VOLGOGRAD, February 2. /TASS/. Stalingrad will always symbolize the invincibility of the people, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a concert dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Battle of Stalingrad.

"Stalingrad has become an eternal symbol of the invincibility of our people, the essence of life," the president said.

The city and its environs "had to be restored literally from scratch by the whole country," because "there was practically not a single tree, not a single building left intact" in Stalingrad by February 1943.

Putin said that "the exceptional steadfastness and dedication of the defenders of the residents of Stalingrad look as deeply astounding now as they did then, and arouse feelings of the sincerest gratitude and respect."

"Our moral duty - first of all to the victorious soldiers - is to cherish and fully preserve the memory of this feat, pass it on to future generations, not allow anyone to belittle or distort the role of the Battle of Stalingrad in the victory over Nazism, in the liberation of the whole world from this monstrous evil," the president said.

Festivities to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Stalingrad have been assigned federal status by a presidential decree. A federal organizing committee led by Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev has been established to hold the celebration, with Volgograd Region Governor Andrey Bocharov being in charge of the regional organizing committee.

The Battle of Stalingrad lasted from July 17, 1942 to February 2, 1943 and was one of the biggest battles of the Great Patriotic War in terms of its duration and the number of troops involved. It was a pivotal point in the war and presaged Soviet victory over Nazi forces.