Day of Remembrance and Sorrow
June 22, Saturday
The Day of Remembrance and Sorrow is a memorable date celebrated annually on 22 June in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. It honors the anniversary of Operation Barbarossa, the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II. On 13 June. the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of Russia declared that 22 June should be marked as the Remembrance Day for Defenders of the Fatherland. It was established by decree of President of Russia Boris Yeltsin on 8 June 1996.
On this day, national flags are lowered on the buildings of state institutions, ships of the Russian Navy. Flags with mourning ribbons are instead hung on residential buildings. All entertainment events and broadcasts on television and radio are canceled throughout the day.Commemorative events are held throughout the country, such as the laying flowers and wreaths at monuments honoring the Great Patriotic War.
22 June is celebrated in Belarus as the Day of the Nationwide Memory of the Victims of the Great Patriotic War and in Ukraine as the Day of mourning and Commemoration of the Memory of the Victims of the War.