SMOLENSK, 28 May (BelTA) - Head of Belarus President Administration Dmitry Krutoi took part in a flower ceremony at the Eternal Flame in the Memory of Heroes Square in Smolensk during his working trip to Russia on 28 May, BelTA has learned.
The ceremony took place ahead the meeting of the High-Level Group of the Union State Council of Ministers, co-chaired by Dmitry Krutoi. It was also attended by Russian Deputy Prime Minister, co-chairman of the High-Level Group Alexey Overchuk, Belarusian Ambassador to Russia Aleksandr Rogozhnik, State Secretary of the Union State Sergei Glazyev, and Governor of Smolensk Oblast Vasily Anokhin.
The Memory of Heroes Square was inaugurated on 31 August 1912 in the presence of Emperor Nicholas II, who visited Smolensk as part of the anniversary events dedicated to the victory in the Patriotic War of 1812.
In August 1912, a bronze bust of M.I.Kutuzov was installed to mark the anniversary of the Battle of Borodino, and 19 cast-iron memorial plaques were installed on the fortress wall along the square. They were made by the regiments - successors of the military glory of the soldiers who defended Smolensk in the Patriotic War of 1812. The Grateful Russia to the Heroes of 1812 memorial was inaugurated in the square a year later.
In 1943, after the liberation of Smolensk from fascist invaders, the Smolensk necropolis was formed in the square near the fortress wall. The Eternal Flame, delivered from Moscow from the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, was lit in 1968 to mark the 25th anniversary of the liberation of Smolensk. The flame was lit by Mikhail Yegorov, Hero of the Soviet Union, who hoisted the Victory Banner over the fallen Reichstag in 1945. Here, at the foot of the fortress wall, Mikhail Yegorov was buried in 1975.
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