In Irkutsk, mourning events were held dedicated to the Day of Remembrance and Sorrow

In Irkutsk, the Tomorrow Was War event was held, where 1418 candles were lit at the Eternal Flame of Glory memorial, one for each day of the Great Patriotic War. Veterans, officials, and youth groups took part, honored the fallen with a minute of silence, and laid mourning wreaths. The next day, war participants, schoolchildren, and students gathered again at the memorial, and an exhibition and film screening were prepared for veterans.

Late in the evening of June 21, the action “Tomorrow Was War” took place in Irkutsk. It was attended by war veterans, leaders of the executive and legislative branches of power of the Irkutsk Region and the city of Irkutsk, and representatives of youth public organizations.
The action has been held in Irkutsk for the fourth year already. 1,418 candles were lit near the “Eternal Flame of Glory” memorial. That is how many days the Great Patriotic War lasted. More than 200,000 Siberians defended the Fatherland from fascist occupation. The memory of the fallen was honored with a minute of silence.
- 1,418 candles are pain, grief, and an irreparable loss, - noted at the rally the speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Irkutsk Region, Lyudmila Berlina. – But for us it is also an obligation to remember the feat of those who fought, to remember history.
- Not a single family was spared by this terrible war, - said in his speech the mayor of Irkutsk, Vladimir Yakubovsky. – Through the efforts of the Soviet people, including our fellow countrymen, victory was forged at the front and in the rear. Today we have been given the honor, thanks to the feat of our fathers, grandfathers, and great-grandfathers, to change life for the better. We have gathered here to say to ourselves and to future generations: “No to war! Eternal memory to the warriors.”
Mourning wreaths were laid at the Eternal Flame, and five glowing paper lanterns rose into the night sky in memory of the blood-soaked years of the war.
At the end of the event, a 10-minute documentary film about the beginning of the war, prepared by the youth department of the Irkutsk Diocese, was shown on the wall of the Spasskaya Church.
On June 22, 120 participants of the Great Patriotic War, servicemen of the Irkutsk garrison, schoolchildren, and students gathered at the “Eternal Flame of Glory” memorial.
In memory of the fallen, after a short rally, the veterans of the war laid a wreath at the Eternal Flame. Then a visit to an exhibition at the Irkutsk Regional Museum of Local Lore and a screening of the film “In the Enemy’s Rear” at the “Khudozhestvenny” cinema were organized for them.
- Every year, the Department for Physical Culture, Sports, and Youth Policy of the Irkutsk city administration, together with the city Council of Veterans, holds mourning events on this day, - said the head of this Department, Dmitry Abramovich. - The feat accomplished by Soviet soldiers is priceless. And this must be known by us and by our children.