Holding bike show in Volgograd on Memory and Mourning Day is unacceptable, NGO activists believe

Members of several Volgograd NGOs have appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin about inadmissibility of holding a bike show on the Memorial Day of perished city residents.

The bike show is planned for the night on August 24 with participation of stars of Russian and foreign show business. It is expected that at the bike show will attract over 120,000 spectators and guests, including foreign delegations.

Meanwhile, a number of local residents voice against the bike show on August 23 on the Memorial Day for the victims of the mass bombing of Stalingrad (the then name of the city) by Nazi aircrafts, when over 40,000 townspeople were killed.

The statement about their disagreement with the bike show scheduled for August 23-24 was sent to President Putin and local Governor Bozhenov by the heads of several public movements and organizations.

The authors of the letter noted that they had nothing "against the event, called a bike show, on any other day, but not this one." "In our opinion, this is the same as to organize a funeral party that smoothly passes over into a cheer festivity. Holding a show on this day is nothing but blasphemy and mockery over the memory of the victims," the authors of the letter assert.

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