Belgrade park to be named after Russian Army Ensemble
The park next to the monument to Tsar Nikolai II Romanov in Belgrade will on Friday be named after the Russian Army's Aleksandrov (Alexandrov) Ensemble.
Source: B92
Late last year, 64 members of this famous artistic group were among the 92 victims of an airplane crash.
Deputy Mayor of Belgrade Andreja Mladenovic told RTS on Thursday that Serbia and its capital will repay the ensemble that performed here 11 times by naming the park after them.
"The ensemble, that is, the choir, the dance group and the orchestra, which are world famous, will celebrate 87 years this year. We are in their debt for the great support they gave us during the (NATO) bombing in 1999," Mladenovic said.
Mladenovic also stressed that the park, located between the monument to Russia's last tsar and the Russian House in central Belgrade, previously had no formal name.
He added that members of the Aleksandrov ensemble and of Serbia's Stanislav Binicki choir will tomorrow unveil two memorial plaques, while officials will plant a birch tree, as a symbol of new life.
"Our Russian friends have insisted that this should not be the marking of a tragedy, but of a new beginning. The ensemble was quickly renewed and is starting a new tour. After Belgrade, they will perform in Novi Sad, then in Banja Luka (in the RS), and then in other cities around the world. They are starting in Serbia - that's an indication of a great friendship that we must maintain and cherish. It's also symbolic that the building of the Russian embassy used to be here, and the Russian House is here as well," Mladenovic concluded.
