OREANDA-NEWS International gathering of the descendants of the winners "Grandchildren of Victory. Kaliningrad" brought together volunteers from 47 regions of the Russian Federation and two countries, the press service of the All-Russian public movement "Volunteers of Victory" reported.

"On April 7, the international meeting of the descendants of the winners "Grandchildren of Victory" started in Kaliningrad. Kaliningrad", which brought together 100 volunteers from 47 regions of Russia and two countries. As part of the gathering, descendants of Heroes will host an educational and cultural program, as well as commemorative and festive events dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the storming of Konigsberg.

The organizers of the rally were the Volunteers of Victory, as well as the government of the Kaliningrad region with the support of the Ministry of Youth Policy of the region and the local volunteerism resource center. On the day of the launch of the event, Alexey Besprozvannykh, Governor of the Kaliningrad Region, addressed the participants with a welcoming speech.

"I know that among those who are in the hall now, there are those whose grandfathers remained forever in this land, whose grandparents met during the East Prussian operation and created new families, someone stayed here and built a new life, someone returned home to native regions, but there is definitely a memory of the feat – in memorials and monuments, in family archives, in street names, in the names of cities in the Kaliningrad region. Now it is you who are helping to preserve our historical memory, which is not only about the events of the past and facts, it is about values and traditions, about the living bond of generations and creative work," Besprozvanykh's words are quoted in the message.

Welcoming remarks were also made by Chairman of the Legislative Assembly of the region Andrey Kropotkin, as well as the head of the Kaliningrad administration Elena Dyatlova. In turn, Elena Belikova, director of the Rospatriotcenter, recalled that Rosmolodezh plans to hold 150 thematic events in honor of the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory. During the launch of the rally, Artemy Kiselyov, Deputy Executive Director of Volunteers of Victory, spoke about the Grandchildren of Victory series of projects.

"Since 2018, we have been implementing the Grandchildren of Victory project, and during this time he has managed to visit different cities and even abroad, in Serbia. We gathered the descendants of the winners in Volgograd, St. Petersburg, Kursk and Sevastopol. Every time the participants come to the Grandchildren of Victory rally, they bring with them personal stories that resonate in our hearts. This is not just a trip to see the city and participate in an event - it is, first of all, family archives and memories. I know that many of you have brought with you the front-line letters that our soldiers wrote home, sending messages from this land. These letters commemorate the victory over fascism. It is our duty to preserve this memory," Kiselyov's words are quoted in the message.

In particular, during the four-day rally, participants will be able to consolidate knowledge about the course of the East Prussian operation together with federal experts and historians, visit places of military glory, pay tribute to the fallen heroes and meet with the living participants of the Koenigsberg assault.