FROM THE HEAD OF THE IMPERIAL HOUSE OF RUSSIA
Dear Compatriots,
I extend my congratulations to you all on the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.
The defeat of the Nazi invaders and their allies was accomplished by the Grace of God, thanks to the courage and self-sacrifice of the peoples who had come together as a single family over more than 1000 years of history.
To our great sorrow, the unity of our country, which had been tested by the gravest tragedies of Revolution in 1917 and foreign invasion in 1941, was torn asunder in 1991. And although we avoided at that time an all-encompassing civil war, much blood and tears have nonetheless been shed and continue to be shed since then on the land that our ancestors of all nationalities had defended and developed together for centuries.
It has most often been the case that the root cause of this blood and tears has been interethnic strife. In its destructiveness, this strife is comparable to that of weapons of mass destruction, and its incitement and propagation have been harmful to each of the peoples that have become involved in it.
The memory of the exploits and sufferings of previous generations, and our veneration of the heroism and self-sacrifice of those who struggled during the Great Patriotic War on the battlefield and on the home front must inspire us to a new victory, one of brotherhood and friendship over discord, of the victory of truth over lies, of the victory of true patriotism over neo-Nazism and xenophobia.
I and my son and heir, Grand Duke George of Russia, and his spouse, Princess Victoria Romanovna, pray fervently that a just and lasting peace based on mutual respect, productive cooperation, and awareness of our historical and cultural kinship will prevail throughout the entire territory of the former Russian Empire and USSR.
May the Lord keep the defenders of the nation, who follow in the glorious precepts of their fathers and grandfathers, and may He keep and preserve us all! Happy Victory Day!
[The original is signed by Her Imperial Highness:]
MARIA
Madrid, 9 May 2025