MOSCOW, January 27. /TASS/. The heroic resilience of Leningrad against Nazi invaders during WWII will remain etched in history forever, Russian President Vladimir Putin said before a ceremony to award the city’s war veterans.
"The unbelievable heroism shown in the besieged city will never fade into oblivion. Those people - our veterans - showed all of us that followed the best of humanity, selflessness, compassion, unity, and true patriotism. These timeless qualities have always given us confidence and strength, and will endure through the ages," Putin emphasized.
"For us, the residents of Leningrad, January 27, 1944, is a special date; it is marked in every family," the president, a Leningrad native himself, noted. "For our entire country, the Leningrad victory will forever remain a symbol of the triumph of life, courage and spirit of our people, as well as a key milestone in the heroic war against Nazism and a turning point on the way to the crushing defeat of our enemy, the death machine created by the Nazis that had destroyed entire nations," Putin added.