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Ladies & Gentlemen, The President of the Russian Federation, His Excellency Dmitry Medvedev Please listen first to the Hymn of the Russian Federation. (downloading in progress - please wait ...) |
Memory of National Tragedies is as Sacred as the Memory of Victories
The Kremlin Moscow, October 30, 2009 PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA DMITRY MEDVEDEV: Today is the Remembrance Day of Victims of Political Repression. Eighteen years has passed since this day was inaugurated as such in our calendar. I am convinced that the memory of national tragedies is as sacred as the memory of victories. And it is extremely important that young people have not only historical knowledge but also civic spirit. That they be able to empathize with one of the greatest tragedies in the history of Russia. Regretfully, it is not always so. Two years ago, sociologists conducted a survey and nearly 90 percent of our young citizens aged 18 to 24, failed to name famous people who suffered or died during those years of repression. And this, of course, cannot but be disturbing. It is impossible to imagine now the scale of terror which affected all the peoples of our country and peaked in the years 1937-1938. The Volga river of people's grief, as Alexander Solzhenitsyn called it, the endless stream of repressed at that period. For twenty years before the World War II entire strata and classes of our society were eliminated. The Cossacks were virtually liquidated. The peasantry was expropriated (or 'dekulakised') and weakened. Intellectuals, workers and the military were subject to political persecution. Representatives of absolutely all religious faiths were subject to harassment. |
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October 30 is a Remembrance Day for millions of crippled destinies. For people who were shot without trial and without investigation, people who were sent to labour camps and exile, deprived of civil rights for having the 'wrong' occupation or 'improper social origin'. The label of 'enemies of the people' and 'accomplices' was then pasted on whole families.
Let's just think about it: millions of people died as a result of terror and false accusations – millions. They were deprived of all rights, even the right to a decent human burial; for years their names were simply erased from history. But even today you can still hear voices claiming that those innumerable victims were justified for some higher national purpose. I believe that no national progress, successes or ambitions can develop at the price of human misery and loss. Nothing can take precedence over the value of human life. And there is no excuse for repression. We pay a great deal of attention to the fight against the revisionist falsification of our history. Yet somehow I often feel that we are merely talking about the falsification of the events of the Great Patriotic War. But it is equally important not to sanction, under the guise of restoring historical justice, any justification of those who destroyed our people. It is true that Stalin's crimes cannot diminish the heroic deeds of the people who triumphed in the Great Patriotic War, who made our country a mighty industrial power, and who raised our industry, science and culture to top global standards. The ability to accept one's past for what it is, is the mark of mature civic culture. It is equally important to study the past and to speak out against indifference and the desire to forget its tragic aspects. And we can only do this ourselves. A year ago in September I was in Magadan where the Memorial Mask of Sorrow by Ernst Neizvestny made a deep impression on me. It was built not only with public funds but also with donations. We need such commemorative centres to pass on the memory of historical experiences from generation to generation. Of course we should continue to work to find mass graves, recover the names of the victims and when necessary to ensure their vindication. I know that subscribers to my blog are very concerned about this topic. Without an understanding of our complex history, of the contradictory history of our country, we cannot grasp the roots of many of our problems and the difficulties of today's Russia. But once again I would like to say: only we can resolve these problems. We need to bring up our children and foster their respect for the law, for human rights, the value of human life, and moral standards which originate in our national traditions and our religion. Only we can preserve this historical memory and pass it on to future generations. | ||
HYMN OF THE SOVIET UNION
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR),Russian: Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik (SSSR)), also called Soviet Union , Sov¨etsky Soy¨uz), was a state in much of the northern region of Eurasia that existed from 1922 until 1991. The list of republics in the Soviet Union varied over the time. In its final years it consisted of 15 Soviet Socialist Republics (S.S.R.'s). Russia was by far the largest Republic in the Soviet Union, dominating in nearly all respects: land area, population, economic output, and political influence. The territory of the Soviet Union also varied, and in its most recent times approximately corresponded to that of the late Imperial Russia, with notable exclusions of Poland and Finland. The political organization of the country was defined by the only recognized political party, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. History of the Soviet Union |
| Former Soviet Republics | Commonwealth of Independent StatesCIS |
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| About this site: This site is mainly about the heroic people of the former Soviet Union. The Tragedy of the Soviet Union is a sample of giant proportions how oppression once unleashed on small scale will grow into a fullfledged police state, depriving its citizens of basic freedom and self-development of talents and intellect, necessary for growth into a healthy nation. The 1917 revolution and the brutal , rutheless killing of the Royal Russian Family fore-boded reign by fear and force. People need and seek freedom at all costs ! Tyranny , Despotism and brutal force is doomed to downfall in the longrun ! A people can only unfold its full potentional in freedom and happiness !! We look to the Russian Federation and the Commonwealth of Independent States, CIS, to finally bring about that freedom and happiness the Russian and Asian peoples so richly deserve !!! |
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All Rights reserved - 2004-2010 - Disclaimer: Illustration Site ! Reg.pending SUHIS CCCP - USSR assumes no responsiblity for external link content. SUHIS CCCP - USSR - Soviet Union Historical Society is a Division of the RHIO (PMOH) - Russian Heritage Intl Org.- Moscow SUHIS CCCP - USSR is neither a member nor an affilate of any communist party, nor adopts its programs. SUHIS CCCP - USSR distances itself from fiery rethoric still used in some communist/non-communist circles and advocates a moderate and tolerant democratic approach. SUHIS CCCP - USSR has its own moderate, peaceful, non-political agenda and is not bound by party forums and platforms etc. SUHIS CCCP - USSR sees its role as mediator, facilitator and objective historian. SUHIS CCCP-USSR Soviet Union Historical Society - RHIO (PMOH) - Russian Heritage Intl Org. Headoffice |
