The truth about the Great Patriotic War is the truth is that Soviet soldiers came to Germany with a mission of liberation, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an article titled "Being Open, Despite the Past," published on Tuesday on the Kremlin website.
"Despite attempts to rewrite the pages of the past that are being made today, the truth is that Soviet soldiers came to Germany not to take revenge on the Germans, but with a noble and great mission of liberation," the Russian leader stressed.
His article was published on the Day of Memory and Mourning. "On June 22, 1941, exactly 80 years ago, the Nazis, having conquered practically the whole of Europe, attacked the USSR. For the Soviet people the Great Patriotic War – the bloodiest one in the history of our country – began. Tens of millions of people lost their lives, the economic potential of the country and its cultural property were severely damaged," Putin recalled.
"We are proud of the courage and steadfastness of the heroes of the Red Army and home front workers who not only defended the independence and dignity of our homeland, but also saved Europe and the world from enslavement, we hold sacred the memory of the heroes who fought against Nazism," assured the Russian leader.
At the same time, he stressed: "We remember with gratitude our allies in the anti-Hitler coalition, participants in the Resistance movement, and German anti-fascists who brought our common victory closer."
According to the president of the Russian Federation, "having lived through the horrors of the world war, the peoples of Europe were nevertheless able to overcome alienation and restore mutual trust and respect, they set a course for integration in order to draw a final line under the European tragedies of the first half of the last century". "The historical reconciliation of our people with the Germans living both in the east and the west of modern united Germany played a huge role in the formation of such Europe," said the Russian president.
After the war
Putin stated that "it was German entrepreneurs who became pioneers of cooperation" with the USSR. "In 1970, the USSR and the Federal Republic of Germany concluded a ”deal of the century“ on long-term natural gas supplies to Europe that laid the foundation for constructive interdependence and initiated many future grand projects, including the construction of the Nord Stream gas pipeline," the Russian president said.
"We hoped that the end of the Cold War would be a common victory for Europe. It seemed that just a little more effort was needed to make Charles de Gaulle's dream of a single continent – not even geographically ”from the Atlantic to the Urals“, but culturally and civilizational ”from Lisbon to Vladivostok“ – become a reality," the Russian president noted. According to him, "it is exactly with this logic in mind – the logic of building a Greater Europe united by common values and interests – that Russia has sought to develop its relations with the Europeans". "Both Russia and the EU have done a lot on this path," said the head of the Russian state.
However, he stated that "a different approach prevailed". "It was based on the expansion of the North Atlantic Alliance which was itself a relic of the Cold War. After all, it was specifically created for the confrontation of that era," Putin explained.
"The bloc's eastward expansion, which incidentally began when the Soviet leadership was persuaded to accept NATO membership for a unified Germany, was the main reason for the rapid growth of mutual distrust in Europe," the Russian leader said. "The promises they made at the time - that "it is not directed against you," that "the bloc's borders will not get closer to you" - were quickly forgotten. But the precedent was set," the Russian president stressed.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
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Based on materials from TASS