State Duma Sets April 19 as Day of Remembrance for Victims of the Genocide of the Soviet People

Lawmakers tied the observance to a 1943 decree that first officially recorded Nazi crimes against civilians in occupied Soviet territories.

Overview

At a December 16 plenary session, deputies approved a law adding April 19 to Russia’s commemorative calendar as a remembrance day for civilian victims of Nazi occupation.
The measure amends the federal law On Days of Military Glory and Commemorative Dates of Russia to formally integrate the new observance.
The chosen date references the April 19, 1943 Presidium decree that documented systematic extermination policies and set legal grounds to prosecute perpetrators.
The bill was introduced in November by a group of deputies, with TASS naming United Russia figures Vladimir Yakushev, Irina Yarovaya, and Vladimir Vasilyev among the sponsors.
State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin cited more than 13 million Soviet civilian deaths and framed the step as a duty to preserve historical memory.