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On November 28, the RA NA delegation being in Saint Petersburg, comprised of the RA NA deputies Karen Bekaryan, Romik Manukyan and Tigran Urikhanyan, led by the RA NA Vice President Eduard Sharmazanov visited Piskaryovskoe Memorial Cemetery.

The RA NA Vice President together with the RA NA deputies, the RA NA Permanent Representative to IPA CIS Hayk Chilingaryan, the RA Consul General in Saint Petersburg Hrayr Karapetyan and the representatives of the Armenian community laid a wreath at the monument eternalizing the memory of those deceased during Leningrad blockade in the years of the Great Patriotic War and paid their tribute to the memory of the innocent victims. They also laid flowers at the memorial stone eternalizing the memory of the Armenians, who had died during Leningrad defense.

The members of the delegation highlighted the Armenians’ contribution to the victory in the Great Patriotic War. Eduard Sharmazanov particularly noted: “The victory of the Great Patriotic War is the greatest victory of not only the friendly Russian people, but also of the Armenian people. In the very first days of the war hundreds of thousands of the Armenian sons went to the battlefront. I am the grandson of a Soviet soldier Petros Avagyan, who had left voluntarily for the battlefront, and I am proud of my grandfather who had been one of those in Stalingrad heroic battle. In Leningrad thousands of Armenians defended Leningrad from fascism. The sky of Leningrad defended Nelson Stepanyan, the sea defended Admiral Isakov, Hermitage – Hovsep Orbeli, and the cultural life – Vahram Papazian. The role of the Armenian people’s heroic sons is undeniable in overcoming the Leningrad blockade and in the victory won in the Great Patriotic War.”