The message reads:

I’m glad to greet the participants in the motor rally devoted to the 70^th anniversary of the Stalingrad Battle and the Battle for Kursk and the 100^th birthday of legendary pilot, three times Hero of the Soviet Union Alexander Pokryshkin.

You will carry the Banner of Victory and capsules with the sacred soil of the hero cities from Brest to Vladivostok and via Ukraine and Belarus. Such a large-scale event is a sign of deep respect for those who defended our homeland during the tough war years and saved the country and the world from Nazism. We will always cherish the memory of the courageous wartime generation and its selfless devotion to our homeland.

I’m confident that the motor rally, during which you will meet with war veterans, will promote patriotic values among the younger generation and instill in it a sense of responsibility for the future of their country.

Please accept my best wishes.

Dmitry Medvedev