Prime Minister Vladimir Putin visited the cemetery of the Donskoy Monastery in Moscow, laying flowers on the graves of prominent Russians re-interred here in 2005 and 2006: General Anton Denikin, philosopher Ivan Ilyin and writer Ivan Shmelev.

Patriarch Kirill consecrated these graves on Sunday morning and conducted a memorial service.

The Prime Minister noted that all these prominent people were "true proponents of a strong Russian state" despite all the hardships they had to face. "Their main trait was deep devotion to their homeland, Russia, they were true patriots." "They were heroes during tragic times," Vladimir Putin added.

The Prime Minister also laid a bouquet of red roses on the grave of the prominent Russian writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who was laid to rest here last year.