NOVO-OGRAYOVO, May 20. /TASS/. Some countries are trying to barbarically erase the memory of the Red Army’s liberating role during World War II, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday.

"Unfortunately, some countries seek to barbarically erase this memory, desecrate the graves, the memory of the fallen. They defile, dismantle memorials," the President said.

According to Putin, there are currently 43,866 World War II-era burials registered in the Ministry of Defense, with over 12,000 of those burials located in 56 foreign states. Over 4,150,000 Soviet warriors are buried there - almost as much as on the Russian territory.

"These military burials are a mournful and visible memory of the liberating mission of the Red Army," the President underscored.

However, the efforts to diminish the role of the Red Army soldiers are not always successful, he noted.

"Oftentimes, the locals themselves stand up for the memorials. However, the long years of aggressive anti-Russian propaganda, the dissemination of blatant lies in such countries could not have gone without consequences. This virus of oblivion affects the youth, first of all," he noted.

Putin expressed his regret that "young people in Russia get brainwashed as well, so that they often forget about the heroic feats of their ancestors, the people who are supposed to be their close ones."

"Even worse, they begin to worship those who killed their grandfathers and great-grandfathers. We must not allow this situation to develop under any circumstances," the head of state concluded.