Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov: Together We are Invincible
The Russian people and all people of goodwill are celebrating the 60th anniversary of the day in May 1945 when the Soviet Union, the United States, Great Britain, France and other countries jointly saved humanity from Nazi enslavement. The anniversary is an important day for everyone who fought the great battle against Nazism. This landmark event has gathered heads of state, military and public delegations from all over the civilized world for celebrations in Russia on May 9. Here in Russia we see this as recognition of our country’s considerable contribution to the defeat of the most terrifying enemy of humanity in the 20th century.
(PRWEB) May 10, 2005 -- The Russian people and all people of goodwill are
celebrating the 60th anniversary of the day in May 1945 when the Soviet Union,
the United States, Great Britain, France and other countries jointly saved
humanity from Nazi enslavement.
The anniversary is an important day for
everyone who fought the great battle against Nazism. This landmark event has
gathered heads of state, military and public delegations from all over the
civilized world for celebrations in Russia on May 9. Here in Russia we see this
as recognition of our country’s considerable contribution to the defeat of the
most terrifying enemy of humanity in the 20th century.
The Nazi invasion
of the Soviet Union, a country that was an obstacle to Nazi Germany’s global
domination, assumed an unprecedented scale and had several strategic vectors.
The Nazis used the most inhumane methods in military operations: the
extermination of the local population, mass looting and pillage, and the
barbaric destruction of cultural and artistic treasures. On the Russian,
Ukrainian and Byelorussian soil that they occupied temporarily, the Nazis shot,
hung and tortured to death over 11.5 million peaceful civilians, the majority of
whom were the elderly, women and children. Over five million people were
enslaved, and more than two million of them never returned home.
The
material damage the aggressor caused was also unparalleled. The Nazis burnt down
and destroyed 1,710 towns and 70,000 villages, and over 135,000 industrial and
agricultural enterprises. The war deprived the country of 30% of its national
wealth.
The Great Patriotic War, as World War II is called in Russia,
went down in history due to its countless victims and human suffering, but it
became a symbol of the great spirit, and the unrivalled valor and heroism of our
nation.
From the outset, the fight against the Nazi bloc was a just
cause for us, and the Soviet-Nazi front became crucial in its very first
days.
The fighting continued uninterrupted, with millions of soldiers
involved on both sides, for 1,418 days and nights.
Moreover, the Soviet
Union had to keep combat ready divisions in the Far East to repulse a possible
attack from Japan, which had already occupied China and other Southeast Asian
nations. It had also unleashed a war against the U.S. with its perfidious attack
on Pearl Harbor in December 1941.
The Soviet army won its glory by
defeating Wehrmacht armies outside Moscow, heroically defending Leningrad and
Stalingrad, fighting for the Caucasus, waging a great battle on the Kursk Bulge,
victoriously storming Berlin, and carrying out many other major operations that
defeated 607 enemy divisions, or 80% of the Nazis’ losses.
Our people did
not only defend the independence of their homeland, but also fulfilled a noble
liberating mission by saving many nations from extermination and the brutal
regime that the Nazis had brought to Europe.
When relentless fighting
began from the Baltics to the Black Sea, the Washington Post rightfully wrote
that the only thought about what could have happened if the Red Army had
succumbed to the pressure of the advancing Nazis, and if the Russian people had
been less courageous and undaunted, makes one shudder. By fighting the enemy
with such prowess, the Russians defended civilization against all humanity’s
enemies.
Soviet troops liberated territory covering a million square
kilometers populated by 113 million people in Southeastern and Central Europe
alone at a price of over a million of our compatriots - soldiers and
officers.
European Resistance fighters, and Polish, Czech, Yugoslav,
Bulgarian, Romanian and Hungarian forces fought against the enemy shoulder to
shoulder with Soviet servicemen.
Nor will we forget the priceless
contribution of the Allies to the defeat of the Nazis. The military resources of
our country were substantially replenished by weapons, hardware, ammunition and
other materials from the U.S., Britain and Canada. Tens of thousands of people
from the Allied countries and their armies worked hand in hand, sometimes in
extremely adverse and dangerous conditions. Cargoes were delivered in various
ways, including by several sea and air routes.
Convoys arrived from the
U.S. and Britain via the northern seas. They headed for Murmansk and
Arkhangelsk, fighting off the “wolf packs” of Nazi warships, submarines and
aircraft on the way. Military hardware and munitions were delivered to the
Soviet Transcaucasia from the Persian Gulf ports in the south via arid deserts,
the Iranian and Iraqi mountains, by rail, road and air. Combat and transport
aircraft flew from California, across the ice-covered fields of Alaska and the
taiga expanses of Siberia, to Krasnoyarsk, and further to the front. Ships
carried various cargoes across the Pacific to the Far East. The bulk of imported
products were U.S. lend-lease deliveries that did not only provide timely
economic aid but also substantial moral and psychological support for our
country.
And certainly and most importantly, our cooperation resulted in
the opening of the second front in June 1944. From that moment, Allied forces
confidently and steadily fought their way towards each other. The heroic efforts
culminated in the meeting between Russian and U.S. soldiers on the River Elbe
and the long-awaited victory over the enemy.
Now that sixty years have
passed since the war ended, we are still infinitely grateful to all those who
fought for the victory and justice. The lessons of history teach us that there
are and there can be no obstacles preventing people all over the world from
uniting against global threats.
This lesson is particularly relevant
today, in the 21st century, when the world is facing new challenges. They
include an evil that does not recognize any laws or rules, and does not value
the most precious thing on earth, human life. This evil is called international
terrorism. It cannot be defeated unless the entire international community
unites.
Appropriate responses must be given to other global risks, such
as the proliferation of the weapons of mass destruction and the means of their
delivery, radical religious communities and groups, drug trafficking, and
organized crime. Accordingly, the example of the Allies will hopefully be
remembered and used to the utmost in the noble cause of securing a just and long
peace, as well as stability and security in the world.
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/5/prweb238367.htm