Figure 1.--This little Russian boy is dressed up in a World War II Red Army uniform to celebrate Great Patriotic War Rememberance Day in 2009.

The Great Patriotic War is an extremely sensitive issue in Russia for several reasons. The men and women who fought the war against the NAZIs are revered in Russia today and rightly so. Among older Russians it is proabably the cost of the War in terms of casualties and destruction is personaly remembered. The Soviet people suffered unimaginable suffering during the War and made huge sacrifices. Few families were unscated from the War. The contribution of the Soviet people in the Allied victory can not be over stated. It is difficult to see how the Allies could have prevailed in the West, short of the use of the atomic bomb, had the Wehrmacht not been esentialy eviserated in the East. We find in our internet conversations that many Russians think that Americans and other Westerners do not understand the importance of the Soviet contribution. This is simply mot the case. There is no Western historian of any importance that does not recognize the the vital role of the Red Army anf the Soviet people. Now Hollywood and the media in general is more of an issue. Here there is pleny of room for complaint, although the British probably have more valid room for complaint. As for academics in general, we find that many Western academics now mouth views that sound more like Soviet Cold War propaganda. What we hear is not that the West won the war alone, but we here over and over again from Russians that the Soviet Union essentially won the War on their own. We want to make it clear that while we have great reservations about Stalin and Soviet World War II policies, we have nothing but admiration for the Soviet people and the role they played in winning the War. Americans and Europeans as well as the rest of the World has to be for ever grateful for the incredible sacrifice of the Soviet people. It is impossible to know what would have ocuured if the Western Allies would have had to confront the Germans without our Soviet allies. But the war in the West was also important, much more important than most Russians understand or Russian propagandists are willing to admit. The Russian so the same thing they accuse the West of doing. And we do not just hear this from average Russians, but Russians who are interested and knowldgeable about World War II. There are high profile celebrations. Belarus celebrate Great Patriotic War Rememberance Day on June 22--the date the Germans invaded. The major Russian celebration is Victory Day honored on May 9--Soviet VE Day in Europe. Now that the Soviet Union and Communism are gone, it is Russia's most important national holiday. TV networks broadcast World War II-themed films. Children dress up for the event and honor veterans. The Day's festivities culminate in a massive military parade at Moscow’s Red Square. The celevration began in the Soviet Union as an a perfect stage for military and state propaganda. Gradually even before the implossion of the Soviet Union in the minds of the population became a national holiday to honor the veterans of the Great Patriotic War. The dispaly of military power has continued even in modern Russia. Actually under Putin it is a major part of the celebration. We notice menorials that honor the sacrifice throughhout Russia. There are major monunments in Lenniungrad and Volgagrad (Stalingrad). We are not sure about Moscow. Red Square may serve as the monument. There are many smaller momuments. To some extent T-34 tanks serve as Civil War cannons did in American oarks and town squares. We do not, however, know just how common this is. These celebratiins and monuments are most common in Russia. The event was seen differently and today celebrated differently in the different now independent republics of the Soviet Union. The center of resisance to the NAZIs was the largely unoccupied Russian heart land. And it us here that the celebrations are most intense and heart felt.

Sensitive Issue

The Great Patriotic War is an extremely sensitive issue in Russia today for several reasons. The Soviet Inion is now gone and it was the one major Soviet accomplishment. The men and women who fought the war against the NAZIs are revered in Russia today and rightly so. Among older Russians it is proabably the cost of the War in terms of casualties and destruction is personaly remembered. The Soviet people suffered unimaginable suffering during the War and made huge sacrifices. Few families were unscated from the War.

Soviet/Western Roles

The contribution of the Soviet people in the Allied victory can not be over stated. It is difficult to see how the Allies could have prevailed in the West, short of the use of the atomic bomb, had the Wehrmacht not been esentialy eviserated in the East. We find in our internet conversations that many Russians think that Americans and other Westerners do not understand the importance of the Soviet contribution. This is simply mot the case. There is no Western historian of any importance that does not recognize the the vital role of the Red Army anf the Soviet people. Now Hollywood and the media in general is more of an issue. Here there is pleny of room for complaint, although the British probably have more valid room for comolaint. As for academics in general, we find that many Western academics now mouth views that sound more like Soviet Cold War propaganda. What we hear is not that the West won the war alone, but we here over and over again from Russians that the Soviet Union essentially won the War on their own. We want to make it clear that while we have great reservations about Stalin and Soviet World War II policies, we have nothing but admiration for the Soviet people and the role they played in winning the War. Americans and Europeans as well as the rest of the world has to be forever grateful for the incredible sacrifice of the Soviet people. It is impossible to know what would have ocuured if the Western Allies would have had to confront the Germans without our Soviet allies. But the war in the West was also important, much more important than most Russians understand or Russian propagandists are willing to admit. The Russian so the same thing they accuse the West of doing. And we do not just hear this from average Russians, but Russians who are interested and knowldgeable about World War II.

Celebrations

There are high profile celebrations. Belarus celebrate Great Patriotic War Rememberance Day on June 22--the date the Germans invaded. The major Russian celebration is Victory Day honored on May 9--Soviet VE Day in Europe. Now that the Soviet Union and Communism are gone, it is Russia's most important national holiday. TV networks broadcast World War II-themed films. Children dress up for the event and honor veterans. Veterans receive red carnatiins, moften from the chikdren. The Day's festivities culminate in a massive military parade at Moscow’s Red Square. The celevration began in the Soviet Union as an a perfect stage for military and state propaganda. Gradually even before the implossion of the Soviet Union in the minds of the population became a national holiday to honor the veterans of the Great Patriotic War. The dispaly of military power has continued even in modern Russia. Actually under Putin it is a major part of the celebration. We notice memorials that honor the sacrifice throughhout Russia. The event was seen differently and today celebrated differently in the different now independent republics of the Soviet Union. The center of resistance to the NAZIs was the largely unoccupied Russian heartland. And it us here that the celebrations are most intense amd heart felt.

Monuments

Monuments are most common in Russia. Thereare few in the ither former Soiviet republics. all of which cjose to separate from Russia, althiugh Belaeus has maintaind close relations. There are major monuments in Lenninngrad and Volgagrad (Stalingrad). The most striking is 'The Motherland Calls', Europe's tallest statue, an 85-meter (278-foot) figure of a sword-wielding Mother Russia soaring from a rise above the city of Volgograd - formerly named Stalingrad. It is the centerpiece of a memorial complex for the Battle of Stalingrad in which some 2 million people died before Soviet forces repulsed the Nazis. We are kss sure sure about Moscow. Red Square may serve as the monument. There are some modest monuments. The Tomb of yhe Unknown Soldier is located at the Kremlin Wall in the Alexander Garden in Moscow. A World War II monument featuring giant anti-tank traps is located on the outskirts of Moscow. There is a huge Monument to Defenders of the Soviet Arctic commonly called Alyosha, in Murmansk. A complex called Line of Defense in Russia's Novorossiysk in the Krasnodar region seems to us a brutal totalitarian statement. The monument consists of four strong arms, tightly clutching machine guns dedicated to the soldiers who defended Novorossiysk. There are many smaller momuments. To some extent T-34 tanks serve as Civil War cannons did in American parks and town squares. We do not, however, know just how common this is. A 2019 pres report indicates that in a three-way deal also involving Vietnam, Russia has taken delivery of around 30 World War II-era T-34/85 tanks from Laos. These tanks will take part in public parades, be installed as museum pieces, and maybe even end up in state-sponsored movies and other media.

Sources

Trevithick, Joseph. "Russia Just Imported More World War II Era T-34 Tanks Than They Will Buy New T-14s This Year" The War Zone (January 9, 2019).

Created: 8:05 AM 5/12/2009
Last updated: 3:19 AM 5/30/2020