People of USSR- and Russian background living in Sweden paid tributes to all those soldiers who lost their lives in World War II (1939-1945). For the second time, Russian-speaking Swedes and residents of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics’-heritage took out a parade for the second time in Stockholm from Mariatorget to Medborgarplatsen on Sunday 6 May.
The attendees of the parade gathered at the Russian chapel in the premises of Maria Magdalena Cathedral (Svenska Kyrkan) in for the Russian Orthodox Liturgy and after that they took out the parade.
More than 200 participants gathered in the afternoon as the sun shone and Stockholmers took to the streets to soak in sunshine.
Ramilia Ramilia from Gothenburg aka Göteborg participated in the parade along with her daughter. She told www.gothenburg-400.com that it is important for her to remember the life of her grandfather Alexander T. Khomitskiy who died in Berlin in 1945. She said that ‘we should not forget that millions of soldiers from Soviet Union had fought against fascism and Nazism’.
Romaric Duvignau, a post-doctoral student in computer science from Chalmers University of Technology, also travelled to Stockholm in the transport organized by the Russian Swedish Culture Centre and Russian Consulate in Gothenburg.
A Russian-speaking Estonian from Gothenburg working at Russian-Swedish Cultural Centre, Larissa, travelled for she has a Russian heritage: language and half-Russian parentage.
Ella Rydell from Stockholm praised Putin and brushed away the fears that there is an attempt by Russia to re-emerge like it was when it was USSR. She gathered at the festival-like atmosphere along with her friends residing in Stockholm.
Few expressed concern over the gathering, citing it is an attempt to rekindle the need for USSR under the Russian President Vladimir Putin, and a sign of ‘aggressive politics’.
In the parade some chanted ‘Russia is invincible’.
The participants paid silence to the soldiers died in WWII, and sang and danced to the Soviet- era themes.
The parade was taken out on Sunday in Sweden as it was the closest Sunday to May 9 – the biggest day in Russia marked as Victory Day. Victory Day in Russia is commemorated for the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany and marked on a grand scale and a public holiday (non-labour Day).
