Bishop of Jakarta Pitirim blesses a monument to Soviet transport aviation pilots in the capital of Laos

On Tuesday, 6^th of December, in Vientiane, the monument to Soviet transport aviation pilots who took part in the military actions in Indochina during the years of American aggression from 1960 to 1973 were opened.

The event was attended by: Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense of Laos Gen. Chansamone Chanyalath, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Laos Vladimir Kalinin, Chairman of the Russian-Lao Friendship Society Vladimir Sokolin, First Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Russian Peace Foundation Elena Sutormina, Academic of the Russian Academy of Social Sciences and prominent Russian public figure Igor Panfilov, Vicar of the Diocese of Singapore, Bishop Pitirim of Jakarta, as well as representatives of public organizations and artists.

“We honour the feat of the heroes who died in Laos, which is an example of courage and endurance for all of us. I am convinced that this feat will remain in the memory of the peoples of our countries, contributing to the further strengthening of the time-verified friendship and cooperation between Russia and Laos,” said Russian Ambassador to Laos Vladimir Kalinin.

“We highly appreciate the help of the Soviet Union and Russia in the field of defense and safety, especially in the area of military personnel training, building of the infrastructure and creating a material and technical base. The monument to Soviet military personnel has become clear evidence of the brotherly friendship of the peoples of Laos and Russia,” said Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense of Laos Gen. Chansamone Chanyalath.

Bishop Pitirim of Jakarta held a memorial service and blessed a monument to Soviet pilots.

The monument by the famous Russian sculptor Vitaly Shanov is located on one of the busiest central arterial roads of the Lao capital. The monument was created with the participation of the Russian-Laotian Friendship Society and the Ministry of Defense of Laos, news agency TASS reports.

Reference: during the years of American aggression in Indochina, Soviet pilots in Laos made over 19 thousand combat flights, transported more than 2.3 thousand tons of cargo. During the combat missions, more than 30 Soviet pilots and military specialists were killed.