The officials from the organizing committee of the festival told RIA Novosti that the opening ceremony included a theatrical performance staged by clubs of military history fans from St. Petersburg and Petrozavodsk, who recreated a scene from a battle between the Soviet and Finnish troops during the Great Patriotic War.
The participants of the "battle" were dressed in military uniforms and used weapons of the war period. The "battle" took place in the region where during the war active combat operations were conducted and where one can still see the remains of defense fortifications built by Soviet and Finnish armies - trenches, dug-outs, funk-holes, etc.
It is also a site of 15 mass graves where the remains of Soviet and Finnish soldiers are buried. During the commemorative events, the participants and the guests laid flowers at the memorials dedicated to perished soldiers. The program of the festival also includes a concert of wartime songs and sports competitions.
A field kitchen served food for participants and guests.
The parade of military-historical festivals is conducted for the purpose of promoting the studies of military history and patriotic education. In addition, the organizers hope to attract attention of authorities and public circles to preservation of military history objects and include them in the sphere of culture, tourism and education.
Overall, there are more than 500 objects of military history on the territory of Karelia. The majority of them belong to the WWII period and constitute part of military historical heritage of Russia and Finland.
The parade of military-historical festivals is organized by the Republican Center for state preservation of objects of cultural heritage under the Karelian Ministry of Culture.
