SENATE PRESIDENT PAYS RESPECT TO BRAVERY,
COURAGE OF RUSSIAN WW II SOLDIERS

20 October 2015, Moscow - In a solemn ceremony, Senate President Franklin M. Drilon paid his respects to the bravery and courage of Russian and other Soviet Union soldiers who fought in World War II by laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow.

The members of the Senate President's official delegation also paid their respect by placing individual flowers at the Tomb after the wreath was laid.

Various heads of state and government as well as other dignitaries have laid wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier as part of their official visit program.

Senate President Drilon is the first Filipino, other than Philippine Presidents, since the formation of the Russian Federation, to offer a wreath for the World War II heroes of the then Soviet Union.

A Russian Honor Guard escorted the Senate President as he approached the memorial. They stood at attention as he formally offered the wreath and paused in a moment of silence as a simple but poignant sign of respect.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is the preeminent war memorial in Russia, dedicated to the Russian and other Soviet soldiers killed during World War II. The Tomb is at a prominent place at the Kremlin Wall. Buried in the Tomb are the remains of the unknown soldiers killed in the Battle of Moscow in 1941.

The Senate President is in Russia on the invitation of Mme. Valentina I. Matvienko, Chairperson of the Federal Council, Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. While in Russia, Senate President Drilon is slated to meet several high Russian officials as well as speak before the Plenary Session of the Federal Council.