Russian Armed Forces Day was celebrated in Pakistan
Islamabad, Pakistan: Russian Armed Forces Day known also as Russian Defence Day or Defender of the Fatherland Day was celebrated in the capital city of Islamabad by Russian Embassy in Pakistan, reports Dispatch News Desk (DND) news agency.
Defender of the Fatherland Day of Russia was attended by top brass of Pakistan Armed Forces, diplomats, senior bureaucrats and senior journalists of capital.
The Russian Ambassador in Pakistan Alexey Dedov held a reception on Tuesday (February 23, 2016) to celebrate Defender of the Fatherland Day (Russian: День защитника Отечества) to appreciate sacrifices of armed forces of the country. The days honours those who are currently serving in the Armed Forces and those who have served in the past.
During the era of USSR, this day was called Red Army Day or the Day of the Soviet Army and Navy.
In 1918, just after the German had invaded and captured Minsk, the Soviets declared a state of emergency and called for a draft in St. Petersburg. As a result, ten thousand people signed up on 23 February1918. The day was first celebrated in Moscow as “Day of the Birth of the Red Army” in 1922. It was made an official holiday in 1923 under the name “Day of the Red Army.”
After the Second World War, the name changed again in 1946 to Day of the Soviet Army and Navy. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the holiday’s name was changed to its current name as Defender of the Fatherland Day. Diplomats of Europe, Central Asian and eastern European embassies in Islamabad attended the event. However, diplomats of Ukrainian Embassy in Islamabad were not present.
