Inal Ardzinba, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Abkhazia congratulated Maria Filippovna Lomakina, the veteran of the Great Patriotic War, 94-year-old on Victory Day.

The meeting was also attended by a veteran of the security forces, Nina Nikolaevna Grabchak, whose mentor was Maria Filippovna. Currently, Nina Nikolaevna helps Maria Lomakina.

“Please accept my warmest congratulations on Victory Day! From school, we studied the great Victory, the fate of the great marshals, major battles: The Battle of Moscow and Stalingrad, the Battle of Kursk and the Berlin offensive. The younger generation must know the history of the Great Patriotic War, honor the valiant contribution to the Victory of the home front workers and the feat you accomplished,” Inal Ardzinba said in an interview with the veteran. On behalf of the Government of the Republic of Abkhazia, Inal Ardzinba presented Maria Filippovna with memorable gifts with wishes of good health and longevity.

Veteran Maria Lomakina from 1942 to 1945 worked on the construction of a highway that today connects the cities of Novorossiysk and Sochi, along which the wounded were transported during the Great Patriotic War. Maria Lomakina recalled how, during the construction of the road, she met with Georgy Zhukov, Marshal of the Soviet Union, who, in a conversation with her, said: “The Motherland will not forget you!”

In 1947 she moved with her family to Abkhazia. She worked at the state dacha in Sukhum.

By the nature of her work, she worked with the first persons of the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation: I.V. Stalin, N.S. Khrushchev, A.I. Mikoyan and B.N. Yeltsin. In 1974, she was certified for the position of a military man. She was awarded with medals.