respect of the people of Tambov for the Afghan soldiers who are both alive and those who are not with us today. Vladyka Theodosius said that in 1979 he was drafted into the ranks of the Armed Forces and served in the Nizhny Novgorod region. That year, Soviet troops were brought into the territory of the DRA, and the archpastor recalled how dozens of his earlier call-in colleagues, who already had military service experience, were called upon to do their duty in Afghanistan. The opening of the monument is timed to the anniversary date - the 30th anniversary since the withdrawal of Soviet troops from the Republic of Afghanistan. The monument is located on the alley leading to the TSTU building on Michurinskaya Street. The memorial complex was erected with funds raised by deputies, managers and employees of enterprises, entrepreneurs, residents of the region. He commemorated 96 soldiers-internationalists. The author of the project is a student of TSTU, Dmitry Kotov. In the city of Kumsangir (Khatlon Oblast of the Republic of Tajikistan), Afghan veterans, representatives of the Russian Embassy in the Republic of Tajikistan, the command of the 201st Russian military base, representatives of Russian compatriots' organizations, uniformedians and schoolchildren took part in the commemorative events. The Dushanbe Diocese was represented by the rector of the Iversky-Narva military church, the assistant commander for work with religious believers in the 201st Russian military base, priest Roman Chebonenko, and the acting priest of the Archangel Michael church in the city of Bokhtar (Khatlon region), Hieromonk Tikhon (Kireev). Orthodox priests took part in laying flowers to the monument to fallen soldiers and attended a festive concert. The clergy spoke with the Russian-speaking population of the city. In the near future, a worship service will be organized for Orthodox residents in Kumsangir. These days, the clergy of a number of other dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church are taking part in commemorative events on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan.