Russia's Arctic port to mark 70 yrs since arrival of 1st Arctic

ARKHANGELSK, August 30 (Itar-Tass) - Festivities begin in Russia's
northern city of Arkhangelsk Tuesday in connection with the 70th
anniversary since the arrival of the first Arctic Convoy /Operation
Dervish/ with a consignment of wartime aid from the anti-Hitler coalition
countries.
Standing in line in the roads are the ships of Russia's North Fleet
decorated with colors -- the major amphibious ship St George the
Victorious, the small antisubmarine ships Onega and Naryan-Mar, and the
mine-clearing seacraft RT-236.
The press service of the Arkhangelsk region governor said the city
expects the arrival of delegations from Britain, the U.S., Canada, France,
and Poland.
A total of four British veterans of World War II who took part in the
convoys will be among the city's guests.
Representing Russia is an 80-strong group of veterans from Moscow, St
Petersburg, Bryansk, Murmansk, and the Arkhangelsk region.
The festivies will begin with a commemorative ceremony 'For Those Whom
the Sea Did Not Return'. It will take place near the corner stone of a
future monument to the sailors from different countries who paid their
lives in the name of common victory and peace.
The two-day festive program includes a naval parade, a requiem
meeting, the unveiling of the 'Arkhangelsk a City of Military Glory'
stella, an international historical workshop, exhibitions, and concerts.
'The Flower of Memory' public action, in the course of which the
volunteers will hand out red carnations and ribbons with the color
arrangement resembling that of St Andrew's flag .
August 21, 1941, the first Arctic Convoy left the the port of
Hvalfiordur in Iceland. It arrived in Arkhangelsk August 31.
The convoy included five British ships and a Danish ship. They
delivered 10,000 tons of rubber, 64 planes, 3,800 deep water bombs and
magnetic mines.
The unloading of the cargoes from the allied ships fully completed by
September 8 and the ships moored at the wharfs of the Arkhangelsk timber
mills to take aboard the Soviet export timber for delivery to Britain.
Over the four years of the effectuation of the Arctic Convoys,
Russia's two major Arctic ports, Arkhangelsk and Murmansk, hosted 42
detachments of ships waving the flags of different countries.
The anti-Hitler coalition nations brought to Russia a total of 16
million tons of cargoes.
The Nazi forces sank one convoy ship in eight and more than 5,000
sailors from different nations died en route.
"We'll never forget the seamen who died," said Arkhangelsk Mayor
Viktor Pavlenko as he personally welcomed the guests who had come for
celebrations.
"The memories about them are the memories about friendship between our
peoples and a common goal achieved," he said. "However, this isn't only
our past, this is also an appeal for the future."