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Russia's Putin Gives The West A WWII History Lesson: Here's Why

James Rodgers

4-5 minutes

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Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting via video conference at the Novo-Ogaryovo ... [+] residence outside Moscow, Russia, Monday, June 15, 2020. (Alexei Nikolsky, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

President Vladimir Putin of Russia may have had to postpone the parade planned to mark the 75th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in WWII. He has not missed the opportunity to make a point to the West.

Some 15,000 military personnel and hundreds of pieces of armour were originally due to take part in a parade scheduled for May 9: a tribute to the victorious Soviet troops who fought Hitler's forces, and a show of modern Russia's martial might.

The parade had to be postponed because of the coronavirus. It is now due to go ahead June 24, the anniversary of the first victory parade in 1945.

Then, the Soviet Union, the United States, and their allies celebrated together as victors united by a common cause.

This year, things are different—and history has become the latest battleground in the information war that is contemporary international politics.

Putin is not pleased by any prospect that his country's role in the defeat of Nazism might be diminished or disrespected.

Putin Warns Against 'Insulting The Memory' Of Moscow's Role

In a lengthy essay published on the website of The National Interest, and also on that of the Kremlin, Putin warned, "Historical revisionism, the manifestations of which we now observe in the West, primarily with regard to the subject of the Second World War and its outcome, is dangerous."

The Russian leader referred in particular to a European parliament resolution of September 2019 that, he wrote, "directly accused the USSR – along with the Nazi Germany – of unleashing the Second World War."

Putin's conclusion was clear, and defiant, "Desecrating and insulting the memory is mean."

Putin also wrote that it was not his intention to, "initiate a new round of international information confrontation in the historical field that could set countries and peoples at loggerheads."

He may end up doing that, intentionally or not—but he certainly wants to set the record straight as he sees it.

 

Russian soldiers march toward Red Square to attend a dress rehearsal for the Victory Day military ... [+] parade in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, June 20, 2020. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Scale Of Soviet Sacrifice In WWII

Why, 75 years after the end of the conflict, and in a very different world, does this matter so much?

The first answer is the scale of Russia's sacrifice. The number of Soviet military and civilian dead is generally estimated to be in excess of 20 million. In his article, Putin writes, "Almost 27 million," adding, for comparison, that in WWII, "The USSR lost one in seven of its citizens, the UK lost one in 127, and the USA lost one in 320."

Then there's Russia's own history. In a 20th century scarred—in addition to WWI and WWII—by revolution, civil war, and regime change from monarchy to communism before that system too collapsed in 1991, victory over Hitler's Germany stands out as a triumph that is used still today as a force to unite the country.

So it does not go down well when, as happened on May 8 in a tweet from the White House, Russia's role is overlooked.

Facing Coronavirus Challenge, Putin Remembers WWII Glory

True, on April 25, there had been a joint statement from Presidents Trump and Putin celebrating U.S. Soviet military cooperation in WWII—but the perceived slight on VE day itself was not well received. Calling the tweet "bizarre", the Kremlin-backed RT website asked, "Forgetting someone?"

In his article, Putin referred to a note sent by Britain's wartime Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, to the then Soviet leader, Joseph Stalin, in September 1944. Churchill acknowledged that it was, "the Russian army that tore the guts out of the German military machine."

As his country battles with the effects of the coronavirus on public health and the economy, and faces difficult relations with the West, Putin does not want either the people of Russia, or the world, to forget that.