The message reads, in part:
“Organised in 2016, your expedition is rightfully considered one of the country’s largest. It brings together a large and close-knit team of dedicated and energetic people who feel personally responsible for preserving historical memory and perpetuating the names of fallen heroes. You help identify the names of Red Army commanders and soldiers, you locate their families and friends, and you care for military burial sites and common graves. What is no less important, you make the rising generation feel proud of the Motherland’s military glory. This activity deserves profound respect and support.”
Organised by the Russian Military Historical Society and the Defence Ministry, with the involvement of the Tver Region’s Government, the international search expedition Rzhev. Kalinin Front is held annually in areas where bloody battles raged in 1942 and 1943. The 2020 expedition involved amateur archeologists from 53 Russian regions, as well as Belarus and Kazakhstan. Expedition members located the remains of over 700 Red Army soldiers. The names of 107 servicemen have been identified since 2016, and the relatives of 25 soldiers have been located.