Fidel Castro's grandson attends International Socialist Forum in Moscow

Political party members and Socialist activists, including the grandson of Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, Fidel Antonio Castro-Smirnov, who have arrived in the Russian capital for the First International Socialist Forum Sovintern, took part in a flower-laying ceremony in Moscow on Wednesday.

"I do not want, cannot and will not speak about Fidel using the past tense," Fidel Castro, Jr. said, addressing a gathering on the occasion of Fidel Castro’s 100th birthday. "Because Fidel’s heritage and his ideas are still alive and valid and they will remain as such in the future," he explained. "Much has yet to be done for our motherland, for Latin America, Africa, Asia - and for the whole world," he added.

According to the grandson of the Cuban revolutionary leader, Fidel Castro’s energy, cause, and strength carry on today. "The 'magic' of Fidel unites millions, even those who do not share his ideas, but still love, respect and admire him. So, Fidel, too, is with us. Fidel’s DNA is in the blood of millions of revolutionaries across Cuba, Latin America, Russia, and the world over," Fidel Antonio Castro-Smirnov, a full member of the Cuban Academy of Sciences and a professor at Havana University, said with confidence.

For his part, State Duma Deputy Speaker Alexander Babakov, who attended the event, said the Sovintern Forum which preserves Fidel Castro’s ideas "has brought everybody who supports Socialism together." "I am confident if Fidel was still alive, he would have joined us here," the senior Russian parliamentarian argued.