MOSCOW, August 1. /TASS/. It’s crucial to learn proper lessons from Russia’s historical experience as the West seeks to impose a global war on mankind, Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Director Sergey Naryshkin, who heads the Russian Historical Society, said on Monday.
"I am sure that Russia’s experience of participating in World War I makes it possible to draw the most important historical conclusion that the Russian army is invincible when the armed forces, the government and society share the common goal of defeating the enemy. This is the way it has always been. Today, when the liberally-totalitarian West seeks to impose a global war on all mankind, it is crucial for us to be able to learn proper lessons from Russia’s enormous historical experience," Naryshkin told reporters after a wreath-laying ceremony at a memorial to those fallen in World War I in Moscow.
"Today, as we mark the 108th anniversary of Russia’s entry into World War I, we honor the memory of Russian soldiers and officers who fought on the frontlines of that great war. That period in Russian history is full of examples of true heroism, courage and bravery," Naryshkin pointed out.
According to him, "the irony of history is that despite sacrificing millions of lives to secure a victory, Russia failed to enter the circle of victorious powers and moreover, had to sign the humiliating Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty." "A nationalist propaganda campaign orchestrated from overseas also played a role in that tragedy. As a matter of fact, the first armed groups of Ukrainian nationalists were fully formed in Austria-Hungary and it was only later that some political forces inside the country continued to spread nationalist propaganda. Today, 100 years later, we keep reaping the bitter fruit of their anti-government and anti-social activities," the SVR chief emphasized.
The date of Russia’s entry into World War I was officially included in the national memorial calendar at Naryshkin’s initiative in 2012.