Russian Consulate in Cape Town

#Victory80 🌟 In the early hours of May 1, 1945, the #VictoryBanner was raised atop the Reichstag during the Battle of Berlin. It became a symbol of the triumph of the Soviet Union & its peoples in the fight against Nazism. The legendary Red Banner №5, which became the famous Victory Banner, was raised over the dome of the defeated Reichstag by the 756th Rifle Regiment’s scouts, Sergeant Mikhail Yegorov & Junior Sergeant Meliton Kantariya. Before the assault, a decision was made for a group of Soviet soldiers to hoist the flag over the Reichstag, which would embody the final collapse of Nazism. 🚩 A total of 9 makeshift banners were promptly made, designed after the state flag of the USSR. Ultimately, a battle flag of the 150th Order of Kutuzov 2nd Class Idritsa Rifle Division, 79th Rifle Corps, 3rd Striking Army of the 1st Belarusian Front, became the Victory Banner. On April 29, the fierce fighting for the Reichstag began, which the Nazis had turned into a fortified point of resistance. It was defended by over a thousand men, including SS troops supported by artillery and armor. The Reichstag was of special symbolic importance to the Nazi Germany. The Germans considered it their main fortress during the final days of #WWII. The Soviet command was sure that the storming of that citadel, which was a symbol of German Nazism, would especially affect morale of the enemy and eventually completely demoralize the fascists. ⚔️ On April30at 1:50 p.m., a Red Army unit broke into the Reichstag through breaches in the walls, with a fierce close combat unleashing. The Nazis took advantage of effectively advancing inside the building they new well, throwing grenades at Soviet soldiers & firing back with machine-guns: they basically had nothing to lose. ⏱️ At 2.25 p.m., Red Army soldiers Bulatov and Koshkarbayevplaced a makeshift red flag to the column of the main entrance to the Reichstag — it was the first of the banners the liberators raised over the Reichstag. ⏱️ At 10.30 p.m., staff sergeants Gizet Zagitov, Alexander Lisimenko & Alexey Bobrov as well as Sergeant Mikhail Minin supported by Captain Neustroyev’s battalion were the 1st to hoist a red banner on the roof of the Reichstag atop of the Goddess of Victory sculpture. The 3rd red banner was raised on the western facade of the roof by the scouts of the 674th Regiment led by Lieutenant Sorokin. ⏱️ In the early hours of May 1, finally, the Red Banner №5 was raised over the dome of the captured Reichstag by the 756th Rifle Regiment’s scouts, Sergeant Mikhail Yegorov & Junior Sergeant Meliton Kantariya, led by deputy battalion commander Lieutenant Alexey Berest, covered by riflemen from Ilya Syanov's squad. That flag ultimately became the Victory Banner. 📃 By a Presidential Executive Order of April 15, 1996, the Red Banner hoisted atop of the Reichstag by Yegorov & Kantariya was declared the symbol of the Soviet people’s Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. #WeAreProud

#Victory80 🌟 On April 30, 1945, just 10 days before Nazi Germany unconditionally surrendered, Red Army soldiers Rakhimzhan Koshkarbayev and Grigory Bulatov raised the first Red Banner on the facade of the Reichstag during the Battle of Berlin. *** On April 28, fierce fighting for the Reichstag was in full swing, which the Nazis had turned into a fully-fledged stronghold defended by more than a thousand soldiers, including SS troops, supported by artillery and armor. The distance between the former Himmler's house and the Reichstag was less than 500 metres. It took Bulatov and Koshkarbayev 7 hours to cover the distance under constant heavy fire — they carried a makeshift flagpole with a simple scarlet cloth with them. Later after the battle, Koshkarbayev recalled: “The artillery fire began, and with the very first fires, Bulatov and I dashed toward the Reichstag. I lifted him up by the legs, and together, on the second floor, we raised our flag.” According to the 150th Division's combat log, at 14:25 Bulatov and Koshkarbayev "crawled to the central part of the building and placed a red flag on the steps of the main entrance". It was the first of the banners the liberators raised over the Reichstag. 🎖 Rakhimzhan Koshkarbayev and Grigory Bulatov were awarded the Order of the Red Banner for the courage and heroism during the assualt on the Reichstag. Monuments to Koshkarbayev have been erected in his home region of Akmola in Kazakhstan and in the republic's capital, Astana, and to Bulatov in Kirov. #WeAreProud