The remains of a Russian soldier who died near Vitebsk in 1812 will be transported on an APC gun carriage to Minsk for burial

June 30, Vitebsk / Sergei Kochetov - BELTA /. The remains of a Russian army soldier who died in battles near Vitebsk during the Patriotic War of 1812 will be transported to Minsk for burial on an APC gun carriage. This was announced today by Sergei Fadeyenkov, chief specialist of the department for religious and ethnic affairs of the regional executive committee, after a memorial service in memory of the fallen soldiers in front of the Holy Resurrection Church in the regional center, a BELTA correspondent reports. The remains were found by servicemen of the 52nd specialized search battalion in the area of Ostrovno village, Beshenkovichi district, in May of this year. Based on elements of clothing and military insignia, it was possible to identify the deceased as belonging to the Russian army. The fiercest battles between the Russian army and Napoleon's troops took place near Vitebsk, in which, according to archival sources, more than 12,000 soldiers died on both sides. "In connection with the 200th anniversary of the military battles, which will be celebrated in 2012, preparations for this date have now begun, and among them is the intensification of search operations at the battle sites of that time," noted Sergei Fadeyenkov. The memorial service in memory of the fallen soldiers was conducted by the rector of the Holy Resurrection Church, Father Konstantin. After the ceremony, the sarcophagus with the soldier's remains was placed on the gun carriage of an armored personnel carrier. Accompanied by the Honor Guard company of the Vitebsk garrison, the procession set off for Minsk, where on July 2, a solemn ceremony of burial of the remains of participants of the War of 1812, World War I, the Great Patriotic War and the Afghan War will take place in the crypt of the Church-Monument in honor of All Saints and those innocently slain in our Fatherland. -0-