The final session of the International Forum of the Union State of Belarus and Russia “Great Heritage — Common Future” was chaired by the Presidents of Russia and Belarus — Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko.
The Chairman of the State
Duma, Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia
Vyacheslav Volodin
Vyacheslav Victorovich
The Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of the eighth convocation. Elected in single mandate constituency № 163 (Saratov constituency - Saratov Oblast)
and the Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus, First Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia Igor Sergeyenko took
part in the session. The heads and members of foreign parliamentary delegations
also attended the final session.
Summarizing the results of the event, Vyacheslav Volodin noted the importance of the dialogue conducted at the Forum. He expressed gratitude to the Presidents of Russia and Belarus — Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko — for supporting the decision to hold such a Forum and their personal participation in its work.
“This is a very important event, which not only reminds us about those difficult, terrible years when fascism, having practically enslaved all of Europe, became a threat to peace. Twenty-seven million people died to let us live and plan our future. This is the Victory of a large multiethnic nation, a country that took the brunt of the aggression of Nazi Germany. Not just by surviving this war, but by doing everything to win. But this Victory was reached at a high price,” said Vyacheslav Volodin.
The Chairman of the State Duma emphasized that the Forum gathered not only representatives of countries that were part of the Soviet Union. “We hope that the number of participants will increase in the future. We have representatives from Mongolia here who commemorated their contribution. We talked about the support from Cuba, which in 1941 made the decision to support the Soviet Union and counter Nazi Germany. We talked about our comrades from China, who went through a long path of struggle against militaristic Japan, losing 35 million people,” he added.
“For our part, we will summarize all legislative proposals in order to try to implement decisions that will allow us not only to protect historical memory, but also to do everything to ensure that those who destroy memorials and trample on the graves of those who died defending the world from the brown plague are held responsible,” he added.
“Organised by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia, the event brings together speakers of parliaments, chairs of parliamentary committees, civil activists, researchers and experts from about 20 countries, just as the Chairman of the Russian Parliament [Vyacheslav Volodin] has just mentioned. It is important that foreign participants come from former Soviet republics, as we have just heard, and also from Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America,” emphasized Vladimir Putin in his speech.
“The fortitude and courage shown by the Red Army soldiers, the unity of the entire multiethnic nation became a formidable force. The enemy was halted and routed on the banks of the Volga. A decisive blow was dealt to the Nazi war machine, turning the tide of the war and clearing the path to the West, to Berlin, to the Great Victory, the 80th anniversary of which we will be celebrating very soon, on May 9,” added the head of the state.
Victory Day is one of the most significant holidays, held sacred in Russia as well as in most former Soviet republics, according to the President of Russia. “During the war, our nations went through the most bitter trials together, but they defended their independence and future. The defeat of Nazism is our shared legacy,” he said.
According to Vladimir Putin, the shared work must be conducted on a permanent and systematic basis. “In this regard, I propose establishing the Parliamentary Assembly’s Commission on Historical Memory Preservation. Given the authority and influence of deputies from our states, its primary task, in my view, should be to consolidate public and political forces, our citizens – particularly young people – around joint projects aimed at safeguarding the historical truth about the Great Patriotic War, the Second World War, and the heroic deeds of the Soviet people. Naturally, the commission’s work must involve leading experts and historians from our countries,” suggested the head of the state.
“We firmly believe that the global community should join forces to create a new architecture of equal and indivisible security, which would safely protect all states without detriment to the interests of others. This is especially important for Eurasia. Our common continent must become a territory of peace and stability and an example of sustainable economic, social and humanitarian development,” concluded the President of the Russian Federation.
In modern conditions, it is very important to preserve a common historical memory about the Great Victory, to strengthen the spiritual connection and continuity of generations, according to Igor Sergeyenko. “This is the main goal of our Forum. Many participants noted the importance to consider the immortal feat of the heroic ancestors as part of the personal destiny by young people, and the task of being worthy successors of glorious deeds as an internal need. By holding the Forum, we once again showed the greatness of the feat of the Soviet soldier to the whole world,” he added.
According to the Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus, the Forum once again proved that the protection of historical truth “is one of the most important tasks for all countries and interstate associations that build their relations on the principles of equality, mutual respect and trust.” “In a few days, the whole world will pay attention to the Victory Parade on Red Square. And the path to the parade began precisely with the defeat of the Wehrmacht troops in Stalingrad. And it is really symbolic that the Victory Banner over the Reichstag was raised by the soldiers of the army under the command of General Chuikov, who defended Stalingrad. The strength of spirit, heroism, and fortitude of Soviet soldiers, who managed to change the world history by incredible efforts, it is a lesson for all of us, who are living today and carry their work,” concluded Igor Sergeyenko.
Alexander Lukashenko expressed gratitude for organizing the Forum and the invitation to take part in it, noting that the time and place of the event “are of symbolic significance”.
According to the President of the Republic of Belarus, the current meeting is not only a tribute to the common heroic past. “We pay respect to history to protect not only the future, but also the present. This is the current issue,” he emphasized. “We are the heirs of a great generation of victorious heroes. And we have nothing to be ashamed of or to hide. This status obliges us to do a lot. And it irritates many others. The descendants of the defeated supporters of the Third Reich are against us. We are talking more and more about this.”
Summarizing the results of work of the Forum, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia, the Chairman of the State Duma announced that the Forum will be held annually. Igor Sergeyenko noted that the Forum is “a socio-political platform aimed at the future,” and the Forum participants laid the foundation for holding it annually.
On April 28–30,
2025, at the initiative of the Parliamentary Assembly
of the Union of Belarus and Russia, the International
Forum “Great Heritage – Common Future” is being held in the hero
city of Volgograd and it is dedicated to the 80th anniversary
of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. The parliamentary delegations
of the CIS member states, friendly countries of Europe, Asia
and Latin America, public figures, representatives
of the scientific community, as well as international
experts, are participating in the International Forum.
