June 22 — Day of Remembrance and Sorrow

On June 22, 1941, the attack by Nazi Germany and its allies on the Soviet Union marked the beginning of the bloodiest conflict in human history.

On June 8, 1996, in memory of the victims of the Great Patriotic War, the President of Russia established, by decree, the Day of Remembrance and Sorrow – June 22. On this day, state flags are lowered, mourning events are held, and flowers are laid at monuments.

On April 1, 2020, the President of the Russian Federation signed a law amending Federal Law No. 82-FZ "On Days of Military Glory and Commemorative Dates of Russia." The act established the annual observance of a nationwide minute of silence on the Day of Remembrance and Sorrow – at 12:15 p.m. Moscow time. This is the exact time of the broadcast of the address to Soviet citizens about Germany's attack on the USSR.