It is unacceptable to speculate on tragic pages of history - Putin
MOSCOW. Dec 1 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for the Russian people's unity to be strengthened and has spoken about the unacceptability of speculating on the tragic pages of Russian history and bringing discord to modern society.
"We need the lessons of history first and foremost to reconcile and to strengthen the public, political and civil accord that we have managed to achieve today," Putin said in his annual address to the Federal Assembly on Thursday.
"It is unacceptable to drag the discord, anger, grudges and bitterness of the past to our present-day life or speculate on the tragedies that affected almost every family in Russia, regardless of on which side of the barricades our ancestors happened to be, for the sake of one's own political and other interests," he said.
"Let's remember that we are one people and we have one Russia," the president said.
The year of 2017 will mark the centennial anniversary of the February and October Revolutions, Putin said, adding that it was "a good cause to once again address the reasons and the very nature of the revolutions in Russia, and not only for historians and scholars."
"Russian society needs an objective, honest and in-depth analysis of these events. This is our common history, and it should be treated with respect," the president said.
Referring to philosopher Alexei Losev's words, Putin said: "We know our country's entire thorny path, the tedious years of struggle, shortages and suffering, but all this is indispensable and dear for the son of the Motherland. I am certain that it is exactly this perception of the Motherland that the absolute majority of our citizens have," Putin said.
The president also drew parallels with the present-day situation in many countries of the world that have encountered so-called "great shocks".
"The result is the same everywhere: human tragedies and victims, decline and ruin, disappointments," he said.
"The world, even seemingly the most well-off countries and stable regions see an ever growing number of splits, conflicts along political, national, religious and social lines. And this combines with the most acute migration crisis, which, for example, European and other countries have encountered," he said.
"We are well aware of the consequences entailed by so-called great shocks. Unfortunately, there were lots of them in our country in the past century," Putin said.
