MOSCOW, January 30. /TASS/. Memory of the outstanding Russians buried in the Russian cemetery at Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois near Paris should be preserved by all means, President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday as he met with his authorized delegates, who represent him in the current election race.
He said it in a comment on film director Nikita Mikhalkov’s apprehensions over the plight of the cemetery after the expiry of the land lease agreement. Mikhalkov said the graves of many thousands of representatives of Russian emigration might simply disappear after the term of lease was over.
"Let’s take up the problem by all means," Putin said when the director asked him to take steps towards preserving the burial site that has become the final resting place for hundreds of outstanding Russians, who fled their homeland after the Revolution of 1917.
"In this case, we’re dealing with outstanding compatriots of the past who did really much for our homeland," Putin said. "Without any doubt, the memory about them shouldn’t disappear and we have a duty to do our best for preserving it."
He recalled that the daughter of General Anton Denikin, one of the leading commanders of the anti-Bolshevik White Guard troops had visited Moscow shortly before her death and had presented him with her father’s saber.
"This proves the descendants of the Russian emigrants - and especially the descendants of the first wave of emigration - didn’t lose connection with their historic fatherland even if they lived their whole life abroad," Putin said.