The President of Russia

01/18/2023 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 01/18/2023 06:57

Meeting with Great Patriotic War veterans, residents of besieged Leningrad and representatives of patriotic public associations

Before the meeting, Vladimir Putin toured the Spark of the Leningrad Victory exhibition in the company of Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Northwestern Federal District Alexander Gutsan Gutsan AlexanderPresidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Northwestern Federal Districtand St Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov Beglov AlexanderGovernor of St Petersburg.

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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon.

First of all, I would like to address the veterans and to congratulate you on the landmark event, namely, the 80th anniversary of breaking the siege of Leningrad. This is a major event for all of us - not only for the people of Leningrad, not only for the city, or for the heroic defenders and residents of besieged Leningrad, but for the entire country.

We have just talked with the city leadership about what happened during the most difficult months of the defence of Leningrad, about the heroism of its defenders and what city residents did to bring about victory over the enemy. All of that will always be remembered by our citizens, and we must ensure that future generations know about and cherish the memory of that page in our history.

I would like to once again sincerely congratulate you on this event. Representatives of different generations, including grey-haired veterans and young people, sufficiently young, at any rate, are present here. It is very good to have such a line-up here today.

I do not want to make any lengthy opening remarks because this is not the right occasion. I would like to listen to what you have to say about what the state and municipal authorities are doing to perpetuate the memory of all those who took part in defending the Motherland during the Great Patriotic War. This will allow us to make any adjustments and to implement some additional measures in this field.

Congratulations on the 80th anniversary of breaking the siege of Leningrad.

Go ahead, please, I will be happy to hear you out.

To be continued.

Publication status

Published in sections: News, Transcripts

Publication date: January 18, 2023, 13:45

Direct link: en.kremlin.ru/d/70367

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