MOSCOW, June 22 Preserving historical memory is a guarantee of Russia's sovereignty, a pledge of its peaceful future, and attempts to falsify the history of victory in the Great Patriotic War must be responded to immediately and harshly, said Russian presidential aide and permanent member of the Russian Security Council Nikolai Patrushev in his article for the National Defense magazine.
“Knowing your true past not only allows you to understand yourself, but also to sensibly assess your strengths and weaknesses, analyze the mistakes you have made and eliminate them in the future,” Patrushev emphasized.
The Constitution of the Russian Federation stipulates that Russia “ensures the protection of historical truth,” Patrushev recalled. Combating the falsification of history is a priority activity of public authorities, organizations and civil society institutions, he added.
«»Preservation of historical memory is a guarantee of the unity of the people and the sovereignty of the state, a guarantee of a peaceful future in order to avoid a repetition of the tragedies of the past. The truth about the Great Victory and its price is our national treasure and our national pride. The manipulation of facts, the belittlement of the heroic feat of millions of soldiers and home front workers must be perceived as an insult to the entire multinational people of Russia, requiring immediate and tough retaliatory measures,” Patrushev emphasized.
History has long ceased to be just a science of bygone times, he noted.
«Attempts to rewrite history are in some sense more dangerous than a military threat. Distorted, deceitful, destroyed historical memory, an artificially created negative image of the past and present deprive states and their people of the opportunity to form a national idea of future development around which is the consolidation of society. That is why we are obliged to ensure comprehensive protection of historical memory as an integral part of the value foundation of our Motherland — Russia,” the presidential aide emphasized.