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President of Russia Vladimir Putin:
Fellow Russian citizens,
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Dear veterans,
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Comrade soldiers and seamen,
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sergeants and sergeant majors,
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midshipmen and warrant officers,
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Comrade officers, generals and admirals,
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I congratulate you
on the Day of Great Victory!
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The defence of our Motherland
when its destiny was at stake
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has always been sacred.
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It was the feeling of true patriotism
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that Minin and Pozharsky’s militia
stood up for the Fatherland,
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soldiers went on the offensive
at the Borodino Field
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and fought the enemy
outside Moscow and Leningrad,
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Kiev and Minsk,
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Stalingrad and Kursk,
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Sevastopol and Kharkov.
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Today, as in the past, you are fighting
for our people in Donbass,
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for the security of our Motherland,
for Russia.
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May 9, 1945 has been enshrined
in world history forever
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as a triumph of the united Soviet people,
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its cohesion and spiritual power,
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an unparalleled feat on the front lines
and on the home front.
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Victory Day is intimately dear
to all of us.
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There is no family in Russia that was
not burnt by the Great Patriotic War.
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Its memory never fades.
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On this day, children, grandchildren
and great-grandchildren of the heroes
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march in an endless flow
of the Immortal Regiment.
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They carry photos of their family members,
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the fallen soldiers
who remained young forever,
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and the veterans who are already gone.
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We take pride in the unconquered
courageous generation of the victors,
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we are proud of being their successors,
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and it is our duty to preserve
the memory of those who defeated Nazism
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and entrusted us with being vigilant
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and doing everything to thwart
the horror of another global war.
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Therefore, despite all controversies
in international relations,
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Russia has always advocated
the establishment of an equal
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and indivisible security system
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which is critically needed
for the entire international community.
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Last December we proposed signing
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a treaty on security guarantees.
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Russia urged the West
to hold an honest dialogue
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in search for meaningful
and compromising solutions,
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and to take account
of each other’s interests.
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All in vain.
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NATO countries did not want to heed us,
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which means they had
totally different plans.
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And we saw it.
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Another punitive operation in Donbass,
an invasion of our historic lands,
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including Crimea,
was openly in the making.
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Kiev declared that it could
attain nuclear weapons.
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The NATO bloc launched
an active military build-up
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on the territories adjacent to us.
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Thus, an absolutely
unacceptable threat to us
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was steadily being created
right on our borders.
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There was every indication that
a clash with neo-Nazis and Banderites
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backed by the United States
and their minions was unavoidable.
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Let me repeat, we saw the military
infrastructure being built up,
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hundreds of foreign advisors
starting work,
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and regular supplies
of cutting-edge weaponry
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being delivered from NATO countries.
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The threat grew every day.
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Russia launched a pre-emptive
strike at the aggression.
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It was a forced, timely
and the only correct decision.
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A decision by a sovereign,
strong and independent country.
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The United States began
claiming their exceptionalism,
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particularly after the collapse
of the Soviet Union,
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thus denigrating not just the entire world
but also their satellites,
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who have to pretend
not to see anything,
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and to obediently put up with it.
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But we are a different country.
Russia has a different character.
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We will never give up our love
for our Motherland,
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our faith and traditional values,
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our ancestors’ customs
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and respect for all peoples and cultures.
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Meanwhile, the West seems to be set
to cancel these millennia-old values.
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Such moral degradation underlies
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the cynical falsifications
of World War II history,
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escalating Russophobia, praising traitors,
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mocking their victims’ memory
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and crossing out the courage of those
who won the Victory through suffering.
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We are aware that US veterans who wanted
to come to the parade in Moscow
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were actually forbidden to do so.
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But I want them to know:
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We are proud of your deeds
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and your contribution
to our common Victory.
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We honour all soldiers
of the allied armies –
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the Americans, the English,
the French, Resistance fighters,
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brave soldiers and partisans in China –
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all those who defeated
Nazism and militarism.
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Comrades,
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Donbass militia alongside
with the Russian Army
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are fighting on their land today,
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where princes Svyatoslav
and Vladimir Monomakh’s retainers,
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solders under the command
of Rumyantsev and Potemkin,
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Suvorov and Brusilov
crushed their enemies,
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where Great Patriotic War heroes
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Nikolai Vatutin, Sidor Kovpak
and Lyudmila Pavlichenko stood to the end.
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I am addressing our Armed Forces
and Donbass militia.
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You are fighting
for our Motherland, its future,
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so that nobody forgets
the lessons of World War II,
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so that there is no place in the world
for torturers, death squads and Nazis.
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Today, we bow our heads
to the sacred memory of all those
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who lost their lives
in the Great Patriotic War,
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the memories of the sons, daughters,
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fathers, mothers, grandfathers,
husbands, wives,
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brothers, sisters, relatives and friends.
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We bow our heads
to the memory of the Odessa martyrs
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who were burned alive
in the House of Trade Unions in May 2014,
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to the memory of the old people,
women and children of Donbass
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who were killed in atrocious
and barbaric shelling by neo-Nazis.
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We bow our heads to our fighting comrades
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who died a brave death
in the righteous battle – for Russia.
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I declare a minute of silence.
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(A minute of silence.)
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(The end of the minute of silence.)
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Comrades,
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The loss of each officer
and soldier is painful for all of us
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and an irretrievable loss
for the families and friends.
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The government, regional authorities,
enterprises and public organisations
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will do everything
to wrap such families in care
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and help them.
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Special support will be given
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to the children of the killed
and wounded comrades-in-arms.
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The Presidential Executive Order
to this effect was signed today.
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I wish a speedy recovery
to the wounded soldiers and officers,
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and I thank doctors, paramedics, nurses
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and staff of military hospitals
for their selfless work.
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Our deepest gratitude goes to you
for saving each life,
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oftentimes sparing
no thought for yourselves
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under shelling on the frontlines.
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Comrades,
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Soldiers and officers from many regions
of our enormous Motherland,
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including those who arrived straight
from Donbass,
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from the combat area,
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are standing now shoulder-to-shoulder
here, on Red Square.
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We remember how Russia’s enemies
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tried to use international
terrorist gangs against us,
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how they tried to seed inter-ethnic
and religious strife
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so as to weaken us
from within and divide us.
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They failed completely.
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Today, our warriors of different
ethnicities are fighting together,
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shielding each other from bullets
and shrapnel like brothers.
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This is where the power of Russia lies,
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a great invincible power
of our united multi-ethnic nation.
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You are defending today
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what your fathers, grandfathers,
and great-grandfathers fought for.
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The wellbeing and security of their
Motherland was their top priority in life.
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Loyalty to our Fatherland
is the main value
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and a reliable foundation
of Russia’s independence for us,
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their successors, too.
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Those who crushed Nazism
during the Great Patriotic War
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showed us an example
of heroism for all ages.
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This is the generation of victors,
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and we will always look up to them.
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Glory to our heroic Armed Forces!
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For Russia!
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For Victory!
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Hooray!
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Military men: Hooray!
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Hooray!
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Hooray!
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(The anthem of the Russian Federation)
