"Streets should bear names of Soviet liberators"

Russian Ambassador Aleksandr Konuzin says the towns in Serbia should have their streets named after WW2 Soviet liberators. Streets in Serbia should bear the names of their liberators, Konuzin pointed out in an opinion piece published in Belgrade daily Blic on Monday, on the occasion of the 65 years since the start of the Red Army operations to help liberate Yugoslavia from fascist occupation. "Streets should bear names of Soviet liberators" Reiterating that the first part of the Soviet 57th Army crossed the border from Bulgaria on September 28, 1944, thereby setting the foundation to help free Belgrade, the ambassador underscored that the liberators had been heartily welcomed by the people in Serbia. Several thousand Red Army soldiers gave their lives for the freedom of Yugoslavia, and these are historical facts. That is an answer to all those who would like to diminish the role of the Russian soldiers, the Russian ambassador pointed out. Konuzin added that he had traveled a lot around Serbia and visited the monuments marking the graves of Russians and Serbs. The ambassador thanked Serbia for taking care of the sites in which WW2 heroes are buried - Russians, Ukrainians, Belarus, Tatars, Kazakhstani, Georgians, and others. "After the war, many streets across Yugoslavia bore the names of Red Army commanders and although they were renamed later, people tend to remember. I have received letters from Serbs demanding that this historical injustice be corrected," Konuzin wrote.

"Streets should bear names of Soviet liberators"

Reiterating that the first part of the Soviet 57th Army crossed the border from Bulgaria on September 28, 1944, thereby setting the foundation to help free Belgrade, the ambassador underscored that the liberators had been heartily welcomed by the people in Serbia.

Several thousand Red Army soldiers gave their lives for the freedom of Yugoslavia, and these are historical facts. That is an answer to all those who would like to diminish the role of the Russian soldiers, the Russian ambassador pointed out.

Konuzin added that he had traveled a lot around Serbia and visited the monuments marking the graves of Russians and Serbs.

The ambassador thanked Serbia for taking care of the sites in which WW2 heroes are buried - Russians, Ukrainians, Belarus, Tatars, Kazakhstani, Georgians, and others.

"After the war, many streets across Yugoslavia bore the names of Red Army commanders and although they were renamed later, people tend to remember. I have received letters from Serbs demanding that this historical injustice be corrected," Konuzin wrote.