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Acting President Vladimir Putin considered and granted a request for Russian citizenship by Vasily Makarovich Kononov, a veteran of the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945 who was being persecuted in Latvia

April 12, 2000

That decision was a reply to an appeal by an individual and also a sign of respect for a man who had fought in the anti-Hitler coalition and made his personal contribution to the victory over Nazism. Charges of military crimes brought against him, which were based on legally inconsistent and historically and morally unacceptable reasoning, have resulted in the defamation of millions of anti-fascism veterans, and are ultimately aimed at revising the results of the Second World War.

Russia is categorically opposed to this policy and insists that political persecution of anti-fascism veterans be stopped.

April 12, 2000