The date was chosen deliberately—in 1966, on this very day, the ashes of an unknown Red Army soldier were ceremoniously buried at the Kremlin wall. Before that, the fallen soldier’s final resting place was the 41st kilometer of the Leningradskoye Highway. It was there, between Zelenograd and Solnechnogorsk, that the front line ran in early December 1941.
The legendary Battle of Moscow… Brave, courageous, and infinitely devoted to their homeland, men waged fierce battles against Nazi troops for over six months, sacrificing their lives, preventing the Nazis from breaking through to the capital. Among them was my grandfather, Genrikh Borisovich Kabakov. He volunteered for the front in June 1941, and in October of that year, he went missing in action after his final battle. He perished along with the entire Rostokino militia division. But their memory lives on to this day.
Everyone living in Russia must know this figure: during the Great Patriotic War, we lost more than two million Soviet soldiers “missing in action.” They never returned home, never saw the victory salute. We still don’t know all their names and the circumstances of their deaths, but the Great Victory was forged by their hands.
We also honor the memory of everyone who went missing in action during special military operations. The Fatherland is eternally indebted to them. Their names, known and unknown, burn like a living, unquenchable flame in every Eternal Flame in Russia.
Today is not just a date on the calendar; it is our strength and our responsibility to those who chose to serve the Motherland until their last breath.
We remember! We are proud! And we will do everything possible to be worthy of their immortal heroism.
