Parliamentary Delegations of the CSTO Member States Take Part in the International Patriotic Forum in Volgograd

On April 28, the International Forum "Great Heritage – Common Future", dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War, has begun its work in the Hero City of Volgograd. The event is held at the initiative of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia and gathered more than 500 participants from more than 20 countries, including parliamentary delegations of the CSTO Member States, CIS countries and representatives of friendly countries of Asia, Europe and Latin America.

The main focus of the forum is preservation of historical memory and patriotic education of young people. Among points on the forum's agenda are the contribution of the peoples of the Soviet Union to the victory over Nazism; efforts to counter attempts to falsify the history of the Second World War; legal support of the state policy on protecting the Second World War historical memory; new formats and methods of supporting youth and developing a mentoring system.

The program of the forum includes themed sections, as well as a joint meeting of the Youth Chamber of the Parliamentary Assembly of Belarus and Russia and the Youth Parliament of the State Duma of the Russian Federation.

Moderators of the key meetings are Pyotr Tolstoy, deputy Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, Gennady Lepeshko, Chairman of the Permanent Commission of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus, Leonid Kalashnikov, Chairman of the State Duma's Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots, and Sergei Rachkov, Chairman of the Permanent Commission of the House of Representatives of Belarus on International Affairs.

Sergei Pospelov, Executive Secretary of the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly, emphasized that the main goal of the forum is to strengthen international cooperation in preserving historical truth.

"On behalf of the Parliamentary Assembly of the CSTO, I cordially welcome you and congratulate you from the bottom of my heart on the 80th anniversary of the Victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War. This is a special occasion for us, linked to the crushing of the 'brown plague' of the 20th century, a plague that threatened the entire world. Tens of millions of our brave compatriots made a vital contribution to the Victory, giving their lives to liberate the European countries from the Nazi enslavement," Sergei Pospelov pointed out.

The Forum has become one of the largest international events of the year in Volgograd, confirming the region's status as the center of historical memory preservation and patriotic education. In the upcoming days, the city will receive thousands of guests from different countries. The program for the 80th anniversary of Victory includes about a thousand events across the region, including the Parade on the Square of the Fallen Fighters and the media installation "The Light of the Great Victory".