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During the meeting, the President presented state decorations to search associations’ representatives for their active work in patriotic education of the young people, participating in search work and perpetuating the memory of the fallen defenders of the Fatherland.

The Military Historical Society continues the traditions of the Imperial Russian Military Historical Society, which was founded in 1907 and functioned until the 1917 revolution. Its main objective is to combine the efforts of the public and the state in studying the national military history and preserving national memory.

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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good evening, friends and colleagues!

Please allow me to address you in exactly this way. I know that today, Central Great Patriotic War Museum on Poklonnaya Gora in Moscow held a landmark event: the Russian Military Historical Society resumed its functions after an interval of over one hundred years. It was founded in 1907 and initially engaged in a very noble objective: compiling achievements in military science, working on military history and military archaeology.

It is very nice that today, the work of similar organisations is being revived. As you know, we already have active Orthodox Palestinian Society, Russian Geographical Society, Russian Historical Society, and now we have Russian Military Historical Society as well. Many of you worked actively in these areas even before this Society was revived, and up to this day. Now, I will have the pleasure of fulfilling my honourable duty as head of state in presenting many of you with state decorations, certificates of merit for your practical labours in all these areas, which are highly important for our state. I am referring to your care for our military history, working in search parties and archives, holding large-scale patriotic events – the awards recognise your efforts, your active civic patriotic positions.

I am certainly at your service in the sense that state bodies should and will provide you with assistance – and I am referring to agencies in a variety of areas, including humanitarian agencies, military departments, and all the agencies that have people who wear epaulets and military uniforms. This will include helping to create good relations between your organisation and the Russian Federation’s regions. I suggest that we discuss this topic today.

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Friends, colleagues,

In conclusion, I would like to congratulate you again on your state decorations, acknowledgments and honorary certificates, and say that this attention from the government represents only a small fraction of the respect that, at the very least, I personally have toward your work.

One of today’s speakers stated that in earlier times, people worked themselves and were left to their own devices. You know, this was due to many circumstances not because this work was unimportant, but because the thought that there were certain fundamental things that made our nation powerful, great, and capable of overcoming any difficulties and having prospects has always been strong in our nation’s public mind.

But often in such situations, and I think the same happened in our nation, we ultimately come to understand that there are no inexhaustible resources and we must always maintain them. The most important resource for Russia’s strength and future is our historical memory. And you are the very people supporting this resource.

And because there are people like you – and in doing this, you follow the dictates of your hearts, you understand how crucially important this is for our nation, – because there are so many people in our multi-ethnic nation who understand the importance of this work, recognise it and, most importantly, do what is necessary to give the proper momentum to our historical memory, to its preservation – it is precisely for this reason that we as a nation, as a multi-ethnic people, have a future, of which I am absolutely certain.

I want to thank you for your selfless devotion and wish you every success. Thank you very much.