Thread: Vladimir Putin: The Real Lessons of the 75th Anniversary of World War II

Vladimir Putin: The Real Lessons of the 75th Anniversary of World War II

The Russian president offers a comprehensive assessment of the legacy of World War II, arguing that "Today, European politicians, and Polish leaders in particular, wish to sweep the Munich Betrayal under the carpet. The Munich Betrayal showed to the Soviet Union that the Western countries would deal with security issues without taking its interests into account."

by Vladimir Putin

Seventy-five years have passed since the end of the Great Patriotic War. Several generations have grown up over the years. The political map of the planet has changed. The Soviet Union that claimed an epic, crushing victory over Nazism and saved the entire world is gone. Besides, the events of that war have long become a distant memory, even for its participants. So why does Russia celebrate the ninth of May as the biggest holiday? Why does life almost come to a halt on June 22? And why does one feel a lump rise in their throat?

They usually say that the war has left a deep imprint on every family's history. Behind these words, there are fates of millions of people, their sufferings and the pain of loss. Behind these words, there is also the pride, the truth and the memory.

For my parents, the war meant the terrible ordeals of the Siege of Leningrad where my two-year-old brother Vitya died. It was the place where my mother miraculously managed to survive. My father, despite being exempt from active duty, volunteered to defend his hometown. He made the same decision as millions of Soviet citizens. He fought at the Nevsky Pyatachok bridgehead and was severely wounded. And the more years pass, the more I feel the need to talk to my parents and learn more about the war period of their lives. However, I no longer have the opportunity to do so. This is the reason why I treasure in my heart those conversations I had with my father and mother on this subject, as well as the little emotion they showed.

People of my age and I believe it is important that our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren understand the torment and hardships their ancestors had to endure. They need to understand how their ancestors managed to persevere and win. Where did their sheer, unbending willpower that amazed and fascinated the whole world come from? Sure, they were defending their home, their children, loved ones and families. However, what they shared was the love for their homeland, their Motherland. That deep-seated, intimate feeling is fully reflected in the very essence of our nation and became one of the decisive factors in its heroic, sacrificial fight against the Nazis.

I often wonder: What would today's generation do? How will it act when faced with a crisis situation? I see young doctors, nurses, sometimes fresh graduates that go to the "red zone" to save lives. I see our servicemen that fight international terrorism in the Northern Caucasus and fought to the bitter end in Syria. They are so young. Many servicemen who were part of the legendary, immortal 6th Paratroop Company were 19-20 years old. But all of them proved that they deserved to inherit the feat of the warriors of our homeland that defended it during the Great Patriotic War.

This is why I am confident that one of the characteristic features of the peoples of Russia is to fulfill their duty without feeling sorry for themselves when the circumstances so demand. Such values as selflessness, patriotism, love for their home, their family and Motherland remain fundamental and integral to the Russian society to this day. These values are, to a large extent, the backbone of our country's sovereignty.

Nowadays, we have new traditions created by the people, such as the Immortal Regiment. This is the memory march that symbolizes our gratitude, as well as the living connection and the blood ties between generations. Millions of people come out to the streets carrying the photographs of their relatives that defended their Motherland and defeated the Nazis. This means that their lives, their ordeals and sacrifices, as well as the Victory that they left to us will never be forgotten.

We have a responsibility to our past and our future to do our utmost to prevent those horrible tragedies from happening ever again. Hence, I was compelled to come out with an article about World War II and the Great Patriotic War. I have discussed this idea on several occasions with world leaders, and they have showed their support. At the summit of CIS leaders held at the end of last year, we all agreed on one thing: it is essential to pass on to future generations the memory of the fact that the Nazis were defeated first and foremost by the Soviet people and that representatives of all republics of the Soviet Union fought side by side together in that heroic battle, both on the frontlines and in the rear. During that summit, I also talked with my counterparts about the challenging pre-war period.

That conversation caused a stir in Europe and the world. It means that it is indeed high time that we revisited the lessons of the past. At the same time, there were many emotional outbursts, poorly disguised insecurities and loud accusations that followed. Acting out of habit, certain politicians rushed to claim that Russia was trying to rewrite history. However, they failed to rebut a single fact or refute a single argument. It is indeed difficult, if not impossible, to argue with the original documents that, by the way, can be found not only in the Russian, but also in the foreign archives.

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Vladimir Putin: The Real Lessons of the 75th Anniversary of World War II | The National Interest

The real lesson:

Hypocritical continuum of empires.

Can anyone figure out just how many billions this simple politician actually has?

I didn't think the KGB salary schedule was especially high.

Originally Posted by cisco999

Can anyone figure out just how many billions this simple politician actually has?

I didn't think the KGB salary schedule was especially high.

Any comment to his stories? Perhaps discovering some lies?

Or just parroting the daily massaged brain washing? (What else can they tell you about him?)

Alexander Rahr: An article by Vladimir Putin - a call to the West not to play with history

An article by Russian President Vladimir Putin on the main lessons of the Second World War is an attempt to once again tell Western partners who are rewriting history: “Wake up!” This point of view in an interview with RG was expressed by German political scientist Alexander Rahr, commenting on an article published in Rossiyskaya Gazeta and the American magazine The National Interest.

He is the author of numerous books on Russia in several languages, including a biography of Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (1985) and Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin.

Rahr is regularly present in the daily media, for example in the Frankfurter Rundschau, the left young world, [5] the Süddeutsche Zeitung or the Tagesspiegel.


History is not a weapon
Alexander Rahr: “In my opinion, Putin pursues two strategic goals in his article. The first is to urge Western propagandists and ignorant politicians to give historians the right to argue about World War II. In particular, Putin calls on other countries to finally open classified archives in order to they are based on honestly understanding all the black moments of history and together understanding why that war occurred.

As part of the second goal of his article, Putin tells the West: from the point of view of Russia, history cannot be used as a weapon. And today this is exactly what is happening in the West, where new anti-Russian judgments regarding World War II are constantly being born. Historical facts are of least interest, the main concern is victory in modern conflicts. They want to make an eternal scarecrow from Russia in order to legitimize the further expansion of NATO and continue to criticize Moscow for its neo-imperialism, which, from the point of view of the West, is a threat to it.

In addition, countries such as Poland, the Baltic states and Ukraine play the “guilt complex” of the Western powers, which refers to the fact that at the Yalta and Potsdam meetings, they, the small countries, “gave” to Stalin, rather than “taken” to the West. Therefore, they proclaim themselves victims and demand not only to support them, but also to begin to perceive their worldview and rejection of the whole Russian as an axiom. As a result, and Putin writes about this, they are trying to make Stalin the culprit of World War II because of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, and thereby neutralize the significance of the Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam conferences. In these attempts, Putin sees a desire to permanently destroy the old world order, where Russia has the status of a great power, and build a new, virtually unipolar world under the authority of the West.

Two-sided pact
Alexander Rahr: “It seems to me that the following points are most important in Putin’s article.
First: he reminded the whole world that back in 1989 the USSR had condemned the secret protocol of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (on the“ borders of the spheres of interests ”of the parties in the case of a territorial-political reorganization of the Baltic states and Poland - approx. "RG"), modern Russia also condemns it. The West, according to Putin, must finally hear this position of Moscow and also condemn its actions in 1938 (the so-called "Munich agreement" - approx. "RG" ) and secret negotiations with Hitler, about which he so diligently wants to remain silent.

Second: Putin’s article was not written to whitewash Stalin. Putin writes about his crimes committed domestically, but explains that one cannot blame Stalin for foreign policy in the absence of intuition and knowledge of how to protect his state. Stalin understood that he was dealing not only with the enemy in the person of Germany, but also with Great Britain and France, who were just waiting for National Socialism and Bolshevism to start fighting each other. It is no accident that Putin turns, in particular, to London, urging him to finally open his archives and to publish data on the statements of Churchill and other British politicians about the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Now the West sees this document as something terrible, but then he perfectly understood the position of Moscow and evaluated this agreement much more rationally. It was clear to the West that the USSR did not become an ally of Germany, but simply took the time to prepare for the inevitable war. So that the public can be convinced of this, you just need to open the archives.

But, unfortunately, in the West Putin’s arguments may not be apprehended properly. Political circles will probably be silent about his article. The thing is that their ideas about that war are already so settled here that the West is simply not interested in arguing about it. Moreover, he himself begins to believe more and more in his own version of those events. Now everything is being done in Europe so that the history of World War II is forgotten. This is a holy war in Russia, the USSR came out of it as a winner, so the Russians are talking about it with such enthusiasm. But those who lose are silent. The Germans are silent, the French and almost all of Europe are silent, because most of them were either under the occupation of Hitler, or even cooperated with him. But besides this, many people, in principle, know little about that war - I bitterly watch how this topic is taught in schools and universities.

Wake up the conscience of the West
Alexander Rahr:which makes all her attempts to present herself as a victim of the USSR simply ridiculous. It has something to say about World War II and China, whose point of view, I am sure, will be close to Russian. To say that this article will open the eyes of the West is wrong, but it certainly will not go unanswered. "

Александр Рар: Статья Владимира Путина - призыв к Западу не играть с историей — Российская газета

Originally Posted by Klondyke

Any comment to his stories? Perhaps discovering some lies?

Why are you deflecting again tovarish?

Originally Posted by Klondyke

However, what they shared was the love for their homeland, their Motherland

snigger

he is just another of a multitude