Wreath Laying Ceremony in TajikistanDushanbe, Tajikistan November 4, 2004 U.S. Ambassador Richard E. Hoagland laid a wreath November 4, 2004, at the divisional monument of Russia's 201st Motorized Rifle Division, based in Tajikistan. The wreath laying honored Russian soldiers wounded in action in Dushanbe in 1992 while evacuating American Embassy staff from war-torn Dushanbe during the early days of Tajikistan's civil war. The U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe has made an annual tradition of commemorating this event. After laying the memorial wreath, the American Ambassador hosted his Russian counterpart and the officers of the 201st to dinner at his residence. [Photos courtesy U.S. Embassy Dushanbe, Tajikistan; click for larger image and caption.]
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