Russian airborne troopers mark their holiday

MOSCOW, August 3 (Itar-Tass) - About 9,000 veterans of the Russian
airborne troops celebrated their holiday in Moscow on Saturday, August 2.

About 4,000 policemen who guarded law and order during the celebration
reported no serious incidents.

More than 800 people marked the Russian Airborne Troops Day in St.
Petersburg. A monument to Vasily Margelov, the number one paratrooper and the legendary commander of the Soviet airborne troops in 1954-1979. The soviet airborne troops saw the peak of their development under his command.

Airborne troops veterans also laid flowers to a memorial plaque to
Gleb Kotelnikov, the inventor of a backpack parachute, and the graves of their fallen comrades. A rally was held near a monument to soldiers who died performing their internationalist duty.

At noon, friends and brother-soldiers met on the Palace Square in St. Petersburg. After a rally, they marched to the eternal fire burning on the Field of Mars and observed a minute of silence for their fallen friends.