Over the past few years, the tradition of participation in the Immortal Regiment has been gaining momentum among Russian residents who lost their loved ones in the terrible war of the last century. A decisive advantage over any other initiatives - its origin among the people, allows us to consider the Immortal Regiment as a promising and unifying event.
For everyone who had a relative who participated in the Second World War, it becomes a place of memory. On the one hand, the connection between the person carrying the photograph and the one depicted on the banner is visible, on the other hand, those people who are not alive are visible in the procession. Some died during the war and did not live to see victory, while others left quite recently. Alas, veterans - and this is becoming more noticeable every year - are gradually leaving this world. Along with them could go the memory of how much was lost in the war, how much had to be restored, how important it was that the horror and nightmare of the war years should not be repeated. The memory of veterans, and now the memory of veterans, does not allow us to forget the main thing - we need to remember how terrible and merciless the war was and we need to be glad that it is over, we need to be grateful to those who went through this terrible ordeal. The Immortal Regiment allows us to preserve this memory, which is as important as it is terrible for many people.
What does the tradition of the Immortal Regiment provide?
In its uniqueness, the Immortal Regiment becomes the bonding and unifying tradition that gives the annual Victory Parade new life. On May 9, Victory Day, the focus has always been on the people who took part in the war. They remain in the center even now, thanks to the continuity of generations. It is here that the words that it is difficult to find a family in which there are no victims of the war are illustrated by the impressive number of people who come out to the procession in memory of their ancestors. In their hands they hold banners with a photograph and the name of their family member - and this action becomes extremely important, both within the individual family and within the entire country. The feeling of unity, community, which passes through years and generations, becomes an important emotional sign of this movement. The action of the Immortal Regiment attracts attention with the spirit of uniting a variety of people in memories of their ancestors. Thus, in the 2015 parade, the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, took part in the Immortal Regiment.
What is the meaning of movement
The Immortal Regiment has a clear and simple task - to preserve the memory of the participants of the Second World War in the hearts of descendants, to pay tribute to the people who brought our people the Great Victory over fascism.
Each participant who takes to the streets of the city with a photograph of a relative becomes living evidence that memory is much longer than people’s lives, and it is preserved by descendants, even after the death of the war participants.
How to get involved
In order to become a participant in the procession, you don’t have to make incredible efforts. If the people's Immortal Regiment is expected to pass through your city, you just need to find out where and at what time the column starts. Since the association is national, there are no special requirements for appearance.
It is important to understand that movement in a column can be quite long in time - not everyone 
a person, especially at an advanced age, can withstand it. In this regard, you should calculate your strength.
In case there is a person whose memory you would like to honor by participating in the Immortal Regiment, but there is no strength to go the entire route of the procession, you can resort to the services of volunteers. As a rule, in cities where the procession is held, public youth patriotic organizations offer assistance to children who join the Immortal Regiment, helping to carry banners to those who do not have the strength to do so.
In addition, such organizations present in the procession portraits of those people who have no relatives left or who have not been found.
Thus, there is an opportunity to join the procession as a volunteer.
You should prepare in advance to participate in the procession. Fortunately, the long-celebrated Victory Day always takes place on May 9 and, as a rule, the location of all ceremonial events is known in advance.
The main thing, of course, is to have a photograph depicting a participant in the Great Patriotic War. For the banner, the photo will need to be enlarged. In some large cities, on the eve of Victory Day, they organize points where they can help you process (scan, enlarge and print) photographs completely free of charge. If there are no such points in your city, you will have to cope on your own. Such photo processing services are usually provided in any photo studio.
You must bring a ready-made banner with a photo pasted on it to the starting point of the parade. The need for a banner lies in the fact that it will be more convenient to carry the photograph, its visibility increases, and the degree of interference for surrounding people decreases. However, if there is no other choice, you can just take a photograph with you.
It is important to make the image large enough for visibility
The Immortal Regiment is represented not only by the procession on May 9. There is also a website on which everyone is invited to post a photo of their relative, as well as a story about him. It is worth noting that this part of the organization is also important for its function, because by and large a whole database of stories is collected 
people who once accomplished a great feat. And each of the relatives of these people can write their own history, preserving memories for centuries.
In short, there are very few conditions for participation in the Immortal Regiment. It will only be enough to make a banner with a photograph of a relative (who fought for the freedom of our Motherland) and come with it to the parade on Victory Day. But the effects that this procession, which is already becoming an annual event, generates are obvious and numerous. People feel, on the one hand, their participation in the tradition of the entire state, on the other hand, the procession becomes a personal story for each participant who decided to honor the memory of their warring ancestors. With each new year, more and more participating cities appear that join the Immortal Regiment - presumably, the tradition can take hold and become an important stage in the celebration of Victory Day.
Video of the Immortal procession in Moscow
Walkthrough of the “Immortal Regiment in Dzhankoy in 2017”
The construction of the column of the “Immortal Regiment” begins on May 9 at 9.00, on the site at the entrance to the building of the shopping center (former Department Store), st. Lenina, 5.
The column starts moving at 10.00 along the street. R. Luxembourg from the District Administration to the monument to internationalist soldiers in the city park.
News about preparations for the passage of the “Immortal Regiment” in Dzhankoy are published on the regional page of the “Immortal Regiment” website and on social networks.
The “Immortal Regiment” is not only a procession on May 9, it is a lot of work to collect information and enter stories about its soldiers into the book of memory on the regiment’s website. On May 9, the procession of the “Immortal Regiment” sums up this great work of compiling a family chronicle.
Stories about the search and their results are collected for eternal storage on the Regiment's website.
For Victory Day on the website page in the Dzhankoy section, village. Nizhnegorsky published stories about 100 Dzhankoy participants in the war. They were written by residents of our city, Dzhankoy and Nizhnegorsky districts:
How to enroll a front-line soldier in the “Immortal Regiment”?
On the all-Russian website “Immortal Regiment” there is a page for the city of Dzhankoy, Dzhankoy and Nizhnegorsky districts: Here you can read the already published stories of our fellow front-line soldiers, which were written by their relatives.
The format of the story, as you will see on the site, is arbitrary. In order to record your story, you must register Online, go to the page Dzhankoy village Nizhnegorsky
After registration, a special form will open for you to enter your history. You can write directly in it, or copy an already written story into the main window of the form from your text editor.
Follow the form prompts. Don’t forget to insert the first and last name of the front-line soldier in the first box and his rank in the second box.
If you need to attach a photo of your veteran, find the square icon with a house under the word text, click on it, it will tell you how to insert a photo. It's best to already have a photo in .jpg format
If there is no photo, you can publish the story without it.
How to make a poster for the construction of the "Immortal Regiment"?
Everyone who is ready to take part in the parade of the “Immortal Regiment” on May 9 in Dzhankoy must make a light banner with a photo of their soldier or his last name (if the photo has not been preserved, if there is no photo, then you can make a poster with the full name and rank of the front-line soldier). The banner is made according to a single model.
If you do not have the opportunity or time, if you want to get a guaranteed good result, you can contact “Printing Center (former Department Store building) st. Lenina 5, 3rd floor, room 6, (tel: +7978-055-11-25) where they are ready to help you. Making a photograph in A-3 format costs 150 rubles.
TRAFFIC NEWS Dzhankoy, Nizhnegorsky village
1. The Immortal Regiment considers its main task to preserve in each family the personal memory of the generation of the Great Patriotic War.
2. Participation in the Immortal Regiment implies that everyone who remembers and honors their relative - an army and navy veteran, a partisan, an underground fighter, a Resistance fighter, a home front worker, a prisoner of a concentration camp, a siege survivor, a child of war - on May 9 takes to the streets of the city with his( her) photograph or, if there is no photograph, with his (her) name, in order to take part in the parade in the column of the Immortal Regiment, or to independently pay tribute to the memory by bringing a banner with a portrait, name, or photograph to the Eternal Flame or other memorial place. Participation in the Immortal Regiment is strictly voluntary.
3. “Immortal Regiment” - Non-profit, Non-political, Non-state Civil Initiative. Every citizen can join the ranks of the Regiment, regardless of religion, nationality, political and other views. The Immortal Regiment unites people. Anything that serves others is unacceptable to us. One country - one regiment.
4. The Immortal Regiment cannot be an image platform. The use of any corporate, political or other symbols* in anything related to the Immortal Regiment is excluded.
5. The regiment cannot be personalized in any, even the most respected person: politician, public figure (including historical), official. The regiment is millions of those who have left and their descendants.
6. Coordination and assistance in holding the parade of the May 9 Regiment is carried out by the headquarters of the Immortal Regiment, which, along with the organizers of the Civil Initiative on May 9, 2012, includes organizations and citizens who certainly share the provisions of the Charter and have expressed their readiness to become coordinators of the Regiment in their region.
7. In order to preserve the Charter, resolve controversial issues, express the collective opinion of the cities of the Civil Initiative, the Open Council of the Regiment was formed. Any coordinator who has experience in conducting the Immortal Regiment in his region in accordance with the principles of the Charter can enter it by declaring his desire.
8. Changes and additions to the Charter can be made by decision of the majority of cities of the Open Council of the Regiment.
9. Our ultimate goal is to turn the Immortal Regiment into a nationwide tradition of celebrating Victory Day on May 9.
* Symbols: logos, emblems, names, corporate identity, etc. on any media (including a portrait of a soldier).
“Now I’m an elderly young man, but once I was an October student. On May 9, counselor Ira took us to the monument to those who died in the war, to give flowers to veterans. The whole class went. Then, in the courtyards, we still played “Germans” and “ ours." And they knew what the war was like, with whom. And not just from books and movies.
We often learned things about her that weren’t written in books from our grandfather or grandmother, from our neighbor in the stairwell who drank away everything except the Order of the Red Banner, from the strong people who came to schools every year for “courage lessons,” then not even old people, but simply very adult men of rare professions: gunner-radio operator, loader, sapper... And they quite accurately imagined that this Victory was difficult. For which my grandfather gave both legs, and many millions of Soviet soldiers - Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Georgians, Kazakhs, Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Moldovans, Estonians, Uzbeks, Jews, Kyrgyz, Tatars, Kalmyks..., many other peoples - their life. Therefore, it was not surprising to us when, in addition to the living victors, at the Eternal Flame on May 9, we also saw photographs of fallen soldiers that veterans brought with them. And they drank the “People’s Commissars” hundred grams both for the dead and for the living. For those who are not forgotten and those who will not forget.
It was a long time ago. In another time and another country. Where we live today. And the yards and games are different now.
And Victory Day has also changed. There are almost no veterans left, another two or three years will pass, and who will our children see at the Eternal Flame? With this question spoken out loud, what today has become the Immortal Regiment began.
We did not and do not consider ourselves the “authors of the idea.” We didn't invent anything that didn't happen at least once. Then, in our childhood, or, as we learned after May 2012, in some cities of Russia before us, where people alone or, as in Tyumen in 2007, a whole column of schoolchildren, carried photographs of soldiers to the Eternal Flame. In 2006, in Ukhta, on Victory Day, children brought out portraits of soldiers.
In Sevastopol in May 2009, a march “We will replace you in the ranks!” took place.
Yes, it’s not only in Russia that stories similar to Polk happened. In Jerusalem in 1999, on Victory Day, citizens brought out portraits of their soldiers. And there were also Omsk and Pskov, the villages of Stavropol and many others. In Solikamsk, back in 1985, women walked with portraits of their husbands and brothers through the streets on Victory Day.
The oldest of the now known stories related to the Immortal Regiment happened in Novosibirsk. In the first year of the official celebration of the Victory, in 1965, children from school 121 came out with portraits of their fathers - front-line soldiers.
But how can this impulse of different people be turned into a folk tradition? Such that our children would remember it and pass it on to their own. And how can we bring together on this day all of us, divided by life into rich and poor, into parties and confessions, into right and left? As a response, the Charter of the Immortal Regiment appeared, ethical principles that brought together millions of people.
Of course, we started the Polk with ourselves, with the media. The participation of our colleagues - radio operators, television workers, newspaper men - in the creation of the Regiment is not accidental. The fact that the Regiment became an international movement is the merit of the first coordinators - journalists who spoke about the Regiment in dozens of cities and villages in Russia. The Immortal Regiment is, in principle, a provincial story. Born in Siberia, raised in the outback. Not lowered from above. Thanks for it to those who supported the Tomsk history of the Immortal Regiment in Tula and Kostroma, Novosibirsk and Kurgan, Vologda and Volgograd, Irkutsk and Blagoveshchensk, Providence Bay and Krasnodar, wherever today Victory Day has become a day of family memory. Both in Russia and outside our Motherland.
We need to talk to people about what is really important. And it is important for us to be ONE people. At least once a year. Our grandfathers were connected by one trench. Let us, thanks to them, be alive and therefore different, and stand in ONE REGIMENT on May 9th. Let us stand together with those whose bright faces should return to our streets on this day, with photographs of our relatives, near and far. Let us stand without party flags and pompous speeches of politicians, without ambitions. In a human way, proudly. Full height. How THEY rose to attack, often the last one."
Sergey Lapenkov, on behalf of the coordinators of the civil initiative “Immortal Regiment”.
On Victory Day, the “Immortal Regiment” - a voluntary civil action in memory of the participants in the Great Patriotic War - will pass through the streets of hundreds of Russian cities.
History of the "Immortal Regiment"
PHOTO: .globallookpress.comFor many years, the idea of the procession literally “hung in the air.” Back in 1965, in Novosibirsk, schoolchildren took to the streets of the city on May 9 with photographs of veterans.
However, the real birth of the “Immortal Regiment” occurred in 2011 in Tomsk, thanks to the initiative of local media journalists. Then a column of local residents for the first time walked through the streets of Tomsk with banners with photographs of their loved ones - soldiers of the Great Patriotic War. 6 thousand people took part in the procession.
And the very next year, the number of cities where the procession was held increased to 15. The next year, the number of cities doubled, and people began to join the action not only in Russia, but also in Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Israel.
In 2017, the “Immortal Regiment” marched through 1,270 settlements in Russia and 42 countries.
Simple rules
PHOTO: .globallookpress.comAny caring person can join the procession of the “Immortal Regiment”. However, over the years of the event, unspoken but extremely important rules have developed for participants.
FOR REFERENCE: Recommendations for those wishing to take part in the march were developed by the organizers of the action in St. Petersburg. This list is relevant for any region and city and takes into account, first of all, the fact that the procession can take several hours, and many of the participants are elderly people.
What to take with you to the procession
– A waterproof jacket with a hood or at least an umbrella (if it’s cold and raining). Hat (if the weather is hot and sunny);
- A set of necessary medications (if the participant in the procession is an elderly person);
– A small bottle of water (especially if you are bringing a child or need to take medication);
– Sandwiches / chocolate / coffee;
– Camera, smartphone;
– Documents (in case law enforcement officers come to check them);
- Good mood!
MAIN: According to established tradition, participants take with them small banners with a photograph of their loved one - a participant in hostilities or a home front worker. It's also worth bringing A3 size files to put on your portrait in case of rain. Or pre-lamine the photo.
Where and how to make a banner with a portrait
PHOTO: .globallookpress.comThe size of banners usually corresponds to A4 sizes. If you do not have a portrait photograph of “your soldier,” you can put a group photo or simply the name and years of life of a participant in the Great Patriotic War on the banner.
You can make a banner to order in a photo workshop. Or purchase it in chain supermarkets.
IMPORTANT: In some cities, authorities began to help march participants with printing photographs, enlarging the size of the photographs, and laminating them. As a rule, this is done at the MFC; information can be checked on the website moypolk.ru or in local media.
If there is no such service in your region, contact any copy center. They will help you, and perhaps even for free.
What not to do
No participant is permitted to use the promotion for promotional purposes. Therefore, except for banners with photos or names of participants in the Great Patriotic War, no others are allowed.
How to find your soldier
PHOTO: .globallookpress.comIf you don’t know where your soldier fought or died, you can use the search on the campaign website. Click on the “Find a Soldier” tab on the website moypolk.ru and fill out the form with the data you have.
If the search does not produce results, it can be expanded on the following resources:
1. OBD Memorial website. Search for dead front-line soldiers.
2. Website “Feat of the People”. Information about award documents.
3. Website “Memory of the People”. Project of the Ministry of Defense about the fate of participants in the Great Patriotic War.
4. Website "Saxon Memorials". Search for prisoners.
5. Website “Soldat.ru”.
6. Search Movements Forum.
7. Genealogical forum.
8. Website “Remember us!”
But even if you haven’t found your soldier anywhere, don’t despair. Write his name on the banner and join the ranks of the “Immortal Regiment”.
TOP 5 most popular questions about the promotion
Is it possible to go out with a photograph not of a soldier, but of a home front worker or a concentration camp prisoner? YES.
Is any registration or notification required to participate? NO. Just come and participate.
Is it possible to come with children? YES. And even welcome.
Is it possible to go alone if there is no “Immortal Regiment” in my village/city/country? YES. You will be the “Immortal Regiment”.
Can I use banners for next year? YES.
Where to find out about promotion times
PHOTO: .globallookpress.comThe “Immortal Regiment” campaign has its own website, which displays all regions of Russia and the time of the procession in each of them.
You need to go to the website moypolk.ru, select the “Information Bureau” tab at the top and click on your city, village, region.
You will see all the latest information from the organizers, as well as news.
On May 9, 2018, the “Immortal Regiment” will be held in Barnaul for the sixth time. In 2017, more than 60 thousand citizens took part in the procession. This year there is a possibility that there will be even more participants. We tell you how you can join the “Immortal Regiment” and how it will take place in Barnaul in 2018.
Do I need to register somewhere to become a member of the Immortal Regiment?
No. To take part in the Immortal Regiment procession, you do not need to register anywhere. Also, no permission is required. The only condition is your desire. You need to make banners with a portrait of your relatives who took part in the battles of the Great Patriotic War or forged victory in the rear, and come to the gathering place of the participants of the “Immortal Regiment”.
Where are the gathering places for the members of the “Immortal Regiment”?
In 2018, the organizers identified three collection points:
Lenin Avenue, 71 (former cinema, and now the Rossiya shopping center);
Lenin Avenue, 66 (Altai State Institute of Culture);
The intersection of Molodezhnaya Street and Lenin Avenue near Altai State University.
What time will the Immortal Regiment begin the procession?
According to the parade schedule for May 9 in Barnaul, the “Immortal Regiment” will begin its march at 10:40. You need to arrive 30 or 20 minutes early to line up in a column.
How will the “Immortal Regiment” take place in Barnaul?
Since there are a lot of people who want to take part in the “Immortal Regiment,” it was decided that in 2018 the participants will also be formed into two columns.
Most likely, as in previous years, the regiment will march along Soviet Square, turn towards Dimitrov, and its end point will be Sakharov Square. And near the Palace of Entertainment and Sports, members of the regiment will join a new event of the Parade in Barnaul - raising the Victory flag on Sakharov Square.
What should a banner with a portrait of a hero look like and where can it be made?
As the organizers of the action note, a banner with a soldier’s photo or his name should be small and light so that it is easy to carry.
Approximate dimensions of the banner:
Width - 290 mm, length - 435 mm, handle length - 500 mm.
But nothing bad will happen if your banner has different sizes: the main thing is that it is comfortable for you.
You can make it yourself from fiberboard, plywood, plastic or any other available material of any color.
Place on the banner an enlarged portrait of your hero (if you have one), as well as his name, surname, rank, and years of life.
If there is no portrait, don't be upset. Place the emblem of the “Immortal Regiment” campaign on the poster and indicate the name of the hero.
Don't forget to protect the portrait from rain: laminate it.
If it is not possible to make a banner yourself, you can contact workshops. According to the organizers of the action, the cost of making a banner with a simple photograph is 350 rubles.
Addresses of workshops where banners can be made:
Etc. Krasnoarmeysky, 15 - st. Polzunova, 45-b, 5th entrance, tel. (8-3852) 63-77-02 or 65-98-14;
Etc. Socialist, 105, tel. (8-3852) 62-40-40, 62-26-00.
Where can I find information about relatives who fought in the Great Patriotic War?
Today there are quite a few sites on the Internet where you can find information about your relatives who fought during World War II. The most famous of them are “OBD Memorial” and “Feat of the People”. These resources contain documents from the Central Archive of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. The great thing is that these databases are constantly being updated.
Also known today is the site "Memory of the People". Here you can find a lot of documents from the Great Patriotic War, including combat logs of military units.
The Saxon Memorials website will help you find information about relatives who were captured during the war.
Will someone ensure order during the regiment's march?
Certainly. Police officers, BYU cadets, and Emergencies Ministry employees will be on duty. Also, from 300 to 400 volunteers will be involved in organizing the procession.
These are mainly students of higher educational institutions. Among them will be students of the Altai State Medical University. If necessary, they will be able to provide first aid. To distinguish them from others, medical volunteers will wear vests with a red cross.
What will happen after the regiment's march?
This year, the organizers decided not to limit themselves to just the procession of the Immortal Regiment participants. Many participants previously said that they lacked a certain final point: they would like some kind of creative action.
And this year the organizers decided to organize a stage with free karaoke on Sakharov Square. After the “Immortal Regiment” comes to the square, its participants will be able to sing together war songs or songs that their relatives loved.
In addition, there will be a Memory Wall on Sakharov Square.
Everyone will be able to leave congratulations on Victory Day on it, as well as enter the names of their relatives who participated in the Great Patriotic War.
Help: what is the "Immortal Regiment"
"Immortal Regiment" is a public event in memory of participants in the Great Patriotic War who are no longer with us today. During it, participants walk in a column and carry banners with photographic portraits of their relatives who participated in the Second World War.
The idea first appeared in Tyumen in 2007. Then members of the Council of Veterans of the Tyumen Region police battalion walked through the streets of the city with portraits of their fathers. But the action was still nameless. The next year, a large column came out with photographs of front-line soldiers; the event was called the “Parade of Winners.” The action received the name “Immortal Regiment” in 2012 in Tomsk.
In 2015, the civil initiative was included in the federal program of preparation for the 70th anniversary of the Victory. On May 9, 2015, 500 thousand people walked along Red Square in Moscow with portraits of their fathers and grandfathers. Among them is the country's President Vladimir Putin with a portrait of his father, a front-line soldier.
