Tatarstan Prime Minister addresses Tatarstan residents on occasion of 71st anniversary of full liberation of Leningrad from Nazi siege

On January 27, Tatarstan Prime Minister Ildar Khalikov addressed Tatarstan residents on the occasion of the 71st  anniversary of full liberation of Leningrad from Nazi siege:

“Today we celebrate the 71st anniversary of full liberation of Leningrad from Nazi siege. This day has gone down in history of Russian military feat as Day of military glory.

The battle for Leningrad, which was the longest one during the Great Patriotic War, lasted approximately  900 days, and these days have become a symbol of Soviet people’s courage. Military historians remark that no city in the world gave as many lives for the victory throughout the history of wars as Leningrad did.

This year we celebrate a remarkable date, the 71st  anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. Victory Day became possible thanks to the heroism going far beyond human capacity. Our duty is to remember all people who managed to survive during those dreadful years, who defended and liberated the city, who ensured at the expenses of their lives the connection between the besieged city and the rest of the country via the “Road of Life”, and who were buried at Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery (mass graves of victims of the Siege of Leningrad).

It so happened that our people have always had to defend the native land from external threats. Spiritual firmness and devotion to the Motherland are the distinctive features of the Russians. We must be worthy of the memory of those people who secured freedom and well-being for their descendants at the expense of their own lives.

We must remember and venerate the heroes of those terrible days. Furthermore, we should do everything so that the events of 1941-1944 can be present to our minds and never happen again”.