#2
BBC Monitoring
Putin appeals to Russians' sense of patriotism on eve of Victory Day
Source: Channel One TV, Moscow, in Russian 1400 gmt 8 May 03

[Presenter] President Vladimir Putin visited the hero city of Tula today. He familiarized himself with the instrument-building design bureau, which is a leading enterprise in the field of developing and manufacturing high-precision weapons.

The head of state visited an exhibition hall where he was told about the history of the enterprise and its weapons which played a noticeable role in the battles of the Great Fatherland War [World War II]. He was also briefed on the current state of affairs. The general designer of the enterprise told the president about some examples of high-precision weapons made here.

After his visit to the design bureau, Putin met veterans of the Great Fatherland War.

[Putin] Tomorrow we will mark the most popular remembrance festival in our country, Victory Day. Every Russian household will mark it and every Russian family because in fact every Russian family knows about the war not just from other people's stories and not only from books or films - in reality, every Russian family knows about the war because their next of kin, their friends and acquaintances were affected, because the 1941-1945 war came to every Russian family, to every family in the former Soviet Union.

Fifty-eight years ago victory was achieved that would last for many years after the war. It was an incredibly difficult and heroic battle. Not only did we stop the war there and then we also liberated the world from Fascism.

Victory Day is both a day of joy and a day of mourning. We mourn those who gave their lives in the name of freedom, in our name, the name of those who are alive today. It is the sacred duty of every Russian citizen to cherish the memory of this great feat, to respect it as a story of bravery, immense patriotism and strength of spirit.

The war had many great battles, heroic conflicts and heroic fighting. Here, near Tula, the Fascists' plan to bypass Moscow from the south was stopped, the enemy was thwarted - but the war continued for several more years and the people of Tula selflessly worked at the rear, supporting the soldiers at the front by their words and actions.

We recalled this at our meeting with veterans today. They worked at plants, factories and hospitals. Women and the elderly, as well as teenagers, manned workshops. Many of the children of that war are present here in the audience today. You dug out trenches, fought bravely in partisan battalions and guerrilla detachments. You, too, have your own experience of the war and your own memories of it. It is important that your children and your grandchildren know about the war and that they can pass this memory on to other generations.

In those difficult years our people defended their history and culture. Today and tomorrow songs about the Great Fatherland War will be performed. Truly, these songs appeal to the very depths of our souls. I do not think it was possible to write such songs purely to order. Poets and composers literally put their hearts into creating these songs.

On Victory Day we are so close to the painful realities of the war and we understand what it really means to love one's motherland and one's country, one's people and one's homeland.

Dear friends, Victory Day does not simply unite us. We understand how much the different generations of people in our country have in common. We remember that we are all children of one Fatherland, of Russia. Congratulations on the holiday, on Victory Day.

[Presenter] We have just learned that the president has returned from Tula to Moscow.

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