Rais of Tatarstan: Our country paid devastating and grievous losses for the Great Victory

On 9 May the Rais (Head) of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov, the State Counselor of the republic Mintimer Shaimiev, the Chairman of the State Council of the republic Farid Mukhametshin, the regional Prime Minister Aleksey Pesoshin, the Mayor of Kazan Ilsur Metshin and WWIII veterans and homefront workers and heroes of the special military operation took part in the event dedicated to the 79th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War (WWII) with the parade of the Kazan Garrison on the Millennium Square in Kazan.

After bringing state flags of Russia and Tatarstan to the Square and listening to the video broadcast of the speech of Russian President Vladimir Putin from Moscow, Rustam Minnikhanov congratulated participants of the event with the 79th anniversary of the Victory and said: “The Victory Day is the most important holiday which the closest for each Russian citizen. Our country paid devastating and grievous losses for the Great Victory.27 million of the fallen is a horrible number, which finds a painful response in each of our hearts and today we are paying homage and respect to all those who gave their lives for peace and life on the planet.

As many as 700 thousand people went to the front only from Tatarstan and half of them did not come back. We will never forget the immortal feat of our people.”

He stated the valuable contribution of homefront workers into the Victory and said that more than 70 industrial enterprises were evacuated to Kazan during the war. “Despite all hardships and ordeals of the war time our people stood strong and won! And today from the bottom of our hearts we thank dear veterans and homefront workers for the courage, unbroken will for the victory,” the Rais of the republic said.

“The Victory in the WWII brings together and unites people of our country. No matter how hard our enemies are trying to distort history, it is the Soviet soldier who defended freedom and independence of our Motherland, people of Europe and the whole world. We all owe a huge debt to our veterans. The sacred duty of our generation is to carefully pass the memory of defenders of the Fatherland and to preserve the historical truth preventing its misrepresentation.

Today our country once again has encountered the hardest test. Our glorious warriors under command of Russian President Vladimir Putin courageously continue the deed of victorious generation fighting for the sovereignty and the future of our country. We are proud of you and believe the Victory will be ours!” Rustam Minnikhanov said.

In conclusion he congratulated veterans and everyone with the holiday and wished them good health and prosperity.

After the Honored Artist of Tatarstan Elmira Kalimullina performed national anthems of the Russian Federation and Tatarstan, the Kazan Garrison and military school cadets marched across the square.

Legendary tanks Т-34 and ИС-3, the self-propelled artillery unit СУ-100, the floating conveyor ПТ-76, armored personnel carriers, the БМ-13 “Katyusha” launcher and retro cars closed the parade.