The meeting took place during the Speaker’s working visit to Uzbekistan.
Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matvienko met with veterans of the Great Patriotic War and survivors of the Leningrad Siege who had been evacuated to Uzbekistan in early childhood, where they found their second home.
The meeting became an important part of the programme during the Speaker’s visit to the Republic of Uzbekistan to participate in the 150th Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly.
Valentina Matvienko noted that the generation of victors endured all the hardships of war, liberating not only our common Motherland — the Soviet Union — but also all of Europe and the entire world from Nazism. “All peoples of the Soviet Union stood together as one. This unity and solidarity ensured victory in the struggle against Nazism.”
Uzbekistan made a huge contribution to Victory, with more than 2 million residents joining the army and over 500,000 falling in combat, the Speaker noted. “Fighters from Uzbekistan participated in all key battles of the Great Patriotic War, including the Battle of Leningrad. At the Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery in St Petersburg, the city I consider my home, there is an alley dedicated to the heroes from Uzbekistan who perished liberating Leningrad. The people of St Petersburg bring flowers to their graves, paying tribute to their heroism.”
During the war, Tashkent and other cities of Uzbekistan generously provided shelter and care for hundreds of thousands of people, Valentina Matvienko emphasised. “Among them were orphans whose lives were saved this way. Children from the besieged Leningrad were evacuated to Uzbekistan. The republic showed true mercy, compassion, and heroic hospitality that we all remember.”
The Speaker expressed gratitude to all residents of the republic and the leaders of Uzbekistan for carefully preserving the memory of the war to this day, and for the warmth and attention shown to veterans. She noted that it is unacceptable to make attempts to rewrite history, although, unfortunately, such attempts have been made in some countries.
The Speaker presented the war veterans and siege survivors with the anniversary medal, 80 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945. The medal was established by an executive order of the Russian President as a sign of deep respect for the great feat, heroism and selflessness of war veterans.
The medals were awarded to participant in the defence of Stalingrad and the Battle of Kursk Akmal Akramov, participant in the Minsk battles Fyodor Fedin, and survivors of the Leningrad Siege who found refuge in Uzbekistan Valeria Sapriko, Tamara Tsiglintseva, Margarita Filanovich, Maria Komarova, Tamara Sokolova and Yury Smolich.
“We feel pride, deep respect and love. We want to bow low to you and say that your feat is invaluable,” Valentina Matvienko added.
The meeting continued in an informal setting over tea.
Ilyas Umakhanov, First Deputy Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Science, Education and Culture, Russia’s Co-Chair of the Interparliamentary Commission on Cooperation between the Federation Council and the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, also attended the meeting.