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President Medvedev congratulates WWII veterans

On Monday President Medvedev met WWII veterans in the reconstructed building of the Bolshoi Theatre

MOSCOW, November 7 (Itar-Tass) —— President Dmitry Medvedev has congratulated WWII veterans upon the 70th anniversary since a military parade was held on Red Square on November 7, 1941 when Nazi troops advanced close to the capital.

On Monday President Medvedev met WWII veterans in the reconstructed building of the Bolshoi Theatre. Medvedev cordially congratulated the veterans upon day of military glory which Moscow is celebrating on Monday - an anniversary of a special parade which was held in Moscow 70 years ago. “The parade was held on Red Square when Nazi troops were barely a few kilometers away from Moscow and on the date Hitler had been planning to seize Moscow and finally defeat the Soviet Union,” the president said.

“It is not the point of what happened afterwards, the point is that on that day our people managed to demonstrate their willpower to win and the fortitude of practically all the country,” Medvedev stressed. “The parade imbued the people with moral strength, improved their political attitude and demonstrated the best qualities of our people," the president said.

He praised a reconstructed version of the parade held on Red Square on Monday morning in which servicemen dressed in WWII uniforms took part and WWII hardware was displayed. “All of it very much resembled a documentary film, but now the situation is peaceful and calm, while back in 1941 it was very dramatic,” Medvedev said.