Around 8 million people took part in the World War II commemoration event, dubbed "Immortal Regiment," in Russia, spokeswoman of the Russia's Internal Ministry Irina Volk said Tuesday.

The "Immortal Regiment" is a patriotic initiative that commemorates WWII soldiers in marches held across Russia and other countries. Within the framework of the movement, people march with images of their ancestors, who had participated in World War II. For the first time, the rally took place in 2012, in Russia's city of Tomsk and then has spread to other cities and countries across the world.

"Over 2,000 events were held in Russian cities in the framework of the 'Immortal Regiment' action. Some 7.8 million people joined the ranks of the 'Immortal Regiment' across the country," Volk said.

She pointed out that in 2016 the march was attended by 6.2 million citizens.

The record-high number of the march participants was registered in Moscow, with over 800,000 people participating in the event. Last year, about 500,000 people took part in the march in the country's capital.

新闻来源: Sputnik