- Title: Pro-Putin bikers visit Berlin's World War Two memorials
- Date: 9th May 2016
- Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (MAY 09, 2016) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS PROFANITY*** MEMORIAL FOR SOVIET SOLDIERS MEMORIAL PLAQUE READING (German): "YOUR HOMELAND WON'T FORGET ITS HEROES" MEMORIAL STATUE OF SOVIET SOLDIER WITH A SWORD HOLDING A GERMAN CHILD STANDING OVER A BROKEN SWASTIKA VARIOUS OF NIGHT WOLVES BIKERS HONKING THROUGH THE STREETS OF BERLIN (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RALLY ORGANISER, ANDREI BOBROVSKY, SAYING: "No one came with Russian number plates. Out of principle. We could have carried out a half-military operation and crawl (into Europe) from the back yard. But why on earth do we need it? The Poles do not let us in, so screw them." VARIOUS OF NIGHT WOLVES BIKERS AT MEMORIAL (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RALLY ORGANISER, ANDREI BOBROVSKY, SAYING: "We want everyone to remember this sacred holiday of the victory of good over evil, light over darkness. Do you understand? How many people met their death in that war." VARIOUS OF BIKERS AT MEMORIAL VARIOUS OF BIKERS MARCHING AT MEMORIAL TWO NIGHT WOLVES MEMBERS HOLDING BANNER WITH THEIR LOGO
- Embargoed: 24th May 2016 12:04
- Keywords: Night Wolves World War Two Anniversary
- Location: BERLIN, GERMANY
- City: BERLIN, GERMANY
- Country: Germany
- Topics: Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA0014H34OJD
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:~**EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS PROFANE LANGUAGE**~
Dozens of pro-Putin bikers arrived in Berlin on Monday (May 09) to commemorate the day Russia celebrates victory over Hitler's Germany at the end of World War Two.
Dressed in black and at full throttle, the Night Wolves, an ultra-nationalist Russian motorcycle club, paraded through the German capital before making it to the city's largest Soviet memorial, which serves as a cemetery for 5000 Soviet soldiers.
The Russian members of the Night Wolves, who enjoy close ties to Russian President Vladmir Putin and have supported the Kremlin's annexation of Crimea, have been banned from entering Poland due to "security" concerns, the country's foreign ministry informed last week.
Last year, the group was also stopped from entering Poland during a similar ride to mark the 70th anniversary of "Victory in the Great Patriotic War".
This year the group made their way through Slovakia and on motorbikes without Russian number plates, said Andrei Bobrovsky, who was replacing the group's president forbidden from entering the EU, Alexander Zaldostanov.
"No one came with Russian number plates. Out of principle. We could have carried out a half-military operation and crawl (into Europe) from the back yard. But why on earth do we need it? The Poles do not let us in, so screw them," he told reporters at the Soviet memorial.
"We want everyone to remember this sacred holiday of the victory of good over evil, light over darkness. Do you understand? How many people met their death in that war," he added.
Marching with flags and banners, the crowd walked through the memorial slabs and frescos depicting the course of the war behind to reach the mausoleum and pay floral tribute to the Soviet soldiers fallen in World War Two. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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