MOSCOW, June 24. /TASS/. The fate of Russia is being decided now and all forces should unite, while the attempts to split the society are a stab in the back, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address.
"This battle, when our people’s fate is being decided, demands unification of all forces, unification, consolidation and responsibility, when everything that weakens us, any feuds that our external foes may use and use to undermine us from inside, should be thrown aside," the president stressed.
"And therefore any steps that split our unity, this is in fact backsliding from their own people, comrades-in-arms, who are now fighting on the frontline. This is a stab in the back of our country and our people," Putin said.
According to Putin, this blow was dealt to Russia back in 1917 when the country fought during World War I. "But they stole our victory," Putin noted.
"Intrigues, squabbles and cheap politics behind the back of the army and people turned into a great shock, the destruction of the army and the split of the state, as well as the loss of huge territories. In the end - the tragedy of a civil war. Russians killed Russians, brothers killed brothers, various carpetbaggers and foreign forces derived selfish profits as they divided the country and tore it apart," the president stated.
Putin stressed that today "Russia is conducting a heavy fight for its future and repelling aggression of neo-Nazis and their masters." "The West’s entire military, economic and information machine is targeted against us. We are fighting for life and security of our people, our sovereignty and independence, for the right to be and remain Russia - a state with a 1,000-year history," he said.