Today it’s exactly 68 years since Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union. Early morning, 22 June 1941, the war referred to in the East as “the Great Patriotic War” started. It was to become an exceedingly brutal war, the largest war theatre of World War 2 and the most deadliest conflict in human history. Millions of people lost their lives.

In today’s Russia, there is no family that would not have incurred losses in the Great Patriotic War. And the fate of many hundreds of thousands of soldiers remain unknown, their bodily remains scattered in forests and fields throughout the vast country.

Every year, Russian search groups set out and find thousands of dead Russian soldiers who have not yet been buried.  The main purpose of seeking them is to find the names of these anonymous soldiers. These searchers spent their own free time and money on this activity.

They search the forests, some of which are full of bones of the dead soldiers. Soldiers of Red Army at that time had medallions with their names. The medallions were made of wood, with a note on a simple paper put inside. Usually it’s possible for the searchers to establish the name of the dead in one out of a hundred soldiers found. But each discovery bring them a great sense of satisfaction.