This Sunday, February 2, the Central Military Band of the Russian Ministry of Defense, permanent participant and showstopper of the Spasskaya Tower International Military Tattoo, is going to stage a big concert to honor the seventy-seventh anniversary of victory in the great Stalingrad Battle in which the Red Army fully defeated the enemy. The concert will take place in the Volgograd Philarmonia.
Beginning of February is a very special time in the history of Russia. On February 2 the never-ending slaughterous fight on the banks of the Volga river came to its end and the Stalingrad Battle was finally over.
On July 17, 1942 the famous Stalingrad strategic defensive operation began and lasted till November 18, 1942. Later it was defined as the first stage of the Stalingrad Battle. It was then that the Soviet counter-offensive began.
Beginning on November 19, 1942 the Stalingrad Battle lasted almost four months and is still considered one of the largest and bloodiest battles in the history of warfare. Armies of the Stalingrad and South-Eastern Fronts supported by the Volga Military Flotilla succeeded in taking over one of the most numerous armies of the Wehrmacht and fighting back the city. On February 2, 1943 the Soviet counter-offensive was over.
The Administration of Volgograd (former Stalingrad) invited the Central Military Band following the request of the local citizens. The concert will drop the curtain in the series of festivities dedicated to this great historic event. The leading music ensemble of the Russian Armed Forces will present the audiences their special program featuring prominent military marches and popular war-years patriotic songs.
For Information
The Central Military Band of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation is one of the best-known military ensembles in the world. It is a well-established symbol of the Russian Armed Forces and intangible national heritage. The band is primarily responsible for meeting protocol needs and supporting all major military ceremonies and events organized by the Russian Armed Forces Higher Command. The band frequently performs onstage of the best concert venues both at home and abroad. Furthermore, it successfully represents Russia at international military tattoos and arts festivals. The band recorded the State Anthem of the Russian Federation regarded as the standard of excellence. It has also recorded an anthology of Russian military music, stored now in the State Archive of Television and Radio Programs.
