St. Petersburg hosts 9th International Winners Forum 'Great Victory Gained by Unity'

The 9th International Winners Forum 'The Great Victory Gained by Unity' is taking place in St. Petersburg today. The event is attended by representatives of international agencies, employees of the Russian Presidential Administration, political, media and cultural figures of Russia, Abkhazia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Estonia and South Ossetia.

In the morning, the delegations laid wreaths to the Eternal Flame at the Mother-Motherland monument at the Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery, then the 'Great Victory gained by unity' and the memorial stone in honor of the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the Nazi siege in the square of Menshikovsky Prospect were solemnly laid.

The plenary session of the Presidential Library named after Boris Yeltsin was opened by the Special Representative of the Russian President for International Cultural Cooperation, Co-Chairman of the Board of the Intergovernmental Foundation for Educational, Scientific and Cultural Cooperation of the CIS (IFESCCO) Mikhail Shvydkoy, the correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza reported.

Acting Governor of St. Petersburg Alexander Beglov, head of the Office of the President of the Russian Federation for Interregional and Cultural relations with foreign countries Vladimir Chernov and Deputy Minister for the North Caucasus Arsen Gagloev welcomed the participants of the forum.

The plenary session was addressed by the Great Patriotic War veteran Vasily Vasetsky, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Russia, Chairman of the Board of the IFESCCO Polad Bulbul oglu, President of the Kyrgyz Academy of Sciences Murat Jumataev, Executive Secretary of the Search Engine of Russia Elena Tsunaeva, head of the Center for Globalization Problems ( Georgia) Alexander Chachia and People's Artist of the Russian Federation Ivan Krasko.

Russian Deputy Minister for North Caucasus Affairs Sergey Chebotarev's welcoming statement was read out by his deputy Arsen Gagloev.

In the course of the forum, its participants and guests will be able to get familiar with the materials of the exhibition 'Realized Memory: Defence and Siege of Leningrad in Museum Expositions. Marking the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the Nazi siege.'

At 14:00, four sessions will open: 'Unity of the front and rear is the foundation of the Great Victory!' (moderated by the head of the International Council of the Association of Researchers of the Russian Society Gennady Bordyugov and Associate Professor of the Department of History and Cultural Studies of the Kyrgyz-Russian (Slavonic) University Pavel Dyatlenko); 'Searching means remembering' (moderated by Elena Tsunaeva and the chairman of the National Coordination Committee Victory, head of the Russian Historical-Patriotic Club Alexei Petrovich); 'Countering the falsification of history in the modern media space' (moderated by director of the Directorate of multimedia centers at the Russia Today Information Agency Andrei Blagodyrenko); "Let those living remember - the generations know' (moderated by chairman of the National Youth Council of CIS Grigory Petushkov and chairman of the "Belarusian Youth Organization Committee" Pavel Alekso).

The following resolution is expected to be adopted by the end of the forum:

On the eve of Victory Day and on the anniversary of the 75th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the Nazi siege, we, participants of the 9th International Winners Forum 'The Great Victory Gained by Unity', met in St. Petersburg, which has became a symbol of courage, resilience, unbending strength of spirit and love for the Fatherland.

The liberation of Leningrad is one of the most tragic and heroic pages in the history of the Great Patriotic War and the entire human civilization. For 900 days the besieged city lived and bravely fought the enemy in the most severe conditions.

Unity, militant fraternity and friendship of the peoples of the Soviet Union were fully manifested in the battle for Leningrad. Its defenders - representatives of many nationalities - defended the city with unparalleled courage, fighting the enemy with unshakable strength of spirit.

The feat of the defenders of the Fatherland is alive in the memory of current generations. Our common duty is to keep this memory, teach young people respect for it and firmly resist any attempts to rewrite history, or belittle the role of the peoples of the Soviet Union in the victory over fascism.

As a result of the joint work, the forum participants decided:

1. Continue efforts to consolidate the scientific, intellectual and creative potential of the post-Soviet states in order to preserve the memory and historical truth about the Great Patriotic War. Promote the implementation and promotion of international research projects on the history of the Great Patriotic War.

2. Develop the interaction of civil society institutions - educational organizations, patriotic movements, search parties - to engage young people in preservation of the common historical heritage of the peoples of the post-Soviet states, strengthening the traditions of friendship and good neighborliness.

3. Create conditions for the development of public dialogue, constant and close interaction of media representatives from the former Soviet Union states in order to develop a constructive information policy in covering the events of the Great Patriotic War and the contribution of representatives of all peoples of the Soviet Union to the Great Victory, forming a positive image of neighboring states and strengthening trust between them.

4. Initiate and ensure coordination of all interested parties at the interstate level (authorities and public administration, scientific and educational institutions, public organizations and movements of the CIS countries, the Baltic States and Georgia) in preparing and holding events dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the Great Victory .

5. Hold the 10th International Winners Forum 'The Great Victory Gained by Unity' in 2020 in the capital of the Russian Federation - Moscow.