Dmitriy Kobitskiy Participated in Opening of Exhibition Dedicated to Liberation of Europe
31 March 2025
On 31 March, RIA News and RANEPA St. Petersburg launched the documentary photo exhibition “Liberation. The Road to Victory. Rebuilding Europe” dedicated to the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.
At the opening of the exhibition, Secretary General of the IPA CIS Council Dmitriy Kobitskiy delivered a speech.
The exhibition is based on a unique photo archive from the Soviet Information Bureau. The events of 1944–1945 are depicted through images of ordinary people — on the frontlines and in the rear — capturing moments of liberation and postwar reconstruction across the USSR and Europe.
As RANEPA St. Petersburg Director Andrey Khlutkov noted, on 31 March marks 80 years since the end of the Upper Silesian Offensive, which led to the full liberation of Poland. At the same time, the Soviet army continued advancing through Hungary, liberating over 100 settlements in a single day. These final weeks were crucial for the outcome of the war and the future of humanity.
Consul General of the Republic of Kazakhstan in St. Petersburg Dmitry Mikhno shared that he was particularly moved by the images showing Soviet soldiers rebuilding a bridge in Berlin — the victorious nation restoring the infrastructure of a defeated enemy. He stressed the significance of such initiatives, which help preserve and transmit the truth about the war. He also shared that a series of commemorative events is planned in Kazakhstan.
The project “Liberation. The Road to Victory. Rebuilding Europe” is being implemented by the media group Russia Today with the support of the Presidential Foundation for Cultural Initiatives.
