Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov and other cabinet members, the Patriarch of Moscow and all-Russia Aleksei II, as well as representatives from the State Duma, the Federation Council and veterans all took part in the wreath-laying ceremony.
After laying a wreath the President talked with veterans and walked along the memorial tombstones dedicated to hero cities and laid flowers on each tomb.
A presidential decree made on 8 July 1995 established that 22 June would be the Day of Memory and Grief.