«Our regiment stayed for the night in the woodland park near the village of Poysdorf (Austria). We parked our artillery. The preparations for the Victory Day celebrations were underway all night through. The next day during the morning parade we had a formal meeting. On that day, both officers and soldiers were treated to a holiday feast with the makeshift tables covered in waterproof sheets. The regiment’s commander, Lieutenant Colonel Goruppa, once again congratulated on the Day of Victory and raised his glass in a toast. Years after, I watched films about WWII. But I never saw such congenial atmosphere and sheer joy on people’s faces.»

A photo reporter from a newspaper made a few group photos in those days. In 1995, as we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the WWII Victory, I received a copy of one of those group photos from my front-line comrade Petr Barannikov, our battalion’s vehicle mechanic, who lived in the village of Mironovka, not far from Kiev. In the photo’s inscription I read: «Shanguerey, on the day of the 50th anniversary of the Victory remember those who you were together with, celebrating this long awaited and total Victory! Recollect the silence of the Austrian forest, the birds’ joyful babble, rather than the roar of missiles and bombs. It’s a shame such moments in life are one-off.»