June 22nd - the Day of Memory and Sorrow in Russia · 6:51pm Jun 22nd, 2016
Today marks the 75th anniversary of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, which is generally known as "Eastern Front of World War II" in the world. At around 3:15 a.m., Nazi Germany and its allies and satellites attacked Soviet Union, starting the bloodiest war in the history of Russia.
One would be hard-pressed to find a family on the territory of the former Soviet Union which was untouched by war. My own family was not unscathed. Two of my great-grandfathers fought in this war when they were eligible for conscription. One of them was lightly wounded by a shrapnel fragment, but he saw the end of the war, received awards and lived long enough to learn he had a grandson - that is, me. Another one was not so lucky. He was killed in Poland in February 1945, when victory was so close... He is buried there in a mass grave, and I still wonder whether his grave is intact or if it has been desecrated by some Russophobe who might not have even been born if not for Soviet soldiers. (For some reason, people forget that Poles, as Slavic people, were considered sub-human according to Nazi's racial ideologies, and faced enslavement at best, extermination and genocide at worst. Generalplan Ost has it all written out. So yes, I consider my statement and uncovered indignation at the prospect of desecration of my great-grandfather's grave as completely justified.)
The people of Soviet Union rose to fight for their Motherland when the price of defeat was slavery and eventual annihilation of those who lived in USSR. Defeat was not an option. We fought for our very existence. Various people joined even if they had valid reasons to dislike Soviet authorities. Prisoners of GULAG signed up for penal battalions. Russian Orthodox Church collected enough money for a whole tank battalion (called "Dmitry Donskoy" after a knyaz ("prince") who fought in one of decisive battles against Tatar-Mongol yoke and is venerated as a saint) and a fighter squadron (called "Alexander Nevsky" after a knyaz who fought off Swedish and German knights when they threatened Novgorod and is also venerated as a saint), despite the persecution of religion, and believers fought in the war alongside atheists. My own great-grandfather fought despite the fact that during dekulakization, he and his family were sent off to steppes of Kyrgyztan because they were considered kulaks and exploitators and too rich, although all they had was two horses and a cow - not that rich by common standards.
Because they still loved their Motherland.
And we had to win.
At any cost!
And we paid for our victory in gallons of blood and tears. Officially, 26.6 millions of Soviet people, both military and civilian, died in combat from bullets, bombs and shells, in Nazi concentration camps from beating, overworking and Cyclone-B, in cities from bombings and starvation (that especially concerns the blockade of Leningrad when for 900 days people were subjected to shelling, bombing, when there were times that they had only 125 grams of bread, per day, to eat, and yet the factories needed to work and soldiers still fought to keep the enemy at bay).
That's not the final number, because there are still remains of soldiers being found here and there. The death toll still rises. The final number is not there yet.
Sometimes we are asked: "Why you Russians cling to this victory so much?"
Because before the end of the war, there was the beginning of it. Before we raised our flag over Reichstag, we had to fight tooth and nail so that Nazi flag would not be over Kremlin. Before advancement, there was retreat.
Before the Victory, there were battles lost and won. There was blood, death, horrors, unspeakable atrocities that still chill my blood.
There were also acts of heroism and sacrifice. I have mentioned the tank battalion and the fighter squadron that were built with the money donated by Russian Orthodox Christians, but they were not the only ones. Even children did their best to help, sending their money to build a tank named Malyutka ("Little One") so that this tank would defeat Nazis and all children who were displaced by war could return. They raised 160 886 roubles to build this tank. And the Malyutka tank was built, it fought in the war, and its commander, one of 19 Soviet women who drove a tank drove it. Joseph Stalin expressed his gratitude to the children via a telegram. (If you wish, here is an article about the story behind Malyutka tank; alas, it's in Russian.)
This Victory is precious to us because of the cost we paid for it.
I do not aim to belittle other battles of World War II: US campaign against Japan in the Pacific, the battle of the Atlantic, the battles fought in Africa against Rommel, the actions of French Resistance, the D-Day and the Second Front. Everyone who fought against Axis in that war is a hero. But I believe we Russians earned a right to claim that we played a vital role in defeating Nazi Germany, and we do not tolerate when our role is belittled or dismissed.
I hope this answers the question why we Russians cherish this victory so much.
I hope you will join my feelings in this Day of Memory and Sorrow, the first of 1418 days of war we fought to eradicate fascism.
Postscriptum. Daniil Granin, a Russian writer and a veteran of Great Patriotic War remembered how USSR began the war. He said that it was difficult to fight the war in the beginning because there was no hatred in the beginning. If you remember, USSR and Germany had outwardly good relations before that. He recalls how they tried to convince a captive German that he did not need to fight them. The German told them, and I quote:
It is futile of you, to hope for victory. We will chase you beyond Ural [mountains] and will claim these lands for ourselves. What kind of soldiers you are? You can't fight [in war]. You are savages, sub-human.
And soon, people's fury erupted against German invaders.
Why do I tell you that? Because right now, we're taught to hate each other again. Well, not exactly, but if you look at mass media, that's the feeling you might get.
I worry that my generation might see another big war. I don't want to see one. Because I love my country, and if the enemy comes, I will have to take up arms to defend it... even if that means I might be forced to fight one of you.
I don't want that. Do you?
I don't want war either.
And by the way, greetings from Finland
I never knew about the cost being so high for the Russian people during WW2.
You have my respect.
I salute the brave heroes who fought for freedom.
May their sacrifice never be forgotten.
Indeed. As much as I dislike the USSR, the stand against the Axis is something that should be just as celebrated as America and England's stands against them.
BTW, here's a metal song about the Great Patriot War:
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Brohoof /)
This... is something that tends to be glossed over at times, much to my consternation.
Thank you. So much.
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Heh, Churchill was a staunch anti-Communist, yet he said:
I'll take what I can get.
Thanks for understanding.
Ah. The battle of Kursk, and the biggest tank battle near Prokhorovka village. That was some epic shit.
Great song, BTW. Thanks. I am also fond of this one:
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Anytime.