August 8, Moscow / Eduard Pivovar - BELTA/. Russian Cossacks will undertake a horseback expedition along the sites of the Patriotic War of 1812. Its route will pass through Belarus and five other European countries, said the Director of the Federal Customs Service of Russia and Chairman of the organizing committee of the expedition, Andrey Belyaninov, at a press conference today, as reported by a BELTA correspondent. The Cossacks will set off for Paris on August 12 from Poklonnaya Hill; this will be the first such expedition since 1812. "The expedition will be dedicated to the memory of all soldiers who fell in the battles of 1812-1814. This is not a victory parade, but an expedition in honour of those who fell in the Napoleonic Wars," emphasized Andrey Belyaninov. The route, which 23 Don Cossacks on Don breed horses will cover, will exceed 2,500 km. It includes the sites of the most memorable battles in which Cossack regiments participated: Borodino, Smolensk, Borisov, Leipzig, and Paris. The Cossacks' journeys will be accompanied by concerts featuring the Alexandrov Ensemble of Song and Dance. The first such concert will take place in Belarus on August 19.

BELTA