The current parade on Red Square in honor of the 72nd anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War was different from the previous ones, writes the Spanish newspaper ABC. This time, Vladimir Putin, delivering his speech, was more energetic and emotional than usual. The publication connects this with the upcoming presidential elections in Russia next year. In addition, according to the article, the parade was "unprecedented hitherto manifestation of the cult of personality."
A military parade on the occasion of the 72nd anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in the Great Patriotic War - that is what the Second World War is called in Russia - was held this morning on Red Square in Moscow and in many other cities, as well as in the Crimea and in the "rebel regions" of the east Ukraine, writes the journalist of the Spanish newspaper ABC Rafael Manueco.
And although we are not talking about a round date, this event was nevertheless given special significance. The Russian president, the article claims, has turned this Victory Parade into an element of his election campaign, as well as a manifestation of a cult of personality.
“Unlike previous years, the production was more elaborate, and the media coverage was the most stunning that comes to mind. And this despite the bad weather, which prevented the air part, ”the author writes.
Cold weather failed to bring down the heat of passions. However, the parade was not only a celebration of the fallen in that terrible war, but also "a traditional demonstration military force”, including nuclear missiles and air defense systems.
Today, the main role at this solemn event - and more actively than ever before - was played by Vladimir Putin, who on March 18 next year, just on the 4th anniversary of the "annexation of Crimea", should take part in the presidential election, writes Manyueco.
According to the author of the article, this year the Russian leader delivered his speech "more energetically and emotionally than usual." He spoke about the millions of Soviet citizens who fought against the Nazi troops, who “burned in tanks, froze in the trenches, drowned at the crossings, covered their front-line friends, rushed to the attack and understood that this battle could be the last for them, died, and did not having learned about the victory, but did everything they could for it.
And after a minute of silence, Vladimir Putin said that today life itself requires an increase in Russia's defense potential. However, he noted that "for the effective fight against terrorism, extremism, neo-Nazism, and other threats, the consolidation of the entire international community is necessary."
May 11, 2017 | 11:24Victory Day does not need someone to reinforce its authority with their presence. At first, foreigners were not on it, then they were, now they are gone again, in a couple of years they will appear again ... They are tinsel, wrapping, bows, without which little changes.
We fought the first most difficult three years alone. For stew and planes, thanks, allies, of course. But as a recent example in Syria showed, even powerful material support will not help if there is no army, infantry, ready to stomp the territory with their feet, giving their lives. What kind of "lend-lease" from the Americans and Europe did not the Syrian rebels have against ISIS and Assad? And also ISIS and Assad - well, not Hitler at all. And what? The war has already begun its fourth year - where is the victory? Assad at least Aleppo, Palmyra recaptured. And in Mosul, everything is worth a stake. So if the Anglo-Saxons do not have a "scapegoat", who will stomp their feet for them. - and there are no victories. Though "Lend Lisa" and heaps.
So - thanks to the allies, but if we already stood before Hitler ourselves, then we will celebrate freely without them. God is with them.
ionessi: History must be taught! When Hitler and I tore Poland apart and hosted Wehrmacht parades, Britain was true to its duty and went to war with Germany. We fed Hitler in 1940-41. and he occupied Europe.
Bombs were already falling on the heads of our citizens, and wheels were pounding on the rails towards Germany, taking wheat and meat, ore and oil from the hungry people for the Nazis! And now you remembered that "We fought the first most difficult three years alone." And it's not true! On December 10, 1941, Japan bombs Pearl Harbor and America goes to war with it. England has been at war since 1939! Are you waiting to be showered with gifts? Roosevelt forgave everything, and from the first days of Hitler's attack on Russia raised the issue of helping us. Churchill stifled anti-communism in himself and began to help Russia. continuing to defend their islands and keep the seas under control. Again, I remind you, don't freak out. read more!
ionessi May 12, 2017 | 08:36
portfein:
History must be taught not only in pieces. Poland in 38, with the help of Hitler, beautifully pulled off Teszyn Silesia from Czechoslovakia. One of the pillars of the economic power of the Reich was the Krupp factories, which worked closely with General Electric. Generel Motors and Ford, through subsidiaries, controlled 70% of the German car market. Those companies in 1939 "quickly re-equipped production in order to become suppliers of military equipment for the German army", The largest German banks were under the control of American capital: Deutsche Bank, Dresdner Bank, Donat Bank, etc. According to the plan Dawes, American and British corporations have systematically entered the German economy since 1924. Where there our supplies of raw materials are only 4 years old.
England has been at war since 1939. And our international brigades clashed with the Nazis back in Spain, in 1936. And where did England sit when Hitler strengthened, took control of Spain, Austria, Slovakia. Hungary. Transcarpathia? Sitting on the priest exactly, crackling about the brought world?
Stop Hitler in Spain in 1936 - you see, the story would have been completely different. If the United States had reined in the appetites of its bankers, automakers, and energy workers, everything would have been different too. So it was not us who fed Hitler, who made him drunk. our case here tenth.
Russia held very reserved» version of its annual Victory Day parade. And although President Vladimir Putin made a speech about international cooperation, most foreign leaders refrained from attending the celebrations, writes The New York times.
According to the publication, over the 17 years of his rule, Putin has gradually turned Victory Day into the country's most important holiday. He managed to tie his presidency to the national unity, self-sacrifice, and centralized power that proved necessary to defeat Nazi Germany.
« The lessons of the past war urge us to be vigilant. And the Russian Armed Forces are capable of repelling any potential aggression», — Putin said after 10,000 servicemen and 114 pieces of equipment marched through Red Square.
The Russian President noted that his country is ready to cooperate with the international community to effectively combat terrorism. However, the article emphasizes, the parade again reminded, “ how isolated"Russia has become in the light of its tense relations with the West due to a number of contentious issues, including the Ukrainian crisis and intervention in the American elections.
Only one foreign leader was present on the podium among Russian officials and veterans — newly elected" pro-Russian» Moldovan President Igor Dodon. Whereas the leaders of China, Germany, the United States and many others came to Moscow for the celebrations of past years, the publication recalls.
In neighboring Ukraine, during the solemn ceremony, there were some excesses that were widely covered on Russian television. In Kyiv and at least one other major Ukrainian city, there were clashes between May 9th commemorators and nationalists, " opposing Russia».
In addition, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko accused Moscow of using the holiday to “ note military intervention into the Ukrainian conflict. He said that this year his country celebrates Victory Day for the last time at the same time as Russia, and in 2018 plans to celebrate it on May 8, like most European countries.
According to The New York Times, the fact that Russia celebrates Victory Day later than the rest of Europe reflects the tense situation that existed at the end of the war, which has generally persisted to this day. Many Russians believe that the sacrifices that their country suffered in the fight against Nazism are not given enough attention in the world.
In 2012, Putin promised to spend about $400 billion over ten years to upgrade armed forces. Economic problems associated with falling oil prices and Western sanctions have forced a reduction in these spending, but investment in the defense industry remains tangible.
For example, this year the parade featured missile systems painted in the white camouflage colors of the Arctic. Thus, the Kremlin emphasized the expanding influence of its army in this oil-rich, northern region, The New York Times believes.
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Long before the May 9 holiday, big foreign politicians competed in statements - "I will go - I won't go", "if I go, then when", "if not, then why". Moscow's position was simple - we invite friends to the holiday, and the decision to travel is everyone's choice. This does not make the 70th anniversary of the Great Victory a less expensive and significant holiday for Russians.
By the evening of May 9, British and French newspapers came out with headlines - Western leaders offended the Russians by finding things more important than remembering the tens of millions of dead. On the morning of May 10, Chancellor Merkel flew to Moscow to honor the memory of the dead and lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Apparently, it is important for Western leaders to show that for them the victory over fascism is indisputable, it is an important part of the common past. Differences in views are emphasized by them in the present.
But "Le Figaro" gives amazing numbers - only 13% of the French are aware of the role played by the Red Army in World War II. 43% know more about what the Americans did during the war.
It is not customary to make speeches at the Eternal Flame, everything is clear here without words. For all the significance of solemn parades and festive receptions, this short ceremony in the Alexander Garden is perhaps the main reason why foreign leaders came to Moscow. Rank and political views are not important here. People come here to pay tribute to the memory of tens of millions of our fellow citizens who died freeing the world from Nazism.
Everyone who came did not need a special invitation. After all, this Eternal Flame burns for those who remember. Who does not want to forget that our ancestors saved the planet from absolute evil together.
"Our people fought for their shrines, for the Motherland, for their home, for culture, for their native language, for moral and spiritual values. For the freedom of Europe and for peace on the planet. And in this righteous holy struggle against Nazism, they did not spare themselves. They survived and won. We will always remember that the victory was won by the unity and true brotherhood of all the peoples of the USSR, the Soviet Union. We pay tribute to the feat of the soldiers of the anti-Hitler coalition and anti-fascists who brought victory closer. The spirit of alliance, which was tempered during the Second World War, and today should serve us as an example of partnership of all countries of the world in the name of just goals, in the name of peace on earth," President Vladimir Putin said in his speech.
Among the three dozen leaders who came to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on May 9, there were those for whom Victory Day is almost a family holiday. The grandfather of the President of Turkmenistan, the fathers of the heads of Tajikistan and South Ossetia, as well as the father of Vladimir Putin, went through this terrible war. This is a special day for the Kazakh leader. Almost every second inhabitant of Kazakhstan who went to war did not return alive.
“Unfortunately, we have recently seen attempts by individual politicians and states to revise the results of the Great Patriotic War. There is a distortion and outright fraud historical facts. For all of us, I think this approach is unacceptable. We must jointly preserve the truth of our Victory, pass on the memory of it to future generations in order to prevent such a catastrophe in the future," President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev said.
Milos Zeman, the president of the Czech Republic, did not seem to doubt for a second whether it was worth going to the anniversary of the Victory, despite hails from Washington. It got to the point that he had to harshly put the American ambassador in his place, who tactlessly demanded to cancel the trip.
"I'm here not only to express honor to those 20,000 Soviet soldiers who died in the Czech Republic, but to all the millions of dead Soviet citizens," he said.
Zeman did not change his mind, even when it became clear that due to the powerful pressure of the "Washington Regional Committee", as Putin put it, no other EU leader dared to go to Moscow.
“We are pleased that there are politicians in Europe who are able to directly express their point of view and be independent. We hope that sanctions will be overcome, thank you very much for being here today,” Vladimir Putin said.
"Thank you... Politics is like the weather, there is a cooling, and then warming. I am completely sure that sanctions are a short-term phenomenon. I publicly spoke out against sanctions," Milos Zeman assured the Russian President.
Countrymen of President Zeman, Czech veterans, came to Moscow to honor the memory of the Soviet soldiers who liberated their country from the Nazis. They are very worried, looking at the anti-Russian hysteria in the West.
"There are people who want to change this story, and they also say that the Czech Republic was liberated by the American army. American propaganda is now such that it is twisted again in a different way. They say that Putin wants a Third world war. And Putin is simply guarding Russia so that NATO does not come closer," says Mikhail Gondek, a member of the Czech Union of Military Veterans For Freedom.
Veterans' concerns are understandable. In the past few years, especially on the eve of May 9, a muddy wave of statements has been rising from those who are trying to twist the history of the Second World War. Take, for example, the statements of the Polish leadership that the 70th anniversary of the Victory over fascism, in fact, should be celebrated not in Moscow, but in Warsaw. Or the strange conclusions of Polish President Komorowski about the Victory Parade on Red Square.
"It should be remembered that in this military demonstration, a demonstration of strength, it is not about history, but about the present and the future. This is the image of today's unstable and troubled world. And in such conditions we must build our Polish security," he said.
Following this, the Ukrainian president thanked the EU leaders who refused to go to the celebrations in Moscow. It is difficult to understand what it is, absurd attempts to hurt Russia, or attempts to please American patrons? Rather, it's both. Even the influential British newspaper "Financial Times" is perplexed: "Anyone who thinks about the scale of suffering during the Second World War should regret that Western leaders did not come to Moscow on Saturday ... On the 70th anniversary of the Victory, the world should unite to not only honor the memory of the fallen fighters against Nazi tyranny, but also to realize the difficult moral lessons of the conflict."
Looking at all this, the President of Uzbekistan, whose veterans beat the Nazis shoulder to shoulder with the rest of the peoples of the USSR, said these words in Moscow.
“Of course, the war itself became the most difficult test for all the peoples of the Soviet republics. Nevertheless, a special role in the Victory, without any exaggeration, I emphasize this, belongs, first of all, to the Russian people. I am responsible for every word, and to the peoples of all of Russia, which suffered colossal human and material losses, and on whose shoulders the main burden of the fight against fascism fell," Islam Karimov said.
Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, in an open letter to the Carera de la Sera newspaper, called the EU leaders' decision to boycott the celebrations in Moscow a personal defeat.
“The absence of Western leaders from the celebrations in Moscow in honor of the seventieth anniversary of the end of World War II is a demonstration of the short-sightedness of the West. This is a big mistake in perspective. The Red Square podium, on which the President of China, the President of India, and other Asian leaders sit next to Putin, is an example not the isolation of Russia, but an example of the failure of the West," the Italian politician is sure.
The rapprochement between Russia and China in general has recently been perceived in the West with apprehension. Before, no one saw anything unusual in this - this is a progressive multi-year process. But Western analysts, it seems, will long remember both the recent brave march of the Chinese military at the Victory Parade, and the fact that two Chinese warships came to Novorossiysk port on the eve of the holiday to participate in the anniversary celebrations, and then take part in joint exercises with Russian sailors in the Mediterranean. And this is how the Chinese leader himself, who came to Moscow, explained it.
"China was the main front of the Second World War in Asia. It was then that a strong military friendship developed between our peoples. Celebrating our common holiday, Victory Day, we do not proceed from singling out any specific countries, we do this in order to pay tribute to the fallen heroes so that such a tragedy never happens again," Xi Jinping said.
Xi Jinping admitted that he had long dreamed of being in Moscow on Victory Day, and noted that for China, the war with militaristic Japan, an ally of Germany, ended only in September. He invited Vladimir Putin to the celebrations in Beijing.
"As a result of the Second World War, the Soviet Union and China turned out to be the most affected states, since we lost the largest number citizens of both the Soviet Union and the Chinese People's Republic", Vladimir Putin said.
The footage was taken on May 9 in the very center of the capital: a group of ordinary Germans came to the "Moscow - Hero City" stele to pay tribute to the memory of Soviet soldiers who liberated their homeland from the "brown plague". There are St. George ribbons on the chest, and on the black T-shirts in tone there is an orange inscription: "Germany says thanks for the Victory."
“For me, for example, this is the victory of my people, who suffered from fascism. And we came to thank your grandfathers for saving us. And we made the decision to come when there was a suspicion that Mrs. Merkel would not go to Moscow,” Willen Piatsa explained her position .
The German Chancellor also came under intense pressure from Washington. It seemed to many that she would give in, because it was not the first time. But German public opinion seemed to be more important. It was enough to see what happened on May 9 in Berlin's Treptow Park near the monument to the Soviet Liberator Soldier.
"I must say that our German government is doing everything to turn people against Russia. Are they starting a war? I, a German, am ashamed that we have such a government. It's sad," says Berlin resident Christian Halle.
A compromise was found - not to go to the celebrations, but a day later. The leaders met in the Alexander Garden and, talking without interpreters, came to the Eternal Flame, where they laid wreaths and were silent.
To the surprise of the many tourists who walked around the Kremlin on this sunny Sunday, Putin and Merkel went on foot through the Kutafya tower for negotiations. After many hours of talks about bilateral issues, sanctions and a settlement in Ukraine, Merkel had the opportunity to explain herself to the Russians.
“Today I arrived in Moscow in a difficult situation for German-Russian relations. It was important for me, together with President Putin, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, to honor the memory of those who died in it. I bow before the millions of victims that the unleashed national- We will always be aware that this was a brutal racial war, a war of annihilation, which brought unimaginable suffering to millions of people. Against the backdrop of these historical events, I am grateful that reconciliation has become possible between our peoples, for the fact that Germans and Russians can work together today for a better future," said the German Chancellor.
"I am grateful to Madam Federal Chancellor for sincere words of regret in connection with the crimes of Nazi Germany against the citizens of our country. Our country did not fight against Germany, it fought against Nazi Germany, against Germany, which itself became the first victim of the Nazi regime. We belong to today's Germany , as to our partner and friendly country. I cannot but note in this regard that the business circles of the federal republic themselves are in favor of removing artificial obstacles to the development of mutually beneficial trade and economic ties. Entrepreneurs are pragmatic people, therefore they do not leave the Russian market, appreciate the opportunities here to run a successful business," Vladimir Putin said.
Do not forget that in New York, Washington, Toronto, Berlin in these May Days people joined the people's action "Immortal Regiment". And the way it went in Moscow was the main shock of the day for Western journalists. After all, nothing even needs to be commented on here. Everything is clear without words.
Although, of course, the main attention was still focused on the parade with the participation of the latest Russian military equipment. The German newspaper "Zeit" called it "great and grandiose as never before since the days of the USSR." And, for example, the broadcast from Moscow, which was conducted by the Greek parliamentary channel, increased its rating four times. On the evening of May 9, Vladimir Putin did not hide his joy. The holiday turned out.
"Everyone we wanted to see was here. The most important thing is that people understand that the fight against Nazism was very important, and the victory over Nazism is very milestone in the history of mankind. As for what we saw in general, I would like to say that we saw a lot of joyful faces of our citizens. And this is the most important thing. The most important thing is that we recognize this as our big, perhaps the main holiday in the history of our country," the President said.
In a word, with the boycott of the 70th anniversary of the Victory in Moscow, as well as with the isolation of Russia in general, the United States and its satellites got embarrassed. However, long before May 9, the President made it clear that, first of all, this is our holiday, when we honor veterans and remember the dead. It's nice if someone decided to join us. But another decision will not upset anyone.
