VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin arrived at Schwarzenbergplatz, one of Vienna's main squares, accompanied by a motorcycle escort. He was welcomed by a guard of honour at the Soviet War Memorial, erected to commemorate the Soviet soldiers killed liberating Austria during World War II. After the national anthems of Austria and Russia were performed, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, accompanied by Austrian Minister of the Interior Maria Fekter and Minister of Defence and Sports Norbert Darabos, inspected the guard of honour.
After laying a wreath at the memorial, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin spoke with veterans currently resident in Austria, congratulating them on the upcoming 65th anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War (the Eastern Front of World War II).
The Soviet War Memorial was erected at Schwarzenbergplatz in central Vienna six months after the end of the war. The memorial features a bronze figure of a Soviet soldier with an assault rifle across his chest and a banner in his right hand, on a massive pedestal. The inscription on the monument, surrounded by a semi-circular colonnade, reads, "Eternal glory to all those heroes of the Red Army who laid down their lives fighting the Fascist invaders for the freedom and independence of all people in Europe."
