[Waaay OT] Celebrations in Moscow
Posted: Tue May 10, 2005 11:36 am
This is waaaay OT, not sure if anyone else is thinking this, but ...
We regularly hear from the Americans that they had to come and save Europe from the Nazis, or that the RAF in the Battle of Britain single-handedly turned the war around. The US and UK have been acknowledging their own heroism for decades. Not at all undeserved, many gave their lives to secure a peaceful future for the rest of us..
But recognising that 27,000,000 Russians perished in WWII in the struggle to maintain the freedom of Western Europe, I'm feeling a strange sense of history not being quite as advertised by the British and the Americans.
I'm not Russian, but it seems quite injust that the sacrifice made by Russia has been so sidelined by the other victors.
It is good to see it getting proper recognition at the current festivities in Moscow.
I guess I'm just feeling a sense of the truth being re-balanced somewhat, when you consider WWII from the Russian's point of view (despite the political developments there following the war).
Just wanted to give a signal of appreciation for all those who died during WWII, but also to particularly recognise the huge contribution of Russia, which generally gets forgotten in European/American history books.
We regularly hear from the Americans that they had to come and save Europe from the Nazis, or that the RAF in the Battle of Britain single-handedly turned the war around. The US and UK have been acknowledging their own heroism for decades. Not at all undeserved, many gave their lives to secure a peaceful future for the rest of us..
But recognising that 27,000,000 Russians perished in WWII in the struggle to maintain the freedom of Western Europe, I'm feeling a strange sense of history not being quite as advertised by the British and the Americans.
I'm not Russian, but it seems quite injust that the sacrifice made by Russia has been so sidelined by the other victors.
It is good to see it getting proper recognition at the current festivities in Moscow.
I guess I'm just feeling a sense of the truth being re-balanced somewhat, when you consider WWII from the Russian's point of view (despite the political developments there following the war).
Just wanted to give a signal of appreciation for all those who died during WWII, but also to particularly recognise the huge contribution of Russia, which generally gets forgotten in European/American history books.