Our own Immortal Regiment: RT staff remember war hero relatives ahead of Victory Day (VIDEO)

The march of the Immortal Regiment, a procession in which each person celebrates a relative who fought in WWII by carrying their photo, is one of the most prominent Victory Day rituals. RT employees are also sharing their stories.

The vast majority of Russians had a relative that fought – or died – in the war against Nazi Germany, and these are just a few examples. Cameraman Mikhail Kondakov’s great-grandfather was a flying ace who died in the Battle of Kursk in 1943, RT host Anna Knishenko’s grandfather was wounded multiple times before dying in Leningrad in 1942, while the great-grandfather of Maria Alekseeva, the head of the news production team, made it through the war and reached Berlin.

During Victory Day, on May 9, their stories and those of hundreds of others will be told. Each year, RT provides unparalleled coverage of both the most high-profile events, such as the parade in Red Square, and the intimate and personal stories of sacrifice, loss and triumph. We invite our audience to take part in the commemoration over the course of the next two weeks when videos, articles and documentaries about World War Two will be appearing near-daily on RT.com.