Fellow citizens of Russia,
Dear veterans,
Distinguished guests,
Comrade soldiers and seamen, sergeants
and sergeant majors, midshipmen and warrant officers,
Comrade officers, generals and admirals,
I congratulate you all on the 70th Anniversary
of Victory in the Great Patriotic War!
Today, when we mark this sacred anniversary, we once
again appreciate the enormous scale of Victory over Nazism. We are
proud that it was our fathers and grandfathers who succeeded
in prevailing over, smashing and destroying that dark force.
Hitler’s reckless adventure became a tough lesson
for the entire world community. At that time,
in the 1930s, the enlightened Europe failed to see
the deadly threat in the Nazi ideology.
Today, seventy years later, the history calls again
to our wisdom and vigilance. We must not forget that the ideas
of racial supremacy and exclusiveness had provoked the bloodiest
war ever. The war affected almost 80 percent of the world
population. Many European nations were enslaved and occupied.
The Soviet Union bore the brunt
of the enemy’s attacks. The elite Nazi forces were brought
to bear on it. All their military power was concentrated against it.
And all major decisive battles of World War II, in terms
of military power and equipment involved, had been waged there.
And it is no surprise that it was the Red Army
that, by taking Berlin in a crushing attack, hit the final
blow to Hitler’s Germany finishing the war.
Our entire multi-ethnic nation rose to fight
for our Motherland’s freedom. Everyone bore the severe burden
of the war. Together, our people made an immortal exploit
to save the country. They predetermined the outcome
of World War II. They liberated European nations from the Nazis.
Veterans of the Great Patriotic War, wherever
they live today, should know that here, in Russia, we highly value their
fortitude, courage and dedication to frontline brotherhood.
Dear friends,
The Great Victory will always remain a heroic
pinnacle in the history of our country. But we also pay tribute
to our allies in the anti-Hitler coalition.
We are grateful to the peoples of Great
Britain, France and the United States of America for their
contribution to the Victory. We are thankful
to the anti-fascists of various countries who selflessly fought
the enemy as guerrillas and members of the underground
resistance, including in Germany itself.
We remember the historical meeting
on the Elbe, and the trust and unity that became our
common legacy and an example of unification
of peoples – for the sake of peace and stability.
It is precisely these values that became
the foundation of the post-war world order. The United
Nations came into existence. And the system of the modern
international law has emerged.
These institutions have proved in practice their
effectiveness in resolving disputes and conflicts.
However, in the last decades, the basic
principles of international cooperation have come to be increasingly
ignored. These are the principles that have been hard won by mankind
as a result of the ordeal of the war.
We saw attempts to establish a unipolar world.
We see the strong-arm block thinking gaining momentum. All that undermines
sustainable global development.
The creation of a system of equal
security for all states should become our common task. Such system should
be an adequate match to modern threats, and it should rest
on a regional and global non-block basis. Only then will we be
able to ensure peace and tranquility on the planet.
Dear friends,
We welcome today all our foreign guests while expressing
a particular gratitude to the representatives
of the countries that fought against Nazism and Japanese
militarism.
Besides the Russian servicemen, parade units
of ten other states will march through the Red Square as well.
These include soldiers from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Their forefathers fought shoulder
to shoulder both at the front and in the rear.
These also include servicemen from China, which, just
like the Soviet Union, lost many millions of people in this war.
China was also the main front in the fight against militarism
in Asia.
Indian soldiers fought courageously against
the Nazis as well.
Serbian troops also offered strong and relentless
resistance to the fascists.
Throughout the war our country received strong
support from Mongolia.
These parade ranks include grandsons
and great-grandsons of the war generation. The Victory Day
is our common holiday. The Great Patriotic War was in fact
the battle for the future of the entire humanity.
Our fathers and grandfathers lived through
unbearable sufferings, hardships and losses. They worked till exhaustion,
at the limit of human capacity. They fought even unto death.
They proved the example of honour and true patriotism.
We pay tribute to all those who fought
to the bitter end for every street, every house and every
frontier of our Motherland. We bow to those who perished
in severe battles near Moscow and Stalingrad, at the Kursk
Bulge and on the Dnieper.
We bow to those who died from famine and cold
in the unconquered Leningrad, to those who were tortured
to death in concentration camps, in captivity and under
occupation.
We bow in loving memory of sons, daughters,
fathers, mothers, grandfathers, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters,
comrades-in-arms, relatives and friends – all those who never came
back from war, all those who are no longer with us.
A minute of silence is announced.
Minute of silence.
Dear veterans,
You are the main heroes of the Great
Victory Day. Your feat predestined peace and decent life for many
generations. It made it possible for them to create and move
forward fearlessly.
And today your children, grandchildren
and great-grandchildren live up to the highest standards that
you set.
They work for the sake of their country’s present
and future. They serve their Fatherland with devotion. They respond
to complex challenges of the time with honour. They guarantee
the successful development, might and prosperity of our Motherland,
our Russia!
Long live the victorious people!
Happy holiday!
Congratulations on the Victory Day!
Hooray!
Source: The Vineyard
of the Saker 10-05-2015
