Russian holidays - Remembrance Day for diplomatic couriers who died in the line of duty

February 5 is the Day of Remembrance for diplomatic couriers who died in the line of duty This day became such at the behest of human memory and grief for departed colleagues The formation of a sad tradition was caused by the tragedy that unfolded in 1926 on an international express train On February 5, shots were heard on a train traveling through the territory of Latvia - bandits attempted to intercept Russian diplomatic mail Diplomatic couriers Theodor Nette and Johann Machmastal reacted with lightning speed, clearly, courageously and honestly fulfilling their official duties, they did not allow the enemies of the Russian state to seize the diplomatic cargo Theodor Nette died at the scene of the battle, having managed to shoot both attackers before his death The seriously wounded Johann Makhmastal continued to guard the cargo, not allowing anyone into the compartment until Riga, where he handed over the mail to a familiar employee of the USSR Embassy The state highly appreciated the feat of the diplomatic couriers; they were awarded the Order of the Red Banner, which at that time was the highest award T Nette received it posthumously Nette was buried at the Vagankovskoye cemetery in Moscow It so happened that every year his colleagues come to his grave to honor all the diplomatic couriers who died in the line of duty Theodor Nette, unfortunately, is not the only diplomatic courier who died in the line of duty Back in 1920, Kholin-Khromushin was killed, sent with mail from Moscow to Kaunas In 1927, Konstantin Ivanov died in China; during the Patriotic War, Mikhail Koltsov, Nikolai Shmakov, and Ivan Khromov died It is sad to list the names of diplomatic couriers who died in the line of duty; these names are not five, not ten - many more Each one fulfilled his official duty with dignity Over the long history of the Russian courier service, not a single document or diplomatic cargo has gone missing In the Soviet Republic, the diplomatic courier service was created on August 27, 1918 Diplomatic couriers delivered diplomatic bags (documents, various cargo) to institutions and missions of the USSR abroad, providing reliable, confidential communication Soviet diplomatic couriers had someone to learn from The practice of secret messages has been used for centuries In Rus', the first diplomatic letters were sent back during the reign of Prince Oleg in 885 The Department of Diplomatic Courier Communications, as the organization where diplomatic couriers work is called today, is actively functioning in the age of information technology, because, as practice shows, neither the Internet nor telephone communications can guarantee complete secrecy in the transmission of important information at a distance And only diplomatic couriers, the faithful guardians of the most valuable state postal cargo, are able to deliver it safe and sound to the addressee The course of history, and not only Russian history, sometimes depends on how well diplomatic couriers work May good luck accompany these honest, courageous people Let only the path be peaceful, without disasters and accidents, and the performance of official courier duties not be overshadowed by terrible losses