The “Immortal Regiment” march has taken place Dushanbe in this year.  About 500 people participated in the procession in honor of the veterans of World War II (WW II) carrying photographs of their relatives who took part in WW II.    

Recall, veterans of war and labor have applied to the Dushanbe authorities asking for permission to organize the “Immortal Regiment” march this year, but they have not received reply to their request.  For all that, the Dushanbe authorities have not prevented the holding of the march.

Some 500 people gathered near the Dushanbe brewery yesterday morning and marched to Victory Park, where they laid wreaths at the Military Glory Memorial.

According to the Republican Council of Veterans of War and Labor, only 344 Tajik veterans of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 are estimated to be still alive.  Over the past year, their number has decreased by 99 people.  

Today, the number of World War II veterans living in Khatlon is 136 people, in Sughd – 101 people, in districts subordinate to the center (RRP) – 66 people, in Dushanbe – 46 people, and in the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) – only 4 people.   

Last year, Tajik authorities decided not to go ahead with the “Immortal Regiment” march to mark the anniversary of the World War II victory over Nazi Germany. 

Tajik national news agency Khovar reported on May 4 last year that the decision was prompted by security concerns and “Islamic traditions that do not approve of the public display of pictures of deceased people.”

The “Immortal Regiment” marched across Dushanbe on May 9, 2017 nevertheless.  About 300 people participated in the procession in honor of the veterans of World War II (WW II) carrying photographs of their relatives who took part in WW II.

The ‘Immortal Regiment’ is a public non-profit organization, created in Russia on a voluntary basis with the aim of "immortalizing" the memory of home front workers, partisans and members of the resistance, concentration camp prisoners, survivors of the Siege of Leningrad and children of war.

The ‘Immortal Regiment’ brings together people of all ages, social groups and political beliefs.  Anyone can carry on the memory of war veterans and enroll to participate in the march to honor the memory of those who earned the hard-won victory in 1945.

Since its inception in 2007, the ‘Immortal Regiment’ initiative has been met with unprecedented support, and by 2015 it had received national status.