Crew members from the barque Sedov have given a capsule filled with the earth from the North to war veterans in Klaipeda, Lithuania, the Murmansk State Technical University spokeswoman Tatyana Zhitnik said.
The earth was taken from the furthest point of the Soviet-German front on the Rybachiy Peninsula, in Murmansk Region, northern Russia, to which Nazi forces penetrated, Zhitnik said.
A second capsule has been given to a St. Petersburg museum and the third will go to a museum in Murmansk after the barque returns from its Northern expedition, she said.
The Sedov, the world's largest operational traditional sailing ship, arrived in Klaipeda on July 16 and the next day its crew participated in the opening of a memorial to Soviet pilots who died at a concentration camp near the Lithuanian town of Silute.
The wreath-laying ceremony was attended by the mayor of Silute and Russian consul general in Klaipeda as well as representatives of the city veteran organizations.
Russia's Ambassador to Lithuania Vladimir Chkhikvadze gave the veterans a memorial medal to the 65th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 and a letter signed by the Russian president.
The Sedov, with the students of maritime institutes onboard, is set to cover more than 10,000 nautical miles during its expedition to the North, which started from Murmansk on April 30.
The second part of the expedition, devoted to the exploration of the Arctic shelf, polar fishery and honoring of veterans, began on July 10.
After Lithuania, the barque will go to Germany and the crew will lay wreaths at as monument to Soviet soldiers who died at Neuengamme concentration camp.
MURMANSK, July 31 (RIA Novosti)
