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Taking part in the videoconference meeting were Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Anton Vaino, Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, Director of the Federal Security Service Alexander Bortnikov, Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service Sergei Naryshkin, and Special Presidential Representative for Environmental Protection, Ecology and Transport Sergei Ivanov.

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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Friends,

May 9 is nearing – the most important and sacred holiday for our country, for every Russian family.

I am addressing all citizens of Russia.

We are marking the 75^th anniversary of the Great Victory this year.

We began preparing for this major date in advance, at the federal level and in all regions. You know that, without exaggeration, the whole country participates in Victory Day celebrations.

On Victory Day, we honour and pay tribute to the heroes who defended our country and the whole world, and sacrificed their lives in order to save the lives of others. The winners, the veterans set the highest moral standard for us, and passed on to us their beliefs and faith. We must carefully preserve these values and bring up future generations on them.

To be continued.