MOSCOW. Jan 26 (Interfax) - The Jewish community in Russia makes a significant contribution to the preservation of the historical truth about WWII and the restoration of names of prison camp inmates and victims of the Nazi penal units, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
"We will never forget how much grief and suffering World War II brought, what a huge price our ancestors paid for the freedom and independence of the fatherland and the victory over Nazism and its monstrous ideology, and what legal, moral and ethical sentence was passed on those guilty of terrible crimes against humanity," Putin said in his greetings to guests of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day meeting.
Preserving the memory of WWII is a principled stance of the Russian state and society, Putin said.
"This memory is sacred to us. This is why, the active civil stance and the dedicated labor of everyone seeking to preserve the historical truth and restore the names of fighters, the fates of civilians, and the biographies of prison camp inmates and victims of the Nazi penal units are so important," he said.
"The Jewish community in Russia and, of course, your traditional remembrance events held on the International Holocaust Remembrance Day make a large contribution to this necessary, largescale work," Putin said.