IRKUTSK, April 20 (RIA Novosti correspondent Alexander Batalin) – On Wednesday Irkutsk hosted a conference titled “The Victory is Multinational” that was devoted to the 60th VE-Day anniversary.

Representatives of the region’s ten ethnic and cultural associations spoke on the contribution of their peoples to the common victory over Nazism and on the role the country’s unity played in World War II, spokesman for the regional administration Sergei Kozhenkov said.

“It is very important that young members of the region’s ethnic associations know about the heroic deeds of their ancestors during the war,” he said.

After the conference, the regional philharmonic society gave a concert attended by war veterans and home-front laborers, as well as soldiers’ widows and relatives. Amateur singers and dancers from the associations performed for them.

The Irkutsk region is home to 140 ethnic groups and over 50 ethnic and cultural associations.