Vladimir Putin attended
the military parade to mark the 72nd anniversary
of Victory in the 1941–1945 Great Patriotic War.
May 9, 2017
11:00
Red Square, Moscow
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Before the military
parade marking the 72nd anniversary of Victory in the 1941–45
Great Patriotic War.
Defence Minister General
of the Army Sergei Shoigu inspected the troops during
the military parade.
Commander-in-Chief
of the Russian Land Forces Colonel General Oleg Salyukov was
in command of the parade.
Over 10,000 personnel
and 114 units of military equipment took part
in the parade.
The music was
provided for by the combined military band of the Moscow
Garrison headed by Distinguished Artist of Russia Colonel Timofei
Mayakin.
Speech at military
parade marking the 72nd anniversary of Victory
in the 1941–45 Great Patriotic War
President of Russia
Vladimir Putin: Citizens of Russia, veterans, comrade soldiers
and sailors, sergeants, midshipmen and corporals, comrade officers,
generals and admirals,
I congratulate you
on Victory Day. Happy holiday, a holiday whose significance was
earned by the people themselves with their unparalleled feat
of liberating our Fatherland and their heroic and decisive
contribution to the defeat of Nazism.
The triumphant
victory over that terrible totalitarian force will forever remain
in the history of humankind as a supreme triumph
of life and reason over death and barbarity.
It is our duty
to remember that the victory was achieved at the cost
on irreparable sacrifices, that the war claimed millions
of lives. This monstrous tragedy was made possible primarily due
to connivance to the criminal ideology of racial
superiority and due to the lack of unity among
the world’s leading nations. This allowed the Nazis to arrogate
the right to decide the destiny of other peoples,
to unleash the cruellest, bloodiest war, to enslave nearly all
European nations and make them serve their murderous goals.
The Soviet Union
faced the most powerful assaults by the Nazis.
But there was not, there
is not and there will never be a power that could defeat our people.
They fought
to the bitter end defending the homeland, and achieved
the seemingly impossible by turning around the bloody wheel
of World War II, and drove the enemy back to its home
whence it dared to invade our land, crushed Nazism and put
an end to its atrocities.
We will never forget that
it was our fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers who won back
Europe’s freedom and the long-awaited peace.
The Great Victory
was won by marshals and privates, volunteers and home front
workers, partisans and the fighters of the underground. Old
people and children. People of all ethnicities and trades. They
all passed through the unthinkable ordeals of World War II with
courage and unrivalled patience.
Without sleep
or rest, they worked at the plants and in hospitals,
they burnt in tanks, froze in trenches, drowned at river
crossings, shielded their comrades in arms. They rushed into attacks
realising that the battle could be their last one. They died without
learning of the Victory yet they did all they could to bring it
closer.
Today, we bow our heads
to cherish the memory of those who did not come back from
the war, in memory of the sons, daughters, fathers,
mothers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers, husbands, wives, sisters,
fellow soldiers, family members and friends. We mourn the veterans
who are already gone.
I ask
for a minute of silence.
(A minute
of silence)
Dear friends,
We celebrate Victory Day
in each family across our huge country. No family was spared
by the war. And we begin by honouring our veterans. We do
it without hiding our tears and without shunning high-sounding words. They
come from our hearts filled with respect and gratitude.
We feel a kinship
and a piercing closeness to the generation of heroes
and victors, and when addressing them, I will say: You will
never feel ashamed of us.
A Russian soldier is
ready today as ever for any sacrifice for his Motherland,
for his people, showing courage and heroism.
Such warriors, soldiers
and officers are here now, standing in the parade formations
on Moscow’s Red Square. The country is proud of you!
We will always cherish
Russia as you, the Soldiers of Victory, did, and we will
strengthen the traditions of patriotism and committed service
to the Fatherland.
The lessons
of the past war call on us to be vigilant.
And the Russian Armed Forces are ready to counter any potential
aggression.
Life itself demands from
us that we must increase our defence potential. However, the consolidation
of the world community is needed for an effective fight
against terrorism, extremism, neo-Nazism and other threats.
We are open to such
cooperation. Russia will always side with the forces of peace, with
those who opt for equal partnership, who reject wars as contrary
to the very essence of life and the nature of man.
Dear friends,
The further
the events of the Great Patriotic War fade into history,
the greater is our responsibility to future generations. We must give
them stability and peace on the planet. We must pass
on to them the grave heroic truth and memory of the Great
Patriotic War, the spirit and meaning of Great Victory.
We must do this so that
our descendants should love Russia as much, and the people’s
memory should forever cherish the generation that selflessly fought
for its Motherland and protected its freedom and independence
with honour.
Glory
to the victorious people!
Happy holiday! Happy
Victory Day!
Hurray!
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