Immortal Regiment
In 1965, students from Novosibirsk school number 121 walked through the streets of their city carrying photographs of war participants. This action marked the earliest known instance of what would later become a global movement. The event occurred during the twentieth anniversary of Victory Day celebrations in the Soviet Union. By 1981, mothers dressed in black robes marched on the Square of the Fighters of the Revolution in Rostov Oblast. Director Yulia Sinelnikova conceived this procession to honor dead sons who had served in the Great Patriotic War. In Jerusalem, citizens took to the streets with portraits of soldiers on Victory Day in 1999. Gennady Ivanov, Chairman of the Council of Veterans of the Tyumen Region, organized a parade where people carried pictures of front-line relatives along the main street of Tyumen in 2007.
Journalists Sergey Lapenkov, Sergey Kolotovkin and Igor Dmitriev noticed fewer veterans participating in street processions by 2011. They created an official organization that established the 9th of May 2012 as the birth date of the modern Immortal Regiment movement. A column of Tomsk residents passed through city streets carrying placards with photographs of relatives who fought in the Great Patriotic War. More than six thousand people attended the rally while carrying more than two thousand portraits of war participants. By December 2012, representatives from over fifteen Russian cities expressed interest in organizing similar actions. The number of cities grew to thirty by February 2013 and expanded to four countries including Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Israel. In 2015, Moscow organizers proposed holding the march on Red Square immediately after the Victory Day Parade. Over one hundred fifty thousand people expressed intention to participate in the procession. According to Moscow Police, more than fifty thousand people took part including President Vladimir Putin. The procession cost the state budget approximately seven million Russian rubles.
The event spread to former Soviet states beginning in 2013 when it first appeared in Belarus and Ukraine. Armenia hosted its inaugural march in 2016 at the Aram Khachaturian statue in Yerevan. Latvia held the procession near the now demolished Red Army monument in Riga despite not officially recognizing May 9 as a holiday. Moldova postponed its diamond jubilee Victory Day celebrations to Liberation Day due to the coronavirus pandemic in April 2020. Tajik authorities decided against proceeding with the march in 2017 citing Islamic traditions that disapprove public display of deceased portraits. Uzbekistan refused to hold the rally in 2017 while Kyrgyzstan participated from 2014 onward. By 2015, the Immortal Regiment occurred in 1150 settlements across seventeen countries. In 2016, forty-two countries hosted some form of the procession. Israel maintains a nonprofit organization called Immortal Regiment in Israel responsible for managing events there. Many Israeli cities with large populations of Red Army veterans and their descendants hold marches similar to those in Russia.
Critics including founder Igor Dmitriev allege the procession has become an attempt by government to promote domestic and foreign policies rather than honor war memories. Some participants have been charged with carrying random photographs and discarding them after the event ends. During summer and autumn of 2018, left-wing forces organized Shameful Regiment marches displaying portraits of political figures supporting pension reforms. These protests formed part of the 2018 Russian pension protests movement. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's government strongly opposed the nongovernmental independent procession to favor governmental events instead. Following the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014, participation became associated with pro-Russian groups in Ukraine. Nationalists waving flags of the anti-Soviet Ukrainian Insurgent Army frequently disrupted annual marches during Victory Day celebrations. The event now largely represents statements supporting Russia's foreign policy against Ukraine according to observers.
In 2020, the march scheduled for May 9 was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Russia. President Vladimir Putin stated it impossible to observe social distance during such gatherings. Plans were later scrapped and the march rescheduled until 2021 when it took form as an online webcast viewed over twenty million times. More than two hundred media screens throughout Moscow broadcast the virtual event. In 2023, authorities cancelled the march under pretext of security concerns. Opinion emerged that cancellation occurred due to fear portraits of those killed during the Russo-Ukrainian war would be carried leading to anti-war protests. On the 19th of April 2024, Head of Republic of Crimea Sergey Aksyonov announced cancellation of both parade and Immortal Regiment march for security reasons. Four days later Elena Tsunaeva from organizational committee confirmed Russia decided to cancel the march entirely. Organizers recommended alternative formats like placing portraits on car windshields or wearing them as badges on dress instead.
Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, usually participates carrying a portrait of his father Vladimir Spiridonovich Putin. Aleksandar Vučić, President of Serbia, carries a portrait of Anđelko Vučić who is his grandfather. Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, holds a portrait of Hero of the Soviet Union Wolf Vilenski who died in Israel in 1992. Sooronbay Jeenbekov, former President of Kyrgyzstan, carries a portrait of his grandfather Jeenbek Pirnazarov. Almazbek Atambayev, ex-President of Kyrgyzstan, displays a portrait of his father Sharshen Atambayev. Igor Dodon, ex-President of Moldova, carries portraits of his grandfather George Dodon and namesake Alexander Dodon. Svetlana Toma, Moldovan actress who debuted at Moldova-Film, has participated in processions. Senior Russian officials have joined the procession in Moscow since 2015 alongside the President.
Continue Browsing
Common questions
When did the Immortal Regiment movement begin in Russia?
Journalists Sergey Lapenkov, Sergey Kolotovkin and Igor Dmitriev established the 9th of May 2012 as the birth date of the modern Immortal Regiment movement. A column of Tomsk residents passed through city streets carrying placards with photographs of relatives who fought in the Great Patriotic War on that day.
Who organized the first Immortal Regiment procession in Rostov Oblast?
Director Yulia Sinelnikova conceived this procession to honor dead sons who had served in the Great Patriotic War. Mothers dressed in black robes marched on the Square of the Fighters of the Revolution in Rostov Oblast by 1981.
How many countries hosted the Immortal Regiment march in 2016?
Forty-two countries hosted some form of the procession in 2016. The event spread to former Soviet states beginning in 2013 when it first appeared in Belarus and Ukraine.
Why was the Immortal Regiment march cancelled in Crimea in 2024?
On the 19th of April 2024, Head of Republic of Crimea Sergey Aksyonov announced cancellation of both parade and Immortal Regiment march for security reasons. Four days later Elena Tsunaeva from organizational committee confirmed Russia decided to cancel the march entirely due to fear portraits of those killed during the Russo-Ukrainian war would be carried leading to anti-war protests.
Which world leaders participate in the Immortal Regiment procession with family portraits?
Vladimir Putin carries a portrait of his father Vladimir Spiridonovich Putin while Aleksandar Vučić carries a portrait of Anđelko Vučić who is his grandfather. Benjamin Netanyahu holds a portrait of Hero of the Soviet Union Wolf Vilenski who died in Israel in 1992.