Great Victory Day. Congratulations from the Chairman of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Russian Federation, Chief Mufti Sheikh Ravil Gainutdin:


Dear citizens of the Russian Federation and the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States!
My dear compatriots!
Dear veterans, home front workers!



I cordially congratulate you all on this great holiday - the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War.

The victory on May 9, 1945 was, first of all, a spiritual victory of our ancestors. Tens of millions of sons and daughters of the Fatherland rose to the defense of our common Motherland without hesitation. Putting aside all fear, they did not hesitate to go to battle, to attack, to reconnaissance, to certain death, to protect their families and to defend the freedom of their state. Women courageously saw off their sons, husbands, fathers to the front and steadfastly endured all the incredible hardships of wartime and deprivation. Huge patience and dedication were shown by the toilers of the rear, who worked tirelessly and gave everything to the last for the needs of the Red Army.

Victory Day has become a part of the common cultural code of the peoples of the CIS, a holiday not only official, but truly popular and family. For there was not a family in the Soviet Union that would not have been affected by the Great Patriotic War. Every warrior showed heroism, bravery, selflessness, and at the same time, every family was affected by loss, separation, pain, and tears.

In the face of the nazi invasion none of the peoples of the USSR trembled, was not tempted by the false propaganda of the invader. All of them stood firmly on the truth and love for the Motherland.And all four years of the war our multinational and multireligious people firmly believed in the Victory and prayed for it each according to their traditions. During the war years the life of those few churches of the Soviet Union that remained open was also directed to help the front, to achieve a common victory. From the walls of the Moscow Cathedral Mosque Imam Khalilrahman Nasretdinov sent conscripts to the front with farewell and good prayers, here they collected donations for the army, including funds for the creation of a tank column, prayed incessantly for the victory of the Red Army, the unity and freedom of our peoples.

The Supreme Mufti of the USSR, Abdurahman Rasuli, and after him all the Muslim clergy of the Soviet Union were unanimous: the defense of the Motherland from enemy attack was a jihad. Our grandfathers and great-grandfathers went into battle with full realization and faith that they were on the path of Allah, because they were defending their native land from wickedness. Our spiritual fathers - muftis, imams - were with their people during the war years, supporting and strengthening the people's spirit in every possible way.

The result of unprecedented unity of all multinational and multireligious people of the Soviet Union was the Victory and winning peace for themselves and generations of their descendants. And those who are alive today are called to pass on the memory of the war and the feat of our people to the generations that follow us. We are also called upon to instill in the younger generations the tragedy of war, the highest value of peace and the preservation of human lives.

On today's great feast day we pray to the Lord of the worlds for the souls of our ancestors who defended the Fatherland on the battlefields. We pray for the preservation of lives and the granting of Victory to our servicemen on special military operations, for peace and security for our dear Fatherland, for a peaceful future for future generations of Russians. Amen.

Happy Victory Day to you, my dear ones!

Chief Mufti Sheikh Ravil Gainutdin