Remains of unknown Soviet soldier reburied in Austria

A ceremony to rebury the remains of an unknown Soviet soldier – discovered by Austrian archaeologists in 2023 – has been held in Austria, TASS reports

According to the Austrian Memory Research Centre, the remains were found in Oberndorf in der Eben, Herzogenburg. The badges ‘Гвардия’ [Guard] and ‘Парашютист’ [Parachutist] without identification numbers (also unearthed during the excavations) indicate that the man was a Red Army soldier during World War II, but his name is unknown.

“Based on the available archival documents, there are about a hundred not reburied remains of Soviet soldiers and civilian prisoners in Austria. We are mostly talking about hard-to-reach places and mountainous terrain," Julia Egger, the Head of the Memory Research Centre, said.

The ceremony was attended by Ambassador of Russia to Austria Andrei Grozov and diplomats from the CIS countries. On the eve of the Unknown Soldier's Day, Mr. Grozov stressed the importance of paying last respects to the Red Army soldier who fell during the Vienna Strategic Offensive Operation in the spring of 1945. The reburial took place at the military cemetery in Herzogenburg.

The Russian diplomat recalled that about 40,000 Red Army soldiers and officers of various nationalities died for the liberation of Austria from Nazism. More than 80,000 Red Army soldiers and Soviet concentration camp prisoners were tortured to death at forced labour facilities.