Russia celebrates the Great Victory Day today

Russian soldiers take part in a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade on May 7

This year, the world is celebrating the 74th anniversary of victory in the bloodiest and cruellest war of the 20th century – World War II, which affected almost 80% of the world population.

In Russia it is usually referred to as the Great Patriotic War, a term used to describe the war between the USSR and Nazi Germany, which raged between 22 June 1941 and 9 May 1945, and ended in the ultimate victory of the Soviet Union. This victory had a decisive meaning for the outcome of World War II, which came to an end several months later in September 1945.

One should always remember that the victory in the war prevented the Nazis, who subscribed to theories of racial supremacy, from spreading their barbaric ideology worldwide. They declared their intention to physically eliminate entire ethnic groups: Jews, Roma, Russians, Poles, Latvians, Lithuanians, French and Czech.

The Soviet people, who faced the most powerful assaults by Germany and its allies, made a heroic and decisive contribution to the defeat of Nazism. Three-fourths of the German armed forces were defeated on the Soviet-German Front. The Red Army fully or partially liberated Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, eastern regions of Yugoslavia, Austria, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Norway, Denmark, north-eastern provinces of China and Korea and conquered Berlin.

The Great Victory came at the cost of the hardest, irreplaceable losses. According to official figures, the war took lives of 26.6 million Soviet people. The damage done to the Soviet Union was greater than the combined damage of all other European countries.

Russia has always praised the contribution of its anti-Hitler coalition allies. Russia is grateful to the peoples of Great Britain, France, the United States of America, anti-fascists of various countries and members of the underground resistance, including in Germany itself, who selflessly fought the common enemy.

The Victory over Nazism remains a lesson that is relevant today, when there are still those who are trying to revive this abhorring ideology and rewrite history. Arguably the most vivid examples of neo-Nazism can be currently seen in Ukraine. The transformation of a country, whose people suffered huge losses during the war, into a state where neo-Nazi formations now operate openly is beyond comprehension.

Systemic work aimed at countering attempts to glorify Nazism, any forms and manifestations of racism, xenophobia, aggressive nationalism and chauvinism must remain on the agenda of the international community.

The world needs to learn due lessons from the tragic past. Humankind must always remember the terrible consequences of attempts to establish world domination, the belief in one’s own exceptionality, unscrupulous behaviour in achieving one’s dubious goals and the neglect of rules of law and morality.

The celebration of the Great Victory Day is the most important events of the year.9 May is a day of glory, a day of pride for the Russian people, and a day of the utmost respect for the generation of winners. This day unifies all Russians through a history of courage. To Russia, the Great Victory will forever remain a foundation for bringing up the new generation in the spirit of patriotism. 

(Source: Embassy of the Russian Federation in Sri Lanka and to the Maldives)