WEBVTT

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Fellow Russian citizens,

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Dear veterans,

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Comrade soldiers and seamen, 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 has always been sacred.

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It was the feeling of true patriotism 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, Kiev and Minsk,

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Stalingrad and Kursk, 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 as a triumph 

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of the united Soviet people, 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 

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of the heroes march in an endless flow of the Immortal Regiment.

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They carry photos of their family members, 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, 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 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 and indivisible security system which is critically needed for the entire international community.

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Last December we proposed signing a treaty on security guarantees.

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Russia urged the West to hold an honest dialogue in search 

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for meaningful and compromising solutions, and to take account of each other’s interests. 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. And we saw it.

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Another punitive operation in Donbass,

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an invasion of our historic lands, 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 on the territories adjacent to us.

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Thus, an absolutely unacceptable threat to us 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 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 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 the cynical falsifications 

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of World War II history, escalating Russophobia, praising traitors,

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mocking their victims’ memory 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 were actually forbidden to do so.

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But I want them to know: 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 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 Nikolai Vatutin,

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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 who lost 

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their lives in the Great Patriotic War, the memories of the sons,

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daughters, fathers, mothers, grandfathers, husbands, wives, brothers,

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sisters, relatives and friends.

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We bow our heads to the memory of the Odessa martyrs who were burned 

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alive in the House of Trade Unions in May 2014,

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to the memory of the old people,

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women and children of Donbass who were killed in atrocious and barbaric shelling by neo-Nazis.

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We bow our heads to our fighting comrades who died a brave death 

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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 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,

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enterprises and public organisations will do everything to wrap such 

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families in care and help them.

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Special support will be given 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 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 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, are standing now shoulder-to-shoulder here, on Red Square.

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We remember how Russia’s enemies tried to use international terrorist gangs against us, 

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how they tried to seed inter-ethnic and religious 

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strife 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 what your fathers,

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grandfathers and great-grandfathers fought for.

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The wellbeing and security of their Motherland was their 

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top priority in life.

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Loyalty to our Fatherland is the main value and a reliable foundation 

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of Russia’s independence for us, their successors, too.

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Those who crushed Nazism during the Great Patriotic War showed us 

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an example of heroism for all ages.

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This is the generation of victors, and we will always look up to them.

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Glory to our heroic Armed Forces!

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For Russia! For Victory!

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Hooray!