MINSK, 8 April (BelTA) – Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko commented on his tradition to celebrate Victory Day not only in Minsk but also in Moscow as he gave an interview with the Interstate TV and Radio Company Mir on 8 April, BelTA has learned.
Among the key topics discussed were the upcoming 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War and the preservation of historical memory. One of the questions was why the Belarusian head of state regularly attends the Victory Day parades in Moscow, why it has become a tradition for him to celebrate 9 May both in Minsk and in Moscow.
The Belarusian leader noted that it all started when Boris Yeltsin was President of Russia. There were some tensions during one of their first meetings in Moscow: Boris Yeltsin was cautious about Lukashenko, the head of Belarus that just gained independence along with other former Soviet states. However, Aleksandr Lukashenko quickly clarified his unchanged good attitude toward Russia and its people. "I said then: 'Boris Nikolaevich [Yeltsin], if you think I came to Moscow a foreign city, you are mistaken. This is my Moscow too,'" the president recalled. "Boris Nikolaevich softened up; the conversation began…"
The head of state recalled that the first Victory Parade was held on Red Square in Moscow, the capital of the Soviet Union, a dear place for Soviet people. After the USSR’s dissolution, the tradition to hold parades there remained. "Parades on Red Square have always taken place, both when we were one state and when we went our separate paths," Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized.
Later, Russian President Vladimir Putin began inviting leaders of the post-Soviet states to attend the Victory Parade in Moscow. However, for various reasons not all of them were able to participate in the event in the Russian capital on that day. "But we always maintained that 9 May is Victory Day, and not to attend the parade on Red Square would be simply wrong, not because it is our common victory, but because I represent the heroic Belarusian people," Aleksandr Lukashenko explained. "That’s why it became a tradition for me. I participate in events in the Russian Federation and then return home.” Upon returning from Moscow the president attends Victory Day celebrations in Minsk.
Minsk alternates parades on Victory Day and Independence Day on 3 July. According to the president, such events are not about saber-rattling. They serve to demonstrate that Belarus has the necessary capabilities to protect itself and the peaceful labor of its people.
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