CSTO Parliamentarians Laid Flowers at the Monument to Soviet War Veterans on Mount Avala

On October 20, CSTO parliamentarians and representatives of the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly Secretariat took part in the state ceremony of laying wreaths at the monument to Soviet war veterans on Mount Avala.

Konstantin Zatulin, first deputy Chairman of the Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, addressed the audience with a solemn speech in memory of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Serbian capital by the Red Army.

Pyotr Tolstoy, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma, delegations of Embassies of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, representatives of the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly, Belgrade city administration, officers of the Serbian Armed Forces, compatriots and Serbian citizens also honored the memory of the war veterans.

As you may recall, the memorial on Mount Avala near the Serbian capital is connected with a tragedy. On October 19, 1964, attempting to land there, a Soviet Ilyushin Il-18 plane crashed, carrying the leaders of the Belgrade operation, including Vladimir Zhdanov, Colonel-General, and Sergei Biryuzov, Marshal of the USSR, who were on their way to the celebration with their comrades-in-arms.