"We bow our heads to the courage and fortitude of all those who crushed the aggressor and stopped Nazism," he said.
He said Victory Day is the dearest holiday not only for the Russian citizens but also for the people of the former Soviet Union, the countries of Europe and the entire planet.
Putin cautioned against any attempts to obliterate the memory of those who died in the Great Patriotic War and to desecrate monuments to war heroes.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday accused the European Union and NATO of conniving with countries that disrespect the memory of Soviet soldiers and attempt to rewrite history, in an obvious reference to a dispute over Estonia's relocation of a Soviet-era war memorial from central Tallinn late in April.
The controversial relocation sparked protests among members of Estonia's Russian community in Tallinn, where one Russian national was killed and more than a hundred injured in clashes with police.
The move also angered officials in Moscow, who described it as an act of blasphemy.
