Common Memory for Sake of Future: Conference Dedicated to 80th Anniversary of Victory in Great Patriotic War held in St. Petersburg

The plenary session opened the international conference "The Great Patriotic War in the Collective Memory of the Peoples of the Commonwealth: to the 80^th anniversary of Victory."

The Tavricheskiy Palace brought together representatives of government authorities, cultural, scientific and educational institutions, public associations and youth organizations of the CIS and other countries.

Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. Chairperson of the IPA CIS Council Valentina Matvienko sent greetings to the participants of the meeting.

In her opinion, the topic of the conference is particularly relevant in connection with the decision of the Council of the CIS Heads of State to declare 2025 the Year of the 80^th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War - the Year of Peace and Unity in the Fight against Nazism.

"Today, immoral and blasphemous attempts are being made in the states of the collective West to deny the decisive contribution of the USSR to the victory over Nazi Germany, to rehabilitate Nazi criminals and their accomplices, and to demolish and desecrate monuments to Soviet soldiers-liberators," the Speaker noted.

She recalled that the Appeal of the IPA CIS Council on the occasion of the 80^th anniversary of the Victory emphasized that eighty years ago the Soviet people achieved a common Victory over a common enemy. The Great Victory united the nations, and the present and future generations not only have the right, but also are obliged to be proud of it.

The Speaker is confident that the conference will contribute to the joint efforts of the CIS countries and other states to resist attempts to falsify the history of the Second World War, preserve the memory of the dead and missing soldiers and civilians of the Soviet Union, spread truthful information about the military brotherhood and labor feat of the Soviet people in the name of liberating the world from the Nazi threat, as well as strengthen patriotism among young people.

Valentina Matvienko's greeting was voiced by Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Konstantin Kosachev.

Chair of the Supreme Council of the Kyrgyz Republic, member of the IPA CIS Council in 1992-1995, Hero of the Kyrgyz Republic Medetkan Sherimkulov delivered a welcoming speech.

In his opinion, the work of the Assembly is the key to preserving the truth and strengthening mutual understanding between the countries of the Commonwealth.

"Our inter-parliamentary community, established in 1992, serves the world today. And I hope that this cooperation, based on our common memory, will preserve the truth about the war and strengthen trust between our peoples. We must not allow our history to be rewritten."

Medetkan Sherimkulov recalled that Kyrgyzstan made a significant contribution to the overall Victory during the war: the republic mobilized more than 360,000 people and received about 150,000 evacuees on its territory.

The greeting was sent by Director General of the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Library Yuri Nosov.

There were also greetings from Secretary General of the CIS Sergey Lebedev and Chair of the St. Petersburg Public Organization of Veterans of War, Labor, the Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies Vasily Volobuev.

More than 500 people from 19 countries have registered to participate in the conference, Konstantin Kosachev said.

The Deputy Speaker positively noted the efforts of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly to preserve common historical memory and coordinate the actions of parliamentarians in this area. He also recalled the adoption of the resolution "The Eightieth Anniversary of the end of World War II" at a meeting of the UN General Assembly in March this year. The initiators of this document include the CIS countries. The resolution on combating the glorification of Nazism, which was co-sponsored by the Commonwealth of Independent States, has traditionally received support from the international community.

"These are the steps that we are jointly taking in the international arena to protect the memory of our grandfathers and fathers, to prevent their Feat from being forgotten and desecrated, and to destroy monuments to the liberating soldiers," the Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council stressed.

Director of the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Maria Zakharova called the revival of Nazism in the form of Nazi symbols and propaganda on social networks the most important problem. It is necessary to actively work with young people, create modern educational content and strengthen the legal framework "so that in 10, 15, 25 years ... your grandchildren will know the truth," and thus ensure that the tragedy of the war does not happen again.

The program of the plenary session was extensive. The speakers comprehensively covered the issues on the agenda. The work of the conference continued in thematic sections.