MOSCOW, May 9. /TASS/: There can be no forgiveness for those who have forgotten the lessons of World War Two and are again nurturing aggressive plans, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday.
"The war brought about so many unbearable ordeals, grief and tears that this cannot be forgotten. And there is no forgiveness and excuse for those who are again nurturing aggressive plans," the Russian president said from the reviewing stand during the military parade on Moscow’s Red Square devoted to the 76th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s Victory over Nazi Germany in the 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War.
As the Russian leader pointed out, almost a century has passed since "the monstrous Nazi beast was getting brazen and gaining strength in the center of Europe and the slogans of racial and national supremacy sounded increasingly cynically." Agreements called upon to stop sliding into a world war were easily crossed out, he added.
"History requires making conclusions and learning lessons but, regrettably, there are attempts to put much of the ideology of Nazis and those who were obsessed with the delusional theory of their exclusiveness into service again," the Russian president stressed.
Putin emphasized that the talk was not only about various radicals and groupings of international terrorists. "Today we observe a gathering of diehard castigators, their followers, attempts to rewrite history, justify traitors and criminals who have their hands soaked in the blood of hundreds of thousands of civilians," Putin stated.
The year 2021 marks 80 years since the beginning of the Soviet Union’s Great Patriotic War, the Russian leader recalled. Putin stressed that June 22, 1941 was one of the most tragic dates in the country’s history.
"The enemy attacked our country, came to our land to kill, sow death and pain, horror and innumerable sufferings. It wanted not only to overthrow the political order and the Soviet system but to destroy us as a state, as a nation, wipe our peoples off the face of the earth," the Russian leader said.
As Putin added, "a common, formidable and unconquerable feeling of the resolve to repel the aggression, do the utmost to rout the enemy and ensure that the criminals and killers face inevitable and fair punishment was a response to the invasion by the Nazi hordes."
Victory Day
The Soviet people defended its Motherland and liberated the peoples of Europe from fascism and passed an historic verdict on Nazism by the might of weapons on battlefields, the strength of its moral rightness, the sacrificed courage of soldiers’ mothers, faithfulness of those who waited for news from the front from their relatives every day and the strength of love for one’s neighbor inherent in the Russian character, Putin said.
Russia will firmly safeguard its national interests and ensure the security of the Russian people, Putin said. "Russia is consistently safeguarding international law. At the same time, we will firmly safeguard our national interests and ensure the security of our people," the Russian leader stressed.
As the head of the Russian state pointed out, "this is reliably guaranteed by Russia’s valiant armed forces, the heirs of the soldiers of the Victory." "And, of course, [this is guaranteed by] our joint work for the benefit of developing the country, for the sake of the well-being of Russian families."
As the Russian leader recalled, "each family sacredly keeps the memory of those who secured the Victory." "And we will always be proud of their feat," Putin stressed.
War veterans, their destinies and their faithfulness to the Motherland are an example for Russians, "a peak we should aspire for," the Russian leader remarked.
Putin emphasized the importance of keeping the significance and the value of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War "in one’s thoughts and actions, deeds and future achievements for the sake of the Fatherland.".
The Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in the 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War was an event of enormous importance for the destinies of the entire world, Russian President said.
The Russian leader vowed that the country would always remember the feat of the Soviet people who fought against the enemy one on one during the most difficult period of the war.
Speaking at the Victory Day Parade, the Russian leader congratulated the Russians on Victory Day - "the victory of enormous, historical significance for the destinies of the entire world, on the holiday that was, is and will be sacred for Russia and its people.".
"It is our holiday by the right of kinship with those who routed, broke and crushed the enemy and it is ours by the right of the heirs of the generation of victors, the generation we respect and are proud of," Putin stressed.
"We bow before your courage and the strength of spirit and thank you for the immortal example of unity and love for the Motherland. You proved that it is possible to achieve the seemingly impossible only together. You defeated the ruthless enemy, defended your homes, children and the home land. You won an unconditional Victory over Nazism and glorified May 9, 1945 in centuries," the Russian leader said, addressing war veterans.
"We will always remember that it was the Soviet people that accomplished this great feat in the most difficult time of the war, in decisive battles that shaped the outcome of the struggle against fascism. Our people was alone, alone on the arduous, heroic and sacrificial path to victory and fought to the bitter end on all the frontiers, in the cruelest battles on the ground, at sea and in the sky," Putin stressed.
