Chairman of the Religious Board of Muslims of the Russian Federation, Grand Mufti Sheikh Ravil Gaynutdin, congratulates the multinational people of Russia on Victory Day:

On behalf of the Religious Board of Muslims of the Russian Federation, the multimillion-strong ummah of Russia, and myself, I joyfully congratulate the citizens of our country on the anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War!

In the Year of Unity of the Peoples of Russia, we remember the feat of our people, who rose as a single front to fight the foreign invader. The victory achieved in 1945 became an unshakable proof that national differences recede before the desire of millions of people to unite all their forces for a common cause. The victory of the multinational Soviet people in the anti-fascist struggle was, above all, a triumph of willpower and spirit, a manifestation of genuine and selfless patriotism among the inhabitants of a vast country.

The memory of the feats of those years has become part of our cultural code, a heritage carefully passed down from generation to generation.

Victory Day is always a special date on which we relive the tragic events of the Great Patriotic War and feel a special sense of pride for our people and their history.

The feelings of justice and love for the Motherland passed down to us from our ancestors help us today, during the days of the special military operation, to resist attempts by destructive forces to divide us.

I offer my prayers to the Almighty Lord, asking Him to bless Russia and its multinational and multi-religious people, and to grant us peace and prosperity.

Grand Mufti Sheikh Ravil Gaynutdin