Д.Медведев.Церемония награждения ветеранов ВОВ.Part 1

Speech at Ceremony Awarding Decorations to Veterans of the Great Patriotic War.Part 1
December 4, 2009
The Kremlin, Moscow

Церемония награждения ветеранов Великой Отечественной войны.
4 декабря 2009 года
Москва, Кремль

PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA DMITRY MEDVEDEV: Dear friends, dear veterans,

It is a great pleasure to see you here today in the Kremlins St George Hall. This hall celebrates our military glory and everything here bears witness to our forebears military feats.

This official ceremony today marks the first occasion at which the medals commemorating 65 years since victory in the 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War are being awarded. Our country followed a very long and difficult road to this victory. The Battle of Moscow took place at precisely this time, during these December days, and still to come were the long years of war, great hardship and loss, but you stood firm, knowing that the countrys fate was in your hands, and nothing could break your spirit and your determination to liberate your homeland.

Next year, 2010, has been declared Year of the Veterans in the Commonwealth of Independent States. It will take place under the slogan We Won Together! Our peoples made a common and indivisible contribution to this victory. This anniversary medal is being awarded not only to veterans from Russia but also from the CIS countries, as well as to citizens of other countries, who fought Nazism together with our countrys people.

The young generations need to know (and know well) about our countrys feats in the World War II. In this respect, your personal accounts, dear veterans, are the most precious and important piece of historical truth. We place great value on veterans organisations involvement in giving our young people a patriotic upbringing. I want to thank you all for continuing this work.

It is the states duty to look after our veterans and guarantee their welfare every single day. I announced already that, on my instruction, changes were made to the law and it is now possible to provide all veterans in need with housing regardless of whether or not they have filed an official request. The federal budget for 2010 allocates substantial sums of money for various social benefits. Although the global financial crisis has put the budget under some constraint, all of our social obligations to you, dear veterans, will be carried out in full.

I want to stress at the same time that all of these state support measures cannot substitute for the genuine care that we, Russian society, need to display as a whole, and not just from time to time, when anniversaries come around, important and fine occasions though they are, but in our ordinary everyday lives.

Dear friends, present here today are veterans of practically all the different battles in the war and members of partisan detachments. We have here veterans who took part in home defence groups and toiled in the rear, residents of blockaded Leningrad and former inmates of concentration camps. We never forget what you did for us, for your descendents, for your country and the entire world. Every medal awarded today pays tribute to the heroic destiny of a single individual, and the destiny of an entire generation of our countrys people.

I offer you my sincerest congratulations and wish good health and many long and active years of life.

http://www.kremlin.ru

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Дмитрий
• Медведев
• Dmitry
• Medvedev
• Kremlin
• Moscow
• President
• Russia
• Президент
• России
• Speech
• Ceremony
• Awarding
• Decorations
• Veterans
• Great
• Patriotic
• War
• Церемония
• награждения
• ветеранов
• Великой
• Отечественной
• войны