Flowers were also laid at the Eternal Flame by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Anton Vaino, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, Supreme Court President Vyacheslav Lebedev, members of the Government, State Duma deputies, members of the Federation Council and representatives of veterans’ organisations.
The ceremony was followed by a march by Moscow garrison troops representing the three branches of the armed forces: the Army, the Aerospace Forces and the Navy.
The President also paid tribute to the defenders of the hero cities by laying flowers at the memorial plaques of each hero city.