Volunteers of Rosatom participated in the “Garden of Memory” event in Hungary

Volunteers of the Engineering Division of State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom engaged at Paks NPP construction site in Hungary participated in the “Garden of Memory” international event. They planted 20 lilac trees in the territory of the Soviet war cemetery in Cece.

Rosatom is traditionally partner of this event: the company’s employees participate in these activities both in Russia and abroad. Vitaly Polyanin, Vice Pesident of Atomstroyexport JSC - Director of Paks NPP construction project took part in this event in Hungary.

“It is already the third “Garden of Memory” event in which the employees of Paks NPP project participate. Many war cemeteries of the Great Patriotic war are located near the town of Paks in Hungary where Rosatom implements its project of construction of new NPP units. In 1944-1945 over 140 thousand soviet soldiers were killed in Hungary in severe battles with Hitler troops”, said Vitaly Polyanin. - The lilac that we planted today will bloom every spring as a sign of memory and gratitude to the soldiers who gave up their lives for the freedom of Hungary, Europe and our country and will remind us that it is vitally important to preserve the peace.

“Let the “Garden of Memory” symbolize peace between our countries and remind us that it is important to prevent the war. I know that in people in Russia look after the graves of Hungarian soldiers, and on our side, we, the local administration, will look after the graves of Soviet soldiers here, in Cece”, said Janos Varga, the Mayor of Cece, who joined the “Garden of Memory” event.

Thanks to the active work of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Hungary, soviet military burials are repaired everywhere country. Local administrations also pay attention to monuments: they organize grass cutting, help to take away garbage after cleaning ups organized by volunteers of Paks NPP construction project.

In accordance with the agreement between Russia and Hungary, each party is obliged to look after military burials. The burial in Cece includes a central monument in the form of a hexagonal obelisk and seven communal graves. The inscription on the obelisk made in Russian and Hungarian, reads: “Eternal glory to the heroes who gave up their lives for liberation of peoples from fascist invaders”. According to the records, 425 Soviet soldiers are buried here: 390 names are known and 35 names are unknown.

For reference:
The “Garden of Memory” international event is launched by the “Garden of Memory” ANO, the “Volunteers of Victory” all-Russian social movement, the Foundation in the Memory of Victory Combat Leaders, and assisted by the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and the Federal Forestry Agency. The event is implemented to support the national “Environmental Protection” project.

The agenda of this large-scale environmental and patriotic event is planting 27 million trees in memory of everyone who died in the Great Patriotic War. The message of this event is that green monuments are planted to pay tribute to heroes. At the same time, it addresses the issue of forest preservation and restoration by making it possible for the participants to mitigate their carbon footprint. Green monuments are planted every year in all Russian regions and abroad. The event has been joined by volunteers from more than 50 countries throughout the world.