MOSCOW, November 22. /TASS/. The leader of the Cuban revolution, Fidel Castro, was a symbol of an entire era of national liberation movements, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the unveiling of a monument to the Cuban politician in Moscow.

During Tuesday's ceremony, attended by Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, Putin said that Castro was rightly considered one of the brightest and most charismatic leaders of the turbulent, dramatic 20th century. "A symbol of an entire era, an era of national liberation movements, the collapse of the colonial system and the creation of new independent states in Latin America and Africa," Putin said.

The Russian president noted that Castro and his comrades-in-arms always selflessly defended Cuba's sovereignty, did not allow it to be bent by sanctions and attempts at external isolation, and defended the right to their own model of development.