MICHAEL HOLMES, WORLD NEWS: New Russian president Vladimir Putin says one of his major goals is to make Russia stand taller in the world. He is expected to address the issue Tuesday, when the country celebrates the anniversary of what many consider to be Russia's finest hour - it's victory over Nazi Germany. CNN's Steve Harrigan reports.</s>STEVE HARRIGAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On his first day of work as president of Russia, Vladimir Putin went to the site of the greatest tank battle in history. Fifty-five years after victory, most of the winners in Kursk are still struggling.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Bread and potatoes are all I eat.</s>HARRIGAN: On the eve of celebrations marking the end of World War II, veterans donned their medals to march for the new commander-in- chief. Mr. Putin promised to pay for a war memorial that had been left unfinished.</s>VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Some might say the money would be better spent on apartments or schools. But what is dearer than our mothers and fathers or the memory of what our parents did?</s>HARRIGAN: Parents who won a war then lost an empire, their personal savings and a way of thinking.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): It is nice they remember us, but so much is uncertain today. It's like they turned everything upside down. It's a new world.</s>HARRIGAN: Bridging the gap between those two worlds is not an easy task for the veterans or their new leader. (on camera): Pride in a 55-year-old military victory is undercut by the struggle that Russia finds itself in today, locked in a seven- month war with the tiny republic of Chechnya. Steve Harrigan, CNN, Kursk, Russia.
Russian President Putin Hopes To Make Russia Stand Taller In The  World