Smolensk region paid tribute to the Red Army soldiers from Siberia

In 1939, in Tomsk, the 166th Infantry Division was formed. For several months from mid-July, 1941 it fought inSmolensk region and almost all of them died on the battlefield. Those who survived fled to the forests, and organized partisan groups to continue to fight the enemy. On the eve of the 70th anniversary of the Great Victory in honor of the killed Red Army soldiers from Siberia and partisans of the Vadinsky area the ceremony of commemoration was held in the settlement of Verkhovie, the Kholm-Zhirkovsky district, which was attended by the Governors of the Smolensk and Tomsk regions.

This is the place where the memorial to the soldiers of the 166th Infantry Division and the partisans of the Vadinsky area is located. The decision to commemorate the heroic deed of the Siberian soldiers and the partisans in the same memorial was made due to the fact that more than a half of the members of the partisan groups in the Vadinsky partisan area were professional military men. Some partisan groups at the beginning of their formation consisted entirely of professional soldiers caught in the encirclement, including those from the 166th Infantry Division.

In 1977 a group of students from the Tomsk Polytechnic Institute, visiting the battle fields of Smolensk region where many of their countrymen died, initiated the creation of the monument. The idea was supported by the Institute management, and the authorities of Tomsk and the region. The authorities of Smolensk region also paid much significance to the construction of the memorial. As well as the museum of the Vadinsky partisan area, opened in 1970 and supplemented later with the exposition of the history of the 166th Infantry Division, the monument became a part of the museum-memorial, which was opened on September 20, 1983.

The construction of the memorial complex went on, and a year later partisan dugouts appeared next to the monument. In 2005, the representatives of Tomsk brought and set up a chapel of St. Michael the Archangel in Verkhovie. It was set up to commemorate the killed countrymen at the expense of the residents of Tomsk, students and employees of the Tomsk Polytechnic University.

On the eve of the 70th anniversary of the Victory the memorial to the Siberian soldiers in Verkhovie was reconstructed. The obelisk was faced with new granite, drainage was made, the paths were laid with decorative tiles, and the fence was set round the plot. In addition, the museum room which houses the exposition of the history of the 66th Infantry Division was renovated.

Every year the representatives from Tomsk come to Verkhovie to pay tribute to the killed countrymen. This year, together with the heads of the Smolensk and Tomsk regions, Alexey Ostrovskiy and Sergei Zhvachkin, the deputies of the State Duma Franz Klintsevich, Alexey Didenko, Elena Ushakova, public figures and the delegation from Tomsk, including relatives of the killed Siberian soldiers, representatives of universities, public organizations and businesses, came to commemorate the defenders of the Homeland. At the entrance to the settlement of Verkhovie they were greeted by the participants of the "Patriots of Russia" car rally, initiated by the head of the Tomsk company "Injector-service".

The guests attended the memorial lithium and commemoration meeting at the memorial to the soldiers of the 166th Infantry Division and the partisans of the Vadinsky area, and also visited the Museum of Military Glory, located in the Culture Hall of the Verkhovie settlement.

Addressing the meeting, Alexey Ostrovskiy said that on the eve of the 70th anniversary of Victory DaySmolensk region has become a center for the development of interregional cooperation and the concentration center of cultural and historical ties.

At the commemoration meeting there was an exchange of capsules with Tomsk soil taken at the Memorial of Glory, and with the soil from the memorable places of the Kholm-Zhirkovsky district, which has become so dear to the people of Siberia. Also, Alexey Ostrovskiy and Sergei Zhvachkin presented five veterans with the anniversary medals "70 years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941 - 1945".

The participants of the meeting paid tribute to the soldiers of the 166th Infantry Division and partisan of the Vadinsky area with a minute of silence, and then laid wreaths and flowers at the memorial.

As the Heads of the two regions said after the commemoration meeting, the common history and joint effort to commemorate the heroism of the Victory soldiers can serve as a stimulus for further cooperation between the Smolensk and Tomsk regions.

As for the development of economic cooperation, according to Alexey Ostrovskiy, the regional authorities can facilitate establishing contacts between businesses. The Governor of the Tomsk region also confirmed readiness to support such cooperation.