Meanwhile, more than a million civilians died in the 1941-44 siege of Leningrad, which Putin’s own family lived through.
#RUSSIA VICTORY DAY PARADE 2015 FREE#
Wehrmacht troops were given a free pass to carry out mass executions of prisoners of war, while the Schutzstaffel (SS) committed atrocities against Soviet civilians, especially those of Jewish origin, for Hitler’s genocidal plans for a “final solution”.ĭuring the invasion of Kharkiv in Ukraine, the SS massacred 15,000 Ukrainian Jews. Russian land was to be used as Lebensraum, or “living space”, for German settlers. “It’s the moment when Russia felt massively invaded by a country that had declared that all Slavs were less-than-humans. “Jis the 9/11 of Russian history,” said Wood. Although there were early German successes, the Red Army would not give up. Hitler, meanwhile, arrogantly believed the war would last no longer than three months his soldiers did not bother to bring winter clothes. Soviet ruler Joseph Stalin was caught unprepared: having taken part in the 1939 invasion of Poland with the Nazis, he thought his deal with Adolf Hitler would protect him, and did not heed the warnings of foreign diplomats or his own agents.
On June 22, 1941, the German army began its invasion of the USSR, named Operation Barbarossa. Victory Day marks the immense sacrifice the Russian people and other nations of the Soviet Union made in the fight against Nazism. On May 8, 1945, the commander of the remaining German forces surrendered to the Red Army, but because of the time difference between Berlin and Moscow, in Russia the occasion is marked on May 9. It is also marked across the Russian diaspora and in other former Soviet countries, including Ukraine, which in 2015 symbolically moved the date to May 8, when Europe remembers the day. Victory Day was first celebrated in 1965 under Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, a veteran of the war himself. I think they’re planning a long slogging war.” People pose as military vehicles drive along a street during a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade in Moscow,
I don’t think he can declare victory, either. “You can conscript all those people in Buryatia (a mountainous region in Siberia), but if you conscript Muscovites, they’ll protest. “It’s hard to do a general conscription: I think that that’s when Russians would come out and protest,” said Elizabeth Wood, professor of history at MIT. However, earlier rumours of martial law and conscription in March proved to be wrong.
Some also worry that Putin may announce a mass mobilisation, calling able-bodied men into service. Instead, my fear is that Putin will use the holiday to announce a new offensive and new phase of the war.” It’s hard to see any sort of victory being declared. “Given how important Victory Day has been to Putin and Putinism, it’s hard to imagine that his government won’t try to use it for some purpose.
“Putin and his advisers certainly pay attention to historical anniversaries and like to use them to bolster their hold on power,” Norris said. Nobel-Prize-winning author Svetlana Alexievich has captured this well, by stating the history of victory replaced the history of the actual war.”Īs Victory Day approaches, some observers believe that the top brass, frustrated at the lack of progress in subduing Ukraine, will call for a push, and Putin will declare total war. It also validated the sacrifices made during the war. “Twenty-seven million Soviet citizens died during the war, and victory obviously came at a great cost. “Victory in World War II became the defining myth in post-war Soviet life, outstripping even the Revolution in its significance,” explained Stephen Norris, professor of Russian history at the University of Miami. This day of pride, which will mark the 77th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, is seen by some observers as a propaganda tool for President Vladimir Putin’s government, which is drawing on history for its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.Īnd some fear that Putin will use this year’s celebratory occasion to ramp up war efforts. On Monday, thousands of soldiers, tanks and military vehicles will march through Moscow’s Red Square, while fighter jets roar overhead as part of the annual Victory Day parade.
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