Day of Memory and Sorrow, June 22, 1941,

June 22 marks the Day of Memory and Sorrow in Russia.

At dawn on June 22, 1941, enemy aviation launched massive attacks on airfields, railway stations, Soviet naval bases, sites of permanent deployment of troops and numerous cities along the entire western state border to a depth of up to 250-300 km.

This opened one of the most tragic chapters in our country’s history. The Great Patriotic War broke out.

At dawn on June 22, 1941, enemy aviation launched massive attacks on airfields, railway stations, Soviet naval bases, sites of permanent deployment of troops and numerous cities along the entire western state border to a depth of up to 250-300 km.

By the time World War II broke out, Nazi Germany had enslaved many European countries and directed all its might against the Soviet Union. Romania, Italy, Slovakia, Finland, Hungary and, later, Norway joined Germany to form a single front against the Soviet Union.

Hitler had a lightning war in mind. Operation Barbarossa implied a crushing defeat of the Red Army and the defeat of the Soviet Union within a few months with the help of the hitherto faultless blitzkrieg tactics.

Romania and Italy joined Germany to form a united front against the Soviet Union. Several days later, Slovakia, Finland and other countries joined them. The industrial power of almost all continental Europe worked for the invaders.

However, the Red Army’s fierce resistance and the efforts of all Soviet people foiled the Third Reich’s plans.

The news about German invasion and the beginning of the war was announced over the radio. At noon on June 22, 1941, the People’s Commissar for Foreign Affairs Vyacheslav Molotov addressed the Soviet citizens:

The Great Patriotic War lasted 1,418 days and nights and ended on May 9, 1945 with the victory of the Soviet Union and the complete rout of the Nazi bloc.

The Soviet people literally had to stand up and fight the enemy without sparing their lives. More than 8.7 million died in combat, almost 7.5 million were intentionally exterminated by the Nazis in the occupied territories, and over 4 million died from the atrocious conditions of the occupation regime. Over 5 million people were abducted and shipped to Germany for forced labour, with just over half of them returning home after the war ended. The occupiers have completely or partially destroyed more than 1,700 Soviet cities and towns and over 70,000 villages.

The Soviet losses amounted to 40 percent of all human losses in WWII, 26.6 million people. Of them, more than 8.7 million died in combat, 7.42 million were intentionally exterminated by the Nazis in the occupied territories, and over 4.1 million died from the atrocious conditions of the occupation regime. As many as 5.27 million people were abducted and shipped for forced labour to Germany and neighbouring countries under German occupation.

The act of unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany and its armed forces was signed on May 9, 1945. Marshal Georgy Zhukov accepted the surrender from the Soviet side.

June 22 entered the national calendar as the Day of Remembrance and Sorrow by the Resolution of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation of July 13, 1992.

Since 2009, this day has been marked by the Candle of Memory nationwide action. Candles are lit throughout Russia in the silence of the night in memory of all those who died during the Great Patriotic War protecting our peaceful life.

Since 2020, an annual nationwide minute of silence has been held at 12:15 pm Moscow time. This is the exact time when the Soviet government addressed the citizens of the country announcing Nazi Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union.