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Dear veterans, Mr Lukashenko, friends.

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Today we are paying tribute to everybody who fought here,

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on the battlefields near Rzhev,

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who selflessly defended our Fatherland and gave their lives 

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for the Great Victory.

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Not so long ago, the battles near Rzhev were hardly ever mentioned 

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in official history sources.

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Direct participants only offered few scarce words about those events.

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It was too hard to remember that terrible Rzhev Meat 

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Grinder, as it is sometimes called.

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Fierce, exhausting and agonised fighting continued in this 

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area for months. Soldiers fought for every single grove,

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elevation, for every square metre of land.

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It is impossible to think about the Red Army’s losses 

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in those battles without pain. More than 1.

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3 million people were killed, injured or went missing.

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It is a horrifying, unthinkable number.

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The significance of that long and bloody battle for the Victory 

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of the Soviet people over Nazism is huge.

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The Soviet Army finally made it clear that the enemy will not be able 

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to turn around and advance the attack on Moscow again;

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nor will it be able to break and subjugate the people who stood up 

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for their Motherland’s defence.

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Every time a soldier fell, another one rose up behind him.

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The unbelievable intensity of that battle exhausted the enemy,

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crushed and slowly destroyed the giant military machine 

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of the Third Reich.

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Step by step, day after day, the battles near Rzhev brought closer 

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the triumphant outcome of the Battle of Stalingrad and the long-awaited 

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breaking of the Leningrad Siege, the liberation of Byelorussia,

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Ukraine and Baltic countries – and the final and critical change 

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in the course of the entire Second World War.

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We will always remember the high price the Soviet people paid 

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for the Victory, the brunt borne and repelled by the Red Army where 

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representatives of all Soviet republics and ethnicities 

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fought side by side. More than 8.

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5 million Red Army soldiers never returned home;

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they perished in battle, in captivity or died 

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in hospitals – and this statistic is not yet final.

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The Rzhev Memorial is another symbol of our common memory,

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the symbol of our worship for the great and selfless heroic deed 

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of the hero soldier, the liberator soldier, the winner soldier,

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the soldier who saved Europe and the entire world from Nazism.

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Time has no grip over this deed and it cannot and must not be forgotten 

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or erased or besmirched by lies and falsifications.

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We will not let this happen.

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Lives destroyed by the war will always remain with us like an open 

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wound. Like now, the valour and stamina of our fathers,

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grandfathers and great grandfathers as well as their endless love 

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and loyalty to their Motherland will serve as an essential 

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moral guidance for us.

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We have to be worthy of this highest moral standard in our deeds 

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and activities today and protect and preserve the historical truth like 

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a living thread that unites generations both in Russia and abroad.

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My warmest thanks to the search teams who return names to the fallen 

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soldiers and a piece of family history to their families 

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and descendants. These searches must continue here,

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on this long-suffering land.

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I would like to thank everyone who took part in establishing this 

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memorial, the organisations of the Union State of Russia and Belarus 

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as well as our people who gave donations for the creation 

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of the memorial, the Russian Military and Historical Society and,

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of course, our talented designers. They all have done a wonderful job.

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Everyone who fought near Rzhev passed through inhuman ordeals,

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fought to the bitter end for more than a year and did 

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everything they could for Victory.

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Our sacred duty is to respect and remember every hero.

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It was a matter of honour and conscience to immortalise 

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their heroic deeds.

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My deepest gratitude to all the soldiers and commanders.

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Glory to the heroes of Rzhev, the soldiers of the Great Patriotic War 

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and eternal memory to the fallen.

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Mr Putin,

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Veterans, compatriots and friends.

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War always brings blood, horror and death.

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In its inhumane and violent reality,

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there are frontiers defending which means unbelievable sacrifice.

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Rzhev was one such frontier because the capital of our Motherland 

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and our entire great country was behind it.

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The soil here was on fire; stones were melting and armour was 

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crumbling. But Soviet soldiers did not surrender.

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They fought hand to hand against the enemy.

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When they ran out of bullets, they bled to death on the snow 

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in the bitter cold but stood to the last man.

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Hundreds of thousands of heroes perished near Rzhev and for every 

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single one of them, it was the last foot of home land –

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the same that the Brest Fortress, the Neva Bridgehead near Leningrad,

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the Buinichi Field near Mogilev and Mamayev Kurgan 

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in Stalingrad was for other warriors.

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Today we are unveiling a memorial to the soldiers that represented all 

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peoples of the Soviet Union.

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We are repaying our filial duty, a duty of blessed memory.

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As long as we build memorials, as long as we visit them,

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we will not fight again and will be able to prevent another 

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horrible tragedy. As soon as we forget the road to these sacred places,

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we will certainly have to start fighting.

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This is the significance of our actions on these blessed occasions.

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I would like to join the President of Russia in expressing gratitude 

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to the creators of this monumental memorial.

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I also want to thank the Russian leadership,

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the Standing Committee of the Union State and the Tver Region 

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Government, the Russian Military History Society,

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the creative team and every member of the public who 

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contributed to building this memorial.

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Unveiling this memorial as well as the festivities in the Russian 

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capital last week, the memorial rally at the Brest Fortress 

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and the Victory Day parade in Minsk on May 9 once again demonstrated 

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that these Victory, memory and glory belong to both of our countries 

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and we will continue to cherish them.

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They are the connection between the times and the generations,

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the invisible line that connects the hearts of all the peoples who 

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fought in that horrible war, especially Belarusians and Russians.

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With deep gratitude, we bow to the courage and tenacity of everybody 

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who gave their lives for the freedom of the present 

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and future generations.

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I am confident that the Soviet Soldier Memorial near Rzhev will always 

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be a symbol of unbreakable friendship between Russia and Belarus,

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and a place of our common pride and admiration for the heroism of our 

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grandfathers and great-grandfathers.

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We will not let anybody disparage the Great Victory,

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distort the truth about those events and rehabilitate Nazism.

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Otherwise, the same tragedy may happen again.

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Belarus and Russia sacrificed millions of their people for the peace 

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on this planet and we are absolutely united in this aspiration.

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Dear veterans of the Great Patriotic War,

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You demonstrated an example of unparalleled courage, patriotism,

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love for freedom and moral strength to the entire world.

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We bow down before your immortal heroism, valour,

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bravery and loyalty to the Fatherland.

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On this glorious day, allow me to wish all Belarusians and Russians 

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good health, longevity and prosperity.

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Most importantly, I wish that the sky over your heads remains peaceful,

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which is why we always gather to mark this celebration.

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Lest we forget our fallen heroes!