Visegrad is becoming a place of pilgrimage of Serbian-Russian friendship for the entire region, it was said during the commemoration of the Day of Russian Volunteers in memory of the fallen members of the Army of Republika Srpska (RS), from which it was called to “return the favor” to the Russians in the Donbas region of Ukraine.
The 30th anniversary of the death of the Russian volunteer Konstantin Bogoslovski, as well as the other 37 volunteers during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) from 1992 to 1995, was marked with a religious ceremony and an address by representatives of the authorities, veterans’ organizations and families of the victims. Unlike previous years, there were no former volunteers from Russia, and the ceremony held on Wednesday was attended only by the mother of the deceased Bogoslovski.
This day is included in the calendar of significant historical events in the RS, it was said at the meeting, and representatives of the entity authorities said that 700 Russian volunteers participated in the Army of the RS, of which 38 died.
“Visegrad has, in a way, become a symbol of Serbian-Russian friendship, that people from Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Russia come to this place as a pilgrimage,” said Savo Cvijetinovic, president of the “Serbian-Russian Friendship” Association.
This is the second annual honoring of Russian fighters since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. During the ceremony, the anthem of the Russian Federation was sung.
In the religious part of the ceremony, the names of all the fallen volunteers were read, whose sacrifice was compared to today’s fighters in Ukraine.
Members of the Association of Russian Friendship from Podgorica, members of the Association “12 April Kosovska Mitrovica” and members of the fallen Army of RS (VRS)fighters, as well as representatives of the local government and entity ministries laid flowers and wreaths at the memorial to the fallen volunteers.
The mayor of Visegrad municipality, Mladen Djurevic, said that the help of Russian volunteers was great in the “liberation of RS“, and that “the Serbian people knew then that they had an ally in brotherly Russia”. He stated that their presence was crucial and that they will pass on these achievements to the younger generations.
This year, there were no members of the Russian biker club “Night Wolves” at the commemoration, as well as entity ministers and guests from Russia. Cvijetinovic said that the reason for this was the “situation in Ukraine” and the price of plane tickets from Moscow.
In April last year, the State Prosecutor’s Office opened the case after receiving a report from the Association “Woman – Victim of War” regarding last year’s announcement “Celebration of the Day of Russian Volunteers” on April 12th, 2022, Detektor reports.
E.Dz.
