The Venezuelan authorities have raised a giant replica of the Banner of Victory in the capital, Caracas to commemorate the defeat of Nazi Germany by the Soviet Union. Red Army troops hoisted the flag of the USSR atop the Reichstag building in Berlin on May 1, 1945.
The banner, measuring 25 by 11 meters – the largest ever displayed outside Russia – was hoisted in the Venezuelan capital on April 30. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro declared the date the ‘Day of the Victory of Mankind over Fascism’.
On April 30, 1945, Red Army soldiers broke into the Reichstag through breaches in the walls and captured the building. The legendary Red Banner No. 5, which later became the famed Victory Banner, was raised on top of the Reichstag dome by soldiers from the 756th Rifle Regiment – Sergeant Mikhail Egorov and Junior Sergeant Meliton Kantariya.
“In 1945, on a day like today, the world heard on the radio and learned from telegraphic messages – there were no social networks then, no satellites – that the Red Army of the Soviet Union had entered Berlin, defeated Hitler, and planted the banner of the Soviet Union over the Reichstag,” Maduro said.
The USSR lost an estimated 26.6 million lives during World War II. Moscow will celebrate the anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany and hold its annual Victory Day parade on Red Square on May 9.
In April, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow expects the Venezuelan leader to visit Russia on May 9 to take part in the 80th anniversary celebrations.
“The raising of the largest Victory Banner outside Russia here in Caracas symbolizes the deep bond between our peoples, our shared commitment to truth, freedom, and peace,” Russian Ambassador to Venezuela Sergey Melik-Bagdasarov said during the flag-raising ceremony.
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