PRESS RELEASE
Putin Opens ‘Wall of Sorrow’ for Victims of Political Repression in U.S.S.R.
Nov. 3, 2017 (EIRNS)—President Vladimir Putin spoke at the opening ceremony for a "Memorial to Victims of Political Repressions" in Moscow on Oct. 30. "We are opening the Wall of Sorrow—a grand and thrilling monument, both in its essence and embodiment—in the capital today. It calls on our conscience, our feelings, understanding of the repression period and compassion towards its victims," he said, as reported on the President’s website.
"The memory itself, the clearness and coherence of positions on these dark events serve as a powerful warning against their repetition."
He thanked the Moscow authorities and the many individuals who authored and financed the memorial. "It is important to us, to the whole country today and is even more important to young people, to Russia’s future."
Appearing with Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, Putin quoted Natalya Solzhenitsyna’s words on the repression period: "To know, remember, condemn and then forgive." "I completely agree with these words," Putin added.
"We and our successors should remember the tragedy of repressions and the reasons that caused them. But this does not mean calling for settling of scores. The society should not be pushed again towards the dangerous confrontation line."
Without mentioning Stalin, Putin recalled certain historical facts about the period
"when everybody risked facing far-fetched and absolutely absurd charges, when millions were labeled as enemies of the people, shot or crippled and went through the torment of prison terms or labor camps and exiles."
"In the history of our country, just as any other one, there were many complex and controversial periods. They are being discussed and argued about and different approaches proposed to explaining certain events. This is a natural process of studying and understanding history and looking for the truth, but whenever the issue of repression, death and suffering of millions of people is raised, it is enough to visit the Butovo field or the sites of other mass graves of victims of political repression, which are many in Russia, to understand that there can be no forgiveness for those crimes,"
Putin said.
He believes that
"political repression became a tragedy for all of our people, for society and a heavy blow on our people, its roots, culture and self-identity. We still feel the consequences. Our duty is to prevent oblivion."
The Wall of Sorrow can be compared to the Teardrop Memorial, donated by Russia to New Jersey and the United States to commemorate the victims of terrorism on 9/11 and elsewhere. Like that moving memorial, the Wall of Sorrow has also been totally blacked out of any U.S. press coverage, by those who lie that Putin is the new Stalin.
