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* [Entire official video of the Victory Parade on Moscows’s Red Square] * http://www.1tv.ru/videoarchive/19715

* Azerbaijan

 Azerbaijan marks May 9th – Victory Day over Fascism

09 May 2010 [12:45] - Today.Az

World War II which dates to the 20th century was the most difficult and terrible period for the mankind. Fascism born in Germany and Italy kept under danger not only those countries but also the entire world.

During World War II Azerbaijani people demonstrated courage and heroism both at the frontline and in back front. A battalion of 87 destroyer-plains and 1,224 self-protecting groups were established in the country in short timeframes.

Over 600,000 Azerbaijani young fellows and girls were sent to the battle ground in 1941-1945. Divisions from Azerbaijan moved from the Caucasus to Berlin.

About 1,300 Azerbaijanis were awarded a title of Heroes of the Soviet Union and 30 were conferred Order of Honour. About 170,000 Azerbaijani soldiers and officers were awarded different orders and medals of the USSR. Hazi Aslanov was a two-time Hero of the Soviet Union. Other Heroes of the Soviet Union from Azerbaijan include Israfil Mammadov, Ruslan Vezirov, Adil Guliyev, Ziya Bunyatov, Geray Asadov, Melik Maharramov and Mehdi Huseynzadeh, army generals Mahmud Abilov, Akim Abbasov, Tarlan Aliyarbeyov and Hajibala Zeynalov. All those who fought with courage in the war brought honor to the history of our people.

The country’s economy was fully directed to the front. Light and food industries started to work for front. In a short period of time Baku became an important arsenal of fighting army. Despite all difficulties, oil workers worked hard and managed to supply the front and the economy with fuel.

New technology that produced aviation petrol was established under supervision of Academician Yusif Mammadaliyev. Oil production in Azerbaijan reached its peak in 1941 at 23.5 million tons due to hard work of Azerbaijani oilmen. The figure equaled 71.4% of overall oil production in the USSR. Azerbaijani oil workers handed over 75 million tons of oil and 22 million tons of petrol to the country during war years. Thus, Azerbaijani oil was one of the main factors in the victory over the fascism. Four of each 5 warships, tanks and motor cars worked with Azerbaijani petrol.

World War II well demonstrated heroism and courage of the Azerbaijanis.

http://today.az/news/society/67543.html

* Belarus

 Alexander Surikov: Great Victory is the biggest event in the Belarus-Russia common history

Around 40 veterans of the Great Patriotic War, citizens of Russia living in Belarus, were awarded the anniversary medals, 65th Anniversary of the Victory of the Soviet People in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945, at an official reception in the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Minsk.

When speaking at the ceremony, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia to Belarus Alexander Surikov said: “Our people share many-century history, one of the brightest pages of which was the Victory of the Soviet People in the Great Patriotic War.” The diplomat is confident that it is only by having talks with the young people about the horrendous and ruthless battles, about the heroes whose names have become an inseparable part of the history of Victory that we can teach the younger generation to be responsible for the future of the Motherland, help young people understand the results of the war and help them do everything possible to make sure that the war will never repeat.

The Ambassador stressed that it is impossible to re-write the history of the Great Patriotic War: any attempts to do it will be hopeless. “You, veterans, are the living keepers of history, and younger generations should do everything possible to make sure that no fact of the glorious days of the war is forgotten,” he said. Today Russia and Belarus are doing their utmost to restore all archive records, to recover the names of every civilian, every soldier who gave his life for the freedom of the Motherland. “We, today’s generation, will be eternally grateful to the people who fell on the battlefields defending our right to live,” Alexander Surikov said.

http://www.belta.by/en/pointOfView?id=528148&pointOfView=1

 Minsk hosts Great Victory military parade

09.05.2010 11:04

MINSK, 9 May (BelTA) – A military parade dedicated to the 65th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War will be held in Minsk on 9 May.

The parade starts at 12.00pm and will last for 45 minutes.

Taking part in the parade will be more than 130 of weaponry items, including antimissile systems, radioelectronic combat hardware, etc. The air forces will be represented by 40 aircrafts such as armed helicopters, attack aircrafts, fighter aircrafts and bombers.

Taking part in the parade will be also the S-300 missile systems, remotely-operated fire weapon systems and other types of modern military hardware.

During the military parade Belarus will observe a national one-minute silence on. All the state-run and private Belarusian TV and radio channels will suspend their broadcasting for 60 seconds to pay tribute to the memory of those killed in the Great Patriotic War. Belarus will observe the one-minute silence for the first time in its history.

http://www.belta.by/en/news/society?id=529068

 Belarus’ troops partake in Moscow Victory parade

09.05.2010 11:27

MOSCOW, 9 May (BelTA) – Belarusian military men have marched through Moscow’s Red Square for the first time in their history. They joined the military parade dedicated to the 65th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War on 9 May.

Taking part in the Moscow parade were 75 Belarusian soldiers under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Valery Kucherov.

Apart from Russian military men, participating in the Moscow parade were troops from 13 countries, including Belarus, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Ukraine and four NATO members – the United States, Great Britain, France and Poland.

http://www.belta.by/en/news/society?id=529078

 Belarus will always honor heroic deeds of Soviet people, Alexander Lukashenko says

09.05.2010 13:05

MINSK, 9 may (BelTA) - Belarus will always honor the unfading heroic deeds of the Soviet people, said Alexander Lukashenko at the Minsk military parade dedicated to the 65th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, BelTA informs.

“We are deeply thankful to you, dear veterans. You may be confident that Belarus will always honor the unfading heroic deeds of the Soviet people,” said Alexander Lukashenko addressing the veterans.

The President noted that all plans of the Government are aimed at the only objective – to create conditions for decent life of Belarusian people. “We need no help from the outside; we create our well-being by ourselves. Only by hard everyday labor we can make our native country a strong and prosperous state,” stressed the Belarusian President.

“We should have faith in ourselves and consolidate our nation and society. This is the only way to the victory. This is the manifestation of high morale of the unconquerable and self-respecting nation. Hopefulness and consolidation is the key to success. This motto of the generation of winners will always be up to date,” Alexander Lukashenko believes.

Alexander Lukashenko wished everybody good health, peace, happiness and well-being.

http://www.belta.by/en/news/president?id=529146

 Belarus President urges to stop revision of WW2

09.05.2010 14:04

MINSK, 9 May (BelTA) – It is necessary to stop the revision of the history and the perversion of the truth about WW2, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said at the parade of the Minsk garrison troops dedicated to the 65th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War on 9 May.

“Many countries took part in the fight against the aggressor. However, the historic truth is that the key role in the anti-fascist struggle belongs to the Soviet Union. It was the Soviet Union that reversed the course of the Second World War, determined the outcome of the war, shaped the future of our Motherland and many other states and people, and in fact the whole world,” the President of Belarus said.

Unfortunately, the head of state continued, more and more people try to pervert the truth and downgrade the importance of the Great Heroic Deed of our soldiers and partisans, besmirch patriots who fought for the liberation of their country. “The worst of it is that such efforts are becoming a political trend. Today we need to do our utmost to stop the revision of the history,” Alexander Lukashenko added.

“The year 1941 witnessed not only the clash of the states and huge military powers. It was a global struggle between different political systems, opposing moral and spiritual values. We won this battle. All the people committed themselves to the defense of their Fatherland. This was the reason why the war entered the history as the Great Patriotic War,” the Belarusian President said.

According to Alexander Lukashenko, the most important aspect of the Victory is a strong fraternity of the Soviet people of various nationalities. The day of 9 May is a common holiday for Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, all the members of the Commonwealth of Independent States. “Today during the parade in Minsk, Moscow and Kyiv, the military of the fraternal Slavonic nations stand shoulder to shoulder. The memory of the heroic deeds is sacred. However, to avoid the tragic mistakes, we need to draw the right conclusions from the past,” the Belarusian leader said.

“We urge all the countries of the world not to disregard new challenges and dangerous trends that threaten our security,” Alexander Lukashenko said.

http://www.belta.by/en/news/president?id=529178

 Alexander Radkov: Preservation of memory of Great Victory is essential for patriotic education

MINSK, 9 May (BelTA) – The Victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War has become a symbol of the triumph of life over death, freedom over slavery and good over evil, Education Minister of Belarus Alexander Radkov said in an interview with BelTA.

“There are certain events in the history of every nation that are a matter of great pride, the memory of these events is handed down from generation to generation. However, not each nation is destined to become the winning nation. Absurd are the attempts of some pseudo-historians to downgrade the importance and in some cases plainly steal the Victory from the peoples of the former Soviet Union. History does not recognize the subjunctive mood. Any outcome has reasons behind it. This pertains to the Victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War, too,” the Education Minister said.

“We have not lost the sacred memory; the new generation of Belarusians has an active civil stance and is able to give a strong response to neo-Nazis,” Alexander Radkov underlined. He noted that the large-scale celebrations of the 65th anniversary of the Victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War offer a good opportunity to encourage young researchers to study the phenomenon of the Victory. Belarus is doing everything to preserve the memory of war heroes and cultivate the respect for those who died fighting for freedom and independence of Belarus, Alexander Radkov emphasized.

In his words, Belarus is the only country among the post-Soviet states that introduced the course “Great Patriotic War of the Soviet people (in the context of WW2) into the curriculum of all educational institutions. Our students know full well of the huge contribution of the Belarusians to the common Victory over the fascism; they are aware of who were the heroes who died liberating Belarus during Operation Bagration and whose names were perpetuated in the names of streets and squares. Photos and documents are carefully held in school museums.

During the Victory celebrations veterans together with children and the youth visit sacred war places, like the Brest Hero Fortress, memorial complexes Breakthrough, Khatyn, Stalin’s Line, etc. The Education Ministry holds a national competition dedicated to the commemoration of the Great Patriotic War. Last year alone, over 3,000 secondary school and university students took part in it.

http://www.belta.by/en/pointOfView?id=529212&pointOfView=1

 Belarus’ veterans awarded Ukraine’s “Defender of the Motherland” medals

09.05.2010 17:03

MINSK, 9 May (BelTA) – Belarusian veterans who took part in the liberation of Ukraine from the Nazi invaders were awarded Ukraine’s “Defender of the Motherland” anniversary medals, BelTA learnt from the Ukrainian Embassy in Belarus.

The medals were conferred upon 56 Belarusian and Ukrainian veterans living in Belarus. Some 35 participants of the Great Patriotic War from all over Belarus came to Minsk to take part in a solemn ceremony in the Ukrainian Embassy. The veterans were received with all honors; a special concert was organized for them.

Similar ceremonies were held in Gomel and Brest for the veterans who could not come to Minsk.

http://www.belta.by/en/news/society?id=529250

 Slovak Embassy awards 14 Belarusian veterans

09.05.2010 17:28

MINSK, 9 May (BelTA) – Slovakia commemorates the Soviet warriors, including Belarusian ones, who liberated the country from the Nazi, BelTA learnt from Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Slovak Republic to Belarus Marian Servatka. The Slovak Ambassador took part in a solemn ceremony of presenting Slovak military awards to Belarusian veterans in the House of Friendship in Minsk.

Four Belarusian veterans who liberated Slovakia of the Nazis in 1945 came to Minsk to take part in the ceremony. They are Georgy Obelevsky from Grodno, Nikolai Borisenko from Mstislavl, Ivan Starosvetsky and Vadim Sadovnichenko from Minsk. All in all, 14 Belarusian veterans were awarded the medals of the Slovak government, two of them posthumously.

According to Marian Servatka, Slovakia does not forget those who liberated the country from the invaders. “Every year we commemorate this heroic deed that cost the lives of many Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian soldiers and officers. Those were mainly the youth, the best representatives of their country. Many of them laid down their lives for our freedom. We will never forget them,” Marian Servatka said.

http://www.belta.by/en/news/society?id=529262

 Vladimir Makei partakes in Victory Day celebrations in Sevastopol

11.05.2010 12:51

KYIV, 11 May (BelTA) – Head of the Belarus President Administration Vladimir Makei jointly with his Ukrainian and Russian counterparts Sergei Levochkin and Sergei Naryshkin took part in the solemn celebrations of the 65th anniversary of Great Victory in Sevastopol on 9 May, BelTA learnt from the presidential press service of Ukraine.

The Heads of the Administration laid flowers to the Monument of Glory at the Sapun Gora Memorial, attended the military parade in Sevastopol, spoke with the veterans of the Great Patriotic War.

Vladimir Makei, Sergei Levochkin and Sergei Naryshkin also held a working session to discuss the preparations for a meeting of the Presidents of Ukraine, Russia and Belarus at the border of the three countries. Besides, the sides talked over the ways to improve the cooperation between the presidential administrations.

http://www.belta.by/en/news/society

* Georgia

 Opposition leader: Georgian troops will participate in Moscow parade in five years

Today at 13:17 | Interfax-Ukraine

Tbilisi, May 11 (Interfax) - Georgia’s ex-prime minister and leader of the Movement for a Fair Georgia Zurab Nogaideli said Georgia will be without incumbent President Mikheil Saakashvili in five years’ time and that Georgian troops will participate in a military parade on Moscow’s Red Square on the 70th anniversary of the victory in World War II.

"Saakashvili and his associates will have abandoned the political scene in five years, while the Georgian military will by all means take part in a Victory Day parade on Red Square in Moscow," Nogaideli told the media on Tuesday after returning from Russia.

Nogaideli also said that he did not attend the Victory Day Parade in Moscow on May, although he had been invited.

"I could join some events as an opposition leader, but I don’t think I could have appeared on Red Square among special guests, officially representing their nations," Nogaideli said.

Nogaideli and leader of the United Georgia movement Nino Burjanadze were in Moscow on May 9 on the Russian side’s invitation, and held a series of talks, including with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin

Both attended a foundation-laying ceremony on May 7 at the site at the Poklonnaya Gora memorial, where the monument of Glory for the Soldiers of the Great Patriotic War, destroyed in Kutaisi on December 19, 2009, will be rebuilt.

http://www.kyivpost.com/news/russia/detail/66334/

* Kazakhstan

 Almaty to celebrate Victory Day with grand fire-work show

Almaty. May 7. Interfax-Kazakhstan – Almaty will celebrate the Victory Day (9 May) by shooting fireworks.

“The Almaty night sky will be littered with colorful chrysanthemums and tiaras,” the city’s culture department reported on Thursday. According to the announcement, the celebratory fireworks are scheduled to start at 10pm and will last for 20 minutes. The organizers noted that the show would be visible from all corners of Almaty.

http://www.interfax.kz/?lang=eng&int_id=10&news_id=3465

 Almaty akim presented state awards to veterans of Great Patriotic War

19:13 07.05.2010

Almaty. May 7. Kazakhstan Today - Almaty akim, Ahmetzhan Esimov, presented state awards to veterans of Great Patriotic War and home front workers. 18 Almaty citizens have been awarded with the order Kurmet and the medals: Eren enbigi ushin, Shapagat, and the Kazakhstan certificate of honor, the agency reports citing the press service of Almaty akim.

The city akim congratulated veterans on the 65th victory anniversary in the Great Patriotic War and on the Defender of the Fatherland Day and wished them peace and happiness.

165 954 pensioners live in Almaty, including 2260 veterans and invalids of the Great Patriotic War and 19 955 participants of labor front.

2 veterans from Almaty and 15 veterans from Astana will travel to Moscow to participate in the celebration of the Victory Day.

http://www.kt.kz/index.php?lang=eng&uin=1133435211&chapter=1153516611

 Kazakhstan President met state leaders in Moscow

10:09 11.05.2010

Astana. May 11. Kazakhstan Today - The President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, held the meetings with the leaders of some states on Monday during celebrations of the anniversary victory in the Great Patriotic War in Moscow, the agency reports citing the president’s press service.

According to the press service, N. Nazarbayev held the meetings with the chairman of the Peoples Republic of China, Hu Jintao, the President of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Medvedev, the President of Vietnam, Nguen Min Chiet, Slovakia - Ivan Gashparovich, Estonia - Thomas Hendrik Ilves, Bulgaria - George Pyrvanov, Armenia - Serzh Sargsyan, Azerbaijan - Ilham Aliyev, Israel - Shimon Peres, and German Chancellor, Angela Merkel.

http://www.kt.kz/index.php?lang=eng&uin=1133435176&chapter=1153516659

 Kazakhstan President took part in laying flowers at Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow

15:10 11.05.2010

Almaty. May 11. Kazakhstan Today - The President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, among other guests of honor, laid flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the Aleksandrovsk Garden at the Kremlin Wall after the Victory Parade on the Red Square of Moscow, the agency reports citing the official mass media.

The gathered honored the memory of victims in the Great Patriotic War with a minute of silence. The country leaders were invited to the Big Kremlin Palace to participate in the solemn reception on the 65th anniversary of the Great Victory.

According to the official mass media, the President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, on the Red Square, addressing the veterans, the Russian and foreign visitors, congratulated them on the 65th anniversary of the Great Victory.

http://www.kt.kz/?lang=eng&uin=1133435176&chapter=1153516719

* PMR (Transnistria)

 Anatoly Kaminsky, "Those who gave their lives for our freedom will always live in our memory"

Parliamentary News

/ 06.05.2010

Today the village of Parkany saw the opening ceremony of the newly reconstructed Memorial of Glory. The monument to the Hero of the Great Patriotic War Romanenko Andrei Fedorovich was also unveiled. Parliamentary Speaker Anatoly Kaminski and MPs came to pay tribute to the fallen defenders of the village.

373 soldiers and officers of the Great Patriotic War lie in the mass grave of the village of Parkany. Villagers remember and honor the feats of soldiers who defended their land. They took an active part in the reconstruction of the memorial, having collected 150 thousand rubles to restore the memorial. Most of the money has been allocated from the national budget - 860 thousand rubles.

"When the monument is opened after the reconstruction I can see many of our veterans with tears in their eyes. These are tears in memory of their fellow soldiers who had never returned from the front, who had given their lives so that we have the opportunity to work and live peacefully under a clear sky ", Efim Koval, Member of Parliament for the constituency № 31 of the village of Parkany said.

A memorial bust to the hero of the Great Patriotic Romanenko Andrei Fedorovich is another proof that the present generation remembers the deeds of their fathers and grandfathers. The village street and school are named after Andrei Romanenko. In the distant 1940s he took a path of glory from the platoon leader to the commander of the infantry battalion. Defending his land, family and friends, he had one goal - to hold on to the last. In April, 1944 Andrei Romanenko was killed by a burst of machine gun fire in the attack on Bendery. But the memory of the officer will remain in the hearts of those whom he fought for.

"We and our future generations will always hold the memory of those who gave their lives for our freedom, for our independence", Anatoly Kaminsky said.

http://www.vspmr.org/News/?ID=4032

 "Let’s bow to those great years..."

Parliamentary News

/ 07.05.2010

Reconstruction of the monument to airmen started in mid-May, after the project "Towards the Great Victory" had been launched by All-Russia Society for Protection of Monuments of History and Culture and Pridnestrovie Humanitarian Foundation. 2 months later restoration of the monument came to an end. Today the restored monument was unveiled.

"Thinking about what monuments to restore, we spoke with the veterans who fought on Kitskansky bridgehead. They told us that our aircraft began to fight just brilliantly. That is our air force dominated and won a victory at Kitskansky bridgehead, well and in general, thanks to this the whole territory was liberated. And we, alongside with Kitskansky bridgehead, decided to restore the monument to the soldiers, airmen, who also won a very important victory ", Pavel Pozhigaylo, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of All-Russia Society for Protection of Monuments of History and Culture said.

"We want to preserve the memory of those who never returned from the war, those who gave their lives to protect the world and gave us the opportunity today to live and work under a peaceful sky. From generation to generation, we must pass that main value - the memory of our fathers and grandfathers who did not come back from the Great Patriotic War. Our deepest thanks to those who are with us on this day. They went to defend their native land, his hometown, his own family not only for the call of duty but beyond it. On behalf of Parliament, dear veterans, I want to tell you the most sincere words of gratitude for what your wise guidance, the patriotic education of children - a love and a sense of respect for the homeland ", - Anatoly Kaminsky, the Speaker of Parliament said.

Addressing those present, Chairman of Pridnestrovie humanitarian foundation Yevgeny Shevchuk MP, said: "Dear veterans, on these pre-holiday days let me with all my heart, sincerely wish, first of all, good health, and that we together with you, together with the young people, who are present here and remember those days, live up to those times when we are all together, together with Russia, will revive Pridnestrovie. Good luck, good health and all the best.

Addressing the veterans, chairperson of the Committee for Education, Culture, Family and Childhood Olga Gukalenko said: "Not every nation has such a victory, and to be heirs to the heroic victory is a huge responsibility and honor. That’s heroism and courage, steadfastness of our soldiers, our military commanders, helped win the most difficult, but fair victory. Dear friends, this holiday is full of joy and sadness, the greatness and national memory, and today those who are the winners are with us, honor and respect for you, dear veterans. While you’re with us, as well as Russia, while there are people of Pridnestrovie, we are invincible ".

Today, the motor race started near the monument to the soldiers, airmen. Over 50 riders from Pridnestrovie, Moldova and Ukraine under the slogan "Hooray, victory!" will ride over all the cities of Pridnestrovie and hold rallies, laying flowers at the memorials of glory. The race will end on May 9. The last point is Kitskany bridgehead.

Later in the Kitskany monastery Archimandrite Paissy celebrated a requiem for the dead soldiers. Chairman of the Board of All-Russian Society for Protection of Monuments of History and Culture Pavel Pozhigaylo and MPs attended a requiem mass.

Then the guests visited Kitskany bridgehead that was restored due to the efforts of Russian and Pridnestrovian NGOs. There, the action has started under the slogan "Let’s bow to those great years ...". As a symbol of peace, white doves were released to fly up into the sky, the flowers were laid, a three-meter St.George’s ribbon flew into the sky. The restored obelisk was consecrated by Archimandrite Paissy.

http://www.vspmr.org/News/?ID=4043

 The feats of those who won a victory are within living memory…

Parliamentary News

/ 09.05.2010

May 9 - Day of Glory of winners, Memorial Day. The Second World War went down in history as one of the most bloody and dramatic events in the history of mankind. It was the hardest test for our country. Every family still remembers the fathers and grandfathers, who gave life to the Fatherland.

65 years ago, on May 9, 1945, the world learned about the Soviet people’s victory over the fascist plague. Today the central square of the capital of Pridnestrovie saw thousands of local people and guests. The national flag was hoisted and the national anthem played. The republic’s leadership: President of PMR, Parliamentary Speaker Anatoly Kaminsky, MPs and members of local councils, representatives of ministries and other government agencies attended the ceremony.

The Victory Parade in honor of 65 anniversary of the Victory of the Soviet people began with "Hurrah!".. Then T-34 tank followed by a column of veterans entered the square. These elderly people were filled with joy and pride, and pain and sadness...

"For us, this victory is the closest, most intimate, most necessary thing", WWII veteran Vera Gubareva said.

"We’re overflowed with emotions! We will never forget the great day. This day is significant for all: from small to large one. Happy holiday! I wish young people to be more attentive to the older generation, and to be like us," World War II veteran Vasily Kucheryavenko noted.

"This day reminds of the difficult days that I experienced. I fought at Stalingrad, participated in the Battle of Kursk and liberated the Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Hungary and Austria. When we sent an aircraft for a combat mission, we were always crying and thinking about whether we meet them or not ... I often speak to children and talk about the events that I experienced and I wish them to not see what our generation has experienced, and to remember the history", WWII veteran Yevdokia Danilevskaya said.

The sound of songs, medals and decorations, the flowers in the hands. After the parade they headed to the capital’s Heroes Memorial, where during a moment of silence everyone honored the memory of those falling in the fighting. Three commemorative salvo reminded the veterans of those terrible events. The flowers were laid at the graves of the fallen.

"Victory Day is significant not only for those who are now veterans, war veterans, but for us, the descendants. Thanks to a feat of Soviet soldiers, thanks to the defenders, who gave their lives, so we can live, create, have a family. We are pleased that we can communicate with the veterans and receive all the best from them: their experience, wisdom, knowledge and advice.

“On behalf of Parliament let me offer congratulations to all veterans, home front workers on this wonderful, wonderful holiday - Victory Day. I wish them, first of all, good health, long life. Today, unfortunately, the number of veterans is becoming smaller, and we must pay attention to them, not only in these solemn days, but every day we should be proud of their heroic deeds," Parliamentary Speaker Anatoly Kaminsky said.

"Those who in their early years went to the front, careless of their lives, protecting the native land, defended it and gave us life and a chance to work and live under a peaceful sky. Victory Day is an example for young people, it must remain in their memory forever. Dear veterans of the Great Patriotic War, respected home front workers, I heartily congratulate you on the Victory, I wish you good-good health, happiness, prosperity and longevity. You, the defenders of the homeland, will always remain an example for us," Chairman of the Industry Committee Efim Koval said.

"May 9 is the brightest and unusual day for each family. This is a celebration of the Victory of our people over fascism. The fact that we now live in peace, harmony, friendship, unity is the merit of our fathers and grandfathers. I wish every family peace, harmony, health, welfare. We will do everything to ensure that our veterans, our heroes live a decent life. Thanks to all the winners!" Chairman of the Legislation Committee Galina Antufeyeva said.

Yevgeny Shevchuk MP congratulated the veterans on this holiday and said: "May all veterans be healthy and live long life. It is the duty of those who are heirs of this great victory - to make life of the Pridnestrovians more beautiful and do everything possible to reunite our lost homeland. I congratulate you, dear Pridnestrovians, Happy Victory Day!".

"On this day we honor the veterans on this day, we turn to the memory of those who never returned from battle. On this day, we appeal to our young people with exhortation to commemorate and remember your history. Dear veterans, our dear heroes, soldiers, generals, you have won the fairest and the most needed victory. We must continue the cause for which you gave your lives,” Chair of the Education Committee Olga Gukalenko said.

"All my ancestors participated in the Great Patriotic War, and for my family this holiday is a tribute to the older generation. We respect, appreciate and love those who won a victory for us, after all the horrors of war. I sincerely hope that the younger generation, which is involved in all the celebrations, will always show respect for the older generation. I congratulate the veterans and I wish that respect for him has never lost its meaning ", Vyacheslav Tobukh, the Chair of the Committee for NGOs, youth policy, sport and media said.

The members of the youth wing of the Renewal party released St.George Ribbon into the sky as a sign of remembrance and respect.

The years 1941-1945 are engraved on the memory of those who survived the grim days of the war forever. For the young generation World War II is a history, the history of people whom we have no right to forget. After all, they sacrificed their youth, health, risking their lives for us, now living in a free country.

Eternal glory and the memory to all who gave their lives for freedom and independence, our respect for survivors!

http://www.vspmr.org/News/?ID=4042

*Russia

 Military hardware to take part in VE-Day parade

01:47 01/05/2010

Description of military hardware to take part in VE-Day parade on Red Square on May 9, 2010

http://en.rian.ru/infographics/20100501/158828008.html

 Russia’s Victory Day events to involve 102,000 military personnel

21:56 05/05/2010

Over 102,000 military servicemen across Russia will take part in festivities dedicated to the 65th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany, the Russian defense minister said on Wednesday. "In all, more than 102,000 military servicemen will take part in the festivities. Over 10,500 servicemen will take part in the Moscow parade," Anatoly Serdyukov said in an interview with Rossiiskaya Gazeta daily.

The minister added that a 1,200-member military orchestra, which also includes representatives of law enforcement bodies, will give a concert during the parade.

On May 9, 165 combat aircraft will fly over Red Square, with some of them grouping to form the number 65. Preparations for the event are coming to a head and a final rehearsal of the Victory Day flyby will take place on Thursday.

The aircraft include Tu-95MS Bear strategic bombers and supersonic Tu-160 Blackjacks, Tu-22M3 Backfire long-range bombers and Il-78 Midas aerial tankers from airbases from across Russia.

Parades to mark victory in World War II, referred to as the Great Patriotic War in former Soviet states, involve processions of personnel from all the services and a large military orchestra, followed by displays of military hardware and a fly past by combat aircraft.

The revived tradition of massive military Victory Day parades with tanks with tanks and other hardware rolling through the center of Moscow has been seen by some in the West as a sign of Russia’s growing militarism, but this year the Russian troops will be joined by NATO forces, including from the United States and Britain.

MOSCOW, May 5 (RIA Novosti)

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20100505/158888732.html

 French warship visits Russia for Victory Day celebrations

13:39 07/05/2010

A French missile frigate has arrived in the port of Severomorsk in northern Russia to take part in the celebrations dedicated to the 65th anniversary of the Allied victory in Europe during World War II.

Latouche-Treville, a Georges Leygues class frigate, will also visit the nearby port of Murmansk and join the warships from Russia’s Northern Fleet in a naval parade on May 9.

The agenda of the visit includes an extensive cultural program and meetings with Russian naval personnel and local residents.

Commander of Russia’s Northern Fleet, Vice Admiral Nikolai Maksimov, will visit the French frigate on May 8.

Russia and France have expanded their naval ties recently.

Russia is negotiating the purchase of a Mistral-class ship from France, worth 400-500 million euros (around $540-$675 million). Russia could also use French technology later to build another three such vessels in Russia in partnership with the French naval shipbuilder DCNS.

Another French frigate, the Chevalier Paul, participated in joint naval exercises with Northern Fleet’s warships in April.

MURMANSK, May 7 (RIA Novosti)

http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20100507/158914413.html

 U.S. warship to take part in Victory Day celebrations in Russia

06:47 06/05/2010

The U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet command ship USS Blue Ridge will arrive in Vladivostok on Friday to take part in festivities dedicated to the 65th anniversary of the Allied victory in the World War II.

"Seventh Fleet Commander, Vice Adm. John M. Bird, will also arrive in Vladivostok. He will attend the celebrations and hold a number of official meetings," a spokesman for the U.S. Consulate-General in Russia’s Far East told RIA Novosti on Thursday.

The official said the Blue Ridge crew would take part in a military parade in downtown Vladivostok to symbolize the allied relations between the United States and Russia during the Second World War.

The cultural agenda of the visit includes a "culinary duel" between the U.S. and Russian sailors, a number of sport events, and visits to local schools and children’s hospitals.

The world famous Seventh Fleet Band will perform several concerts at various events and on the streets of Vladivostok.

As the flagship of the U.S. Seventh Fleet, Blue Ridge provides the capability for seagoing command and control of theater level forces by naval and joint commanders during peacetime or conflict, and provides naval support for U.S. diplomatic initiatives and objectives.

In July 2006, the warship paid an official visit to Vladivostok along with Vice Admiral Jonathan W. Greenert, then Commander of U.S. 7th Fleet.

VLADIVOSTOK, May 6 (RIA Novosti)

http://en.rian.ru/world/20100508/158927199.html

 Russian president unveils WWII memorial in downtown Moscow

15:05 08/05/2010

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev opened on Saturday a monument to the cities of military glory in Moscow, launching celebrations to mark the 65th anniversary of victory over nazi Germany in the 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War.

The memorial was unveiled in the Alexander Garden near the Kremlin Wall. The ceremony was also attended by Belarusian and Ukrainian Presidents Alexander Lukashenko and Viktor Yanukovych and WWII veterans.

The city of military glory is an honorary title awarded to Russian cities where soldiers had displayed courage and heroism during the Great Patriotic War. By now, the award has been bestowed upon 27 Russian cities. This title is similar to the Hero City title awarded during the Soviet period.

MOSCOW, May 8 (RIA Novosti)

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20100508/158929232.html

 Russia holds Victory Day parade on Red Square

09:57 09/05/2010

Russia is celebrating on Sunday the 65th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, referred to as the Great Patriotic War in former Soviet states, with a grandiose military parade on Red Square.

The parade involves a procession of military personnel from all branches of the Russian Armed Forces, guest units from nine CIS countries, the United States, Great Britain, France and Poland, and a large military orchestra, followed by displays of military hardware and a flyover by combat aircraft.

Over 10,500 servicemen and more than 150 pieces of land-based military equipment are taking part in the Moscow parade.

A total of 165 combat aircraft will fly over Red Square, with some of them grouping to form the number 65.

MOSCOW, May 9 (RIA Novosti)

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20100509/158933453.html

 Foreign veterans to attend Victory parade on Red Square

09:57 09/05/2010

Over 200 veterans from 24 foreign countries have arrived in Moscow to attend World War Two Victory Day celebrations on Sunday.

Belarus and Ukraine sent the largest delegations of veterans to Moscow. Other delegations arrived from other ex-Soviet states and former Soviet allies in the WWII - the United States, France and Great Britain.

U.S., British, Polish and French troops are taking part in the parade for the first time in history.

After the parade, the foreign veterans will lay flowers to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Alexandrovsky Gardens near the Kremlin and attend a number of festive events in the Russian capital.

MOSCOW, May 9 (RIA Novosti)

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20100509/158938779.html

 Victory Day parade held on Moscow’s Red Square

10:38 09/05/2010

A military parade involving over 10,000 personnel, 150 tracked and wheeled military vehicles, as well as 127 aircraft and helicopters was launched on Moscow’s Red Square at 10:00 a.m. Moscow time (06:00 GMT) on Sunday, when Russia celebrates Victory Day.

Victory Day marks the final surrender by Nazi Germany to the U.S.S.R. in WWII, often referred to as the Great Patriotic War in Russia and other states in the former Soviet Union.

Moscow’s Military District Commander, Col. Gen. Valery Gerasimov, is running the parade.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev addressed the participants and guests at the beginning of the parade.

"This war made us a strong nation...We have won not simply a military victory but also a moral victory," Medvedev said.

The parade, which is accompanied by over 50 Russian and foreign military orchestras with 1,200 musicians, is divided into three parts - a march pass, involving military personnel, followed by sophisticated hardware and a fly over by combat aircraft.

U.S., British, Polish and French troops will march alongside the Russian military units in the parade on Moscow’s Red Square for the first time in history.

The Russian president called for united international efforts to face new challenges and global threats and to prevent tragedies similar to World War II, which took lives of an estimated 60 mln people around the world. "The joint march [on Red Square] symbolizes our readiness to defend peace, to prevent the revision of the results of the war, to prevent new tragedies," Medvedev said.

RIA Novosti broadcasts the parade live on its website.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20100509/158939665.html

 Combat jets paint Russian flag in skies over Red Square

12:04 09/05/2010

Russian Su-25 Frogfoot military jets ’painted’ a tricolor Russian national flag flying over Red Square during a military parade to mark the 65th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe.

The parade, which started at 10.00 Moscow time [06.00 GMT] and continued for about an hour and a half, was the biggest military parade in Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

A total of 127 aircraft divided in 20 groups took part in a ceremonial flyover.

Su-25 ground support aircraft and MiG-29 fighters flew in a setup formation resembling number 65 in reference to the anniversary. Other aircraft displayed during the parade included Il-76 and An-124 military transport planes, accompanied by multirole Su-27 fighters, Il-78 aerial tankers, an A-50 AWACS plane, Tu-95MS Bear and supersonic Tu-160 Blackjack strategic bombers.

Russia’s Yak-130 combat trainers, Su-34 multirole strike aircraft and Mi-26 heavy transport helicopters flew over the Kremlin for the first time. A large helicopter group included Mi-24, Mi-28 and Ka-50 attack helicopters, and Mi-8 transport helicopters.

Victory Day on May 9 marks the final surrender by Nazi Germany to the U.S.S.R. in WWII, which is often referred to as the Great Patriotic War in Russia and other states from the former Soviet Union.

MOSCOW, May 9 (RIA Novosti)

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20100509/158941012.html

 Berlin veterans watch victory parade on big screen

20:21 09/05/2010

Veterans in Berlin watched the Moscow Victory Parade to celebrate the 65th anniversary of Soviet victory over Nazi Germany on a big screen the city centre.

The event was organized by the World Congress of Russian Jewry and held near a memorial to Soviet soldiers. Hundreds of veterans attended the event wearing military decorations.

Celebrations will continue with a concert from the Russian opera singer Galina Vishnevskaya and a conference on the history of Victory Day.

Head of the Russian House of Science and Culture in Berlin Mikhail Vladimir said around 500 Soviet war veterans and former prisoners of concentration and labor camps live in Germany.

BERLIN, May 9 (RIA Novosti)

http://en.rian.ru/world/20100509/158947918.html

 Moscow victory day celebrations end with firework display

22:50 09/05/2010

Victory celebrations in Moscow came to a grand close with a firework display lasting 15 minutes.

The display began at 22:00 Moscow Time (18:00 GMT.) The fireworks were set off from 16 locations around the city, two more than last year. At 10:00 Moscow time (06:00 GMT) A military parade involving over 10,000 personnel, 150 tracked and wheeled military vehicles, and 127 aircraft and helicopters was launched on Red Square.

U.S., British, Polish and French troops took part in the parade for the first time in history.

After the parade, the foreign veterans laid flowers to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Alexandrovsky Gardens near the Kremlin and attended a number of other events.

MOSCOW, May 9 (RIA Novosti)

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20100509/158949697.html

 Useful links

www.9may.ru

www.paradpobedy.ru

www.41-45.su

http://victory1945.rt.com/

*Ukraine

 Stalin monument goes up in Zaporizhya [images]

May 06 at 12:00

http://www.kyivpost.com/gallery/album/683/

 Heads of Ukrainian, Russian, Belarusian presidential administrations to celebrate Victory Day in Sevastopol

3 days ago at 17:11 | Interfax-Ukraine

Heads of Ukrainian, Russian, Belarusian presidential administrations are to hold a working meeting and take part in the celebration of the Victory Day on May 9 in Sevastopol.

The press service of the head of state told Interfax-Ukraine on Saturday that the head of the Ukrainian presidential administration Serhiy Lyovochkin, head of the Russian presidential administration Serhiy Naryshkin and head of the Belarusian presidential administration Vladimir Makei will lay flowers to the Glory stele at the Sapun-Gora memorial on Sunday. They will be presented at the parade and meet veterans on the Prymorsky Avenue.

"Heads of presidential administrations plan to discuss preparations for a meeting of Viktor Yanukovych, Dmitry Medvedev and Alexander Lukashenko on the border of the three states and improvement of cooperation between presidential administrations of the three countries at a working meeting," the press service said

http://www.kyivpost.com/news/politics/detail/66134/

 Kyiv sees Victory Day parade of Ukrainian, Russian, and Belarusian troops

2 days ago at 12:40 | Ukrainian News

On May 9, a parade of Ukrainian, Russian, and Belarusian troops took place on Khreschatyk Street and Independence Square in Kyiv to mark the 65th anniversary of the Great Patriotic War

At 10:02, the Chief of the General Staff/Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Ivan Svyda started his round to greet the troops participating in the parade.

At 10:15, the honor guard of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry brought to Independence Square the national flag of Ukraine and the Victory Flag. The standards of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Ukrainian fronts, the Ukrainian Partisan Front, 60 battle flags of military units which liberated the territory of Ukraine and countries of Eastern, South-Eastern and Central Europe from the Nazi invaders were brought to Independence Square too.

At 10:20, the participants in the Victory Day military parade sang the national anthem of Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych delivered his speech on the occasion of the holiday.

At about 10:30, started the parade of military vehicles, trucks, and cars dated back to the times of the Great Patriotic War. Troops wearing the military uniform of the Soviet Army of 1941-1945 marched on Khreschatyk Street and Independence Square too.

The column was led by a legendary T-34 tank with the symbol of the Victory Flag on its turret. The tank was followed by ZIS-5, GAZ-67, and Willis cars and M-72 motorcycle.

Infantry, tank-men, navy, partisans, and women soldiers marched on Khreschatyk Street then.

The ceremonial march of modern troops started at 10:45.

The drummer-company of the Kyiv Military School after Ivan Bohun opened the parade of the active forces.

The company was followed by officers carrying the Flag of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and flags of kinds of troops of Ukraine. The parade unit of the Novorossiysk-Kyiv regiment of the President of Ukraine and the 45th detached guard regiment of special forces of the airborne troops of Russia marched there after.

The Belarusian troops and officers of the National Defense University of Ukraine followed them.

Military orchestras closed the parade.

Participating in the Victory Day military parade were 2,664 troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other Ukrainian armed formations, 75 Russian and 130 Belarusian troops.

As Ukrainian News earlier reported, on May 9, 2010, Ukraine, as well as other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, celebrates the 65th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.

http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/66163/

 Winning the ’Great Patriotic War’ wasn’t Ukraine’s only or greatest victory

Yesterday at 12:16 | Stephen Bandera

Much ado about reconciliaton

The same debate hits Ukrainian airwaves every year around May 9. That’s the day the Soviet Union decided would be Victory Day and parades should mark the end of the Great Patriotic War (called the Second World War in the rest of the world). In Ukraine, however, the war did not end in 1945.

It lasted well into the 1950s as Moscow sought to establish its rule over the parts of Ukraine where Bolshevik rule was not welcome. The Soviet Union had the Red Army and the NKVD. Liberation-minded Ukrainians had the UPA guerrilla army and support of the local population. Veterans of all these formations live side-by-side in independent Ukraine today. And every year around this time, the question is asked: Is their reconciliation possible?

In the late 1990s, I had the privilege of appearing as a guest on a television talk show that had veterans of the Red Army and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) gather in the same studio to talk about the prospects of reconciliation. In very simple terms, the veterans had different views on victory and defeat.

For the Red Army vets, victory meant the defeat of fascism in 1945. For the UPA vets, victory also included Ukrainian Independence following the downfall (defeat) of the USSR in 1991.

The discussion was heated, but much more civil than you will find on Internet forums today. Even ten years ago, there were only a handful of genuine war veterans in the studio. Most of the speakers were “children of the war”, historians, “experts” and politicians. The latter typically exploited the discussion to promote divisions within Ukrainian society, score cheap rhetorical points and thus escalate the tension.

As a “backbencher,” the air was charged by the time my turn to peak came around. I was told by host Anna Bezulyk to keep it short. I made two points: a) the people in the Red Army and UPA (not NKVD) all essentially fought to defend their own villages against foreign invaders, and b) the divisions of fifty years past are being used to continue to divide the country today by the NKVD’s successors. I concluded with a “why can’t we all just get along” appeal which came out more naive than intended.

After the taping, a Red Army veteran stopped and told me (in Russian) that I was both right and wrong. I was right that the vets fought for their own villages and that the war of the past is dividing Ukraine today. But as far as reconciliation was concerned, don’t expect us veterans to make peace, he said. That’s up to your generation, he said.

A few years later, I was in Lviv carrying the coffin of a 1st Ukrainian Division soldier to his final resting place in Lychakiv cemetery. After his division was routed by the Soviets in the 1944 Battle of Brody, Lev fled west, eventually settling in the USA, where he raised a family. In numerous conversations, the machine gunner bore witness to the truth of the “Galizien” division’s history: yes, they wore German uniforms but with Ukrainian insignias and colours; no, they did not swear allegiance to Hitler and no, they did not kill Jews, gypsies and homosexuals.

His reasons for enlisting were pro-Ukrainian and anti-Bolshevik – the bloody terror underwent from 1939 to 1941 in Western Ukraine was enough to get many a young man to volunteer in the fight against the Soviets.

Victory came for Lev in 1991 with Ukraine’s declared independence. His family ended up moving back to the homeland where his western “halychanyn” son wed a “slobozhanka” from the east. She, a daughter of Red Army veterans, bore him three grand children. The war veterans shared many cups and raised toasts at weddings, baptisms and holidays never letting the past get in the way of the present or future. When health took a turn for the worse, Lev was admitted to the Red Army veteran hospital in Kyiv. The doctors and nurses saw an aging veteran who required medical attention. They tended to him and extended his time on this earth, never asking “And what side did YOU fight for?”

Fast forward to May 9, 2007. I had worked on the “Ukrainians in Auschwitz” exhibit opened by the president on Victory Day and thus had VIP access when Victor Yushchenko delivered his remarks on the occasion of the defeat of Nazi Germany. Sitting beside me was Bohdan – a member of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and an Auschwitz survivor. We listened as the president called for reconciliation between Red Army and UPA veterans – for Ukraine’s sake – and we both cringed when the president was booed.

I saw Red Army veterans also cringe and look around in disgust at the booers – a handful of yahoos waving Soviet flags who’d most likely never seen a day of combat. They stood right beside the pool of cameras, so the boos on TV sounded much louder and numerous than they did in “real life.”

After the formalities, Bohdan joined the other vets for a bowl of kasha from the recreated field kitchens. An Auschwitz survivor and Ukrainian nationalist – he was certainly glad that Nazi Germany had been defeated. But he did not mourn the demise of the Soviet Union like those who claim it was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the last century. He was very glad the USSR fell and that he was able to mark the defeat of the Nazis in a free and democratic Kyiv.

After lunch, Bohdan was walking through Kyiv’s Park Slavy when two little girls – sisters, around 10 years old – ran up. “Z praznikom, dyadechka! Spasiba!” they said handing flowers and hugging him. Bohdan’s eyes swelled with tears. The Ukrainian nationalist didn’t care that the girls spoke in Russian. The girls and their parents did not ask him if he fought in UPA or in the Red Army. They saw a war veteran who needed a hug.

Historian Yaroslav Hrytsak once remarked that “victory days” are celebrated by people and states that are still at war. Nations that have successfully dealt with the past, including reconciliation where necessary, mark “memorial” or “remembrance” days to honour the memories of all the victims of war, be they soldiers, civilians, winners, losers.

WWII continues in Ukraine to this day, fuelled not by the veterans, but by politicians and demagogues who are transforming the myths of the “Great Patriotic War” into a new transnational civic religion for the former Soviet space. They are the ones preventing veterans’ grandchildren from turning the page. They are most interested in keeping Ukraine divided and thus more easily ruled from without.

The Ukraine of today is riddled with losses and losers, bad news and few success stories. Ukraine needs more victories (less Viktors, especially of the Yanukovych kind). For the Soviets, the “great patriotic” was the last war they won, so the nostalgia is somewhat understandable. And thank God the Nazis were defeated.

But Ukraine will have arrived as a mature nation state once the country’s 1991 independence from the Soviets is commemorated as a victory just as great and joyful as the defeat of Hitler in 1945. In 1991, that was something all Ukrainians could agree upon. And they did. Victory was secured at the ballot box, not the battlefield, when more than 90% said “yes” to freedom in a referendum. But democracy is not as “sexy” as war... When was the last time you saw a movie about an election?

Stepan Bandera is a reporter and a former Kyiv Post journalist. You can read his blog entries at http://kyivscoop.blogspot.com/

http://www.kyivpost.com/news/opinion/op_ed/detail/66225/

 Poll: Most Russians and Ukrainians say collaboration with fascists unforgivable

Today at 11:51 | Interfax-Ukraine

Moscow, May 11 (Interfax) – Almost two thirds of Russians (63%) think those who collaborated during the German occupation cannot be forgiven, and 62% say they will never forgive collaborators, according to a poll conducted by the all-Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM) on April 24-25.

Fewer Russians (50%) said that often those who collaborated with the enemy were in reality helping their people, according to sociologists.

Still fewer Russians (45%) said collaboration was in fact the only way to survive under German occupation.

The same poll, conducted in Ukraine on April 13-22 by the Research & Branding Group, showed a smaller percentage of non-admission of collaboration among Ukrainians, than among Russians.

A total of 48% of respondents said people must be punished for collaboration, and 52% of Ukrainians said they would never cooperate with occupiers.

Ukrainians more often justified collaboration as the only way to survive (53%).

Most states define collaboration as treason in their criminal legislation.

http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/66321/

* The western Point of View

 9 may: a Parade with many messages

By Alina Inayeh

On May 9, the streets of Moscow will witness a rare and memorable spectacle. In a parade marking the 65th anniversary of Victory Day—the end of World War II, when Germany surrendered to Soviet commanders—10,500 servicemen will march through Moscow for this special celebration, accompanied by 150 military vehicles. Former allied troops (British, American, French, and Polish) will march alongside soldiers from former Soviet Union countries. The Russian authorities have promised this will be the biggest and most impressive military show in Moscow in the last 65 years—and they know a thing or two about military shows.

Yet the politics on display may well turn out to be even more remarkable. For the official stands will be shared by old, current, and future allies and enemies, in a panoramic picture of Europe spanning 65 years. Watching the parade will be the Russian leadership—first among them President Dmitri Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. They will be joined by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and a host of other European notables. The symbolism is, of course, deliberate: peaceful relations between Europe and Russia guarantee peace and stability on the continent. Yet it is also a reminder that the relationship is rooted to a significant degree in natural resources and hard power: Europe’s dependency on Russian gas, matched by Russia’s thirst for technology, furthered by potential sales of advanced military technology, and deepened by talks of a common security architecture.

Moreover, the notion of a “peace in Europe” works only if you firmly ban from your memory the wars and conflicts that took place since the end of the Cold War (from the Balkans to Chechnya to Georgia, to name only a few), and if you define Europe—as the Russians like to do—as contiguous with the territorial reach of the European Union. Even so, it’s hard to ignore the fact that the arc between Northeastern Europe and the Southern Caucasus remains a highly combustible zone, as well as a wellspring for organized crime and illicit trade of all kinds, from people to drugs and weapons, and coming from as far away as the Middle East and Asia.

Also present in the stands will be leaders from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)—the club of former members of the Warsaw Pact. They are meeting at an informal summit a day earlier, with foreign policy cooperation as one of the main issues on the agenda. What this cooperation could look like was exemplified only a short while ago by the recent shift in Ukraine foreign policy toward a more Moscow-friendly stance. Cooperation between Russia and what it used to call its “near abroad” could translate into progress and development for Russia’s neighboring countries; but for now, it appears to mean control over their military alliances, stimulation of social divisions, prevalence of Russia’s economic interests, and continuation of conflicts throughout the region.

Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Russia itself remain tied to a history and present that is marked by conflicts generated or catalyzed by the breaking up of the Soviet Union, and whose prolongation obstructs their economic and political development. Georgian troops, of course, will not be marching in the parade, and Georgian leaders will be nowhere close to the other VIPs. Their absence will remind onlookers of the August 2008 war between Russia and Georgia, which was in no small degree responsible for Russia’s current surge of confidence, and two “solved” frozen conflicts (in Abkhazia and South Ossetia) by declaring them independent entities.

Only the absence of the Moldovan president Mihai Ghimpu will remind those who care to notice that this tiny country disapproves of Moscow’s neighborhood policy and is seeking economic and political integration with the West. Perhaps next year’s parade attendance roster may tell us whether it succeeded or not.

Former European enemies standing together to commemorate the end of one of the most terrible and bitter wars in human memory: that is indeed a reassuring sign of the continent’s enduring commitment to peace. Yet there is another, more subtle message in the lineup: authoritarian countries claiming “spheres of influence” have not fostered security, development, and prosperity in the past. And they are not doing so now.

Alina Inayeh directs the Black Sea Trust and the German Marshall Fund’s office in Bucharest

http://politicom.moldova.org/news/9-may-a-parade-with-many-messages-208795-eng.html

 Medvedev strikes conciliatory tone, condemning Stalin

By Pavel K. Baev

Dmitry Medvedev presides over the Victory Day celebrations and condemns Stalin

Sixty five years normally would not be considered a significant anniversary, but Victory Day is special for all Russians, so every official fanfare was blown last weekend and military parades were held from Sakhalin to Sevastopol. The holiday has always had a sad undertone because many millions of lives were lost in the Great Patriotic War, but for the authorities it is the unifying impulse that matters most, and the public relations campaign trumpeted the victory theme as the major triumph of the Russian state (www.gazeta.ru, May 7). Five years ago the then President, Vladimir Putin, turned the celebration into a demonstration of his international profile bringing to Moscow some 50 heads of state, including US President, George W. Bush; this time President, Dmitry Medvedev, invited only his key peer-friends and the main guest of honor was China’s President, Hu Jintao (www.lenta.ru, May 5).

What makes this date of particular importance for Medvedev is that it marked two years since his inauguration as Russia’s third president, and by any account, his track record is far less impressive than Putin’s was in the middle of his first term. Instead of rapid and steady economic growth, Russia has plunged into a deep recession, which has revealed the vulnerability and non-sustainability of its “primitive economy based on raw materials and endemic corruption,” in Medvedev’s view (www.gazeta.ru, September 10, 2009). Persistent attempts to talk the recession out of existence have had little impact on the investment climate, and the stock exchange has been sinking since mid-April registering a sharp 5.5 percent drop last Friday (www.newsru.com, May 7). Medvedev has tried to introduce a new discourse on “modernization,” but it clashes with the reality of a stagnant bureaucratic state, and every attempt to create “innovations,” such as a high-speed train between Moscow and St. Petersburg, becomes a source of irritation (Nezavisimaya Gazeta, April 30).

Seeking to add a new edge to his argument, Medvedev, on the eve of the grand celebration took a firm stance on the issue that remains hugely controversial in Russia and asserted that “Stalin committed mass crimes against the people,” which cannot be forgiven “despite the fact that he worked hard” (Izvestiya, May 7). Just six months ago, Putin defined this issue as “an ambush” and refused to give a “blanket assessment” reflecting that “if I say ‘positive’ some people will get angry, and if I say ‘negative’ other people will be angry.” He added that “nobody can today throw stones at those who organized and led us to victory,” but Medvedev did exactly that: “the Great Patriotic War was won by our people, neither Stalin nor even the generals did anything as important as they did.” It is probable that Medvedev’s approval ratings would register a significant decline but he certainly can claim credit for eliminating a deep-rooted ambivalence in the official interpretation of Soviet history (Ekho Moskvy, May 7).

Expressing his own opinion, Medvedev also insisted that anti-Stalinism was a “current state ideology” but this claim rings hollow since the bureaucratic pyramid, which he hardly controls and merely presides over, cannot have any ideology other than self-enrichment and self-reproduction (www.gazeta.ru, April 30). His bold slogans, such as “Freedom is better than no-freedom,” bear an unmistakable stamp of Stalin’s double-speak, and nobody knows it better than Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former owner of the Yukos oil company, who has spent nearly 2,400 days behind bars (Novaya Gazeta, May 5). He is now in his second trial, which is a judicial nonsense, but is able to deliver in his articles and interviews a far sharper analysis of the challenges for Russia’s urgently needed modernization than Medvedev’s speech-writers dare to draft. Khodorkovsky has no illusion about the system of organized repression and predation, which is entirely Stalinist in nature, but argues that it is working towards self-destruction (Nezavisimaya Gazeta, March 3).

Medvedev has launched a reform of the interior ministry and fired a few law-enforcers responsible for the most blatant abuse of office, yet his anti-corruption campaign falls short of any meaningful attempt to reduce the bureaucratic pressure on business, media and society. He is helpless to change the system, which Khodorkovsky has examined so insightfully, and is merely trying to moderate its behavior by appealing to the self-preservation instinct of the elite. In the two years of his presidency, Medvedev has not replaced a single high-level official and still has nothing resembling his own team, consequently no one expects a sudden turn towards enforcing an agenda of real modernization, starting with a sober assessment of the malfunctioning of the over-grown state machine (Kommersant, May 7).

Signs of this systemic breakdown are emerging daily, and even the pompous celebrations in Moscow were accompanied by explosions in the North Caucasus and a deadly accident in a coal mine in the Kemerovskaya oblast. These are the habitual “other” news events in Russia, but the propaganda theme of “greatness,” which takes the victory of 1945 as the point of departure, is growing exhausted (www.grani.ru, May 5). The self-assertiveness of Putin’s “era” is giving way to self-doubt, and Medvedev’s speech in Red Square had no aggressive overtones and emphasized the value of international cooperation. In the last few weeks, Russian foreign policy has indeed turned towards building cooperative ties with the West –from the Prague Treaty with the US, to reconciliation with Poland and resolving the maritime dispute with Norway.

Despite Medvedev’s sincere commitment, the sustainability of this trend remains problematic. Economic recession dictates a moderate and pragmatic course in international affairs but the crisis of the petro-authoritarian system of power determines further spasms and zigzags in political behavior. Putin is far more organic to this system than Medvedev, but he also remains a personification of its inadequacy to the task of steering Russia across the sea of global troubles. Powerful bureaucratic forces, as well as personal preferences, are at work aimed at returning Putin to his “natural” place in the Kremlin, but that would inevitably signify a major setback in Russia’s unfinished transition from Stalinism.

Jamestown Foundation

http://politicom.moldova.org/news/medvedev-strikes-conciliatory-tone-condemning-stalin-208831-eng.html

 Stalin’s Ghost

By THOMAS SHERLOCK

Published: May 10, 2010

Over the objections of many Russians, posters bearing Stalin’s image were approved by Moscow’s city government for display during celebrations marking Victory Day in Russia on Sunday. The issue was debated in the weeks leading up to the 65th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe, and, in the end, the anti-Stalinists won. Only a few such posters were on display, and they were hardly prominent. This latest battle over how to remember The Great Patriotic War is part of an ongoing struggle for Russia’s post-Soviet identity. Since 2007, a widely used high school history textbook for teachers, developed by the Kremlin, has openly praised Stalin’s wartime leadership and condemned Allied behavior as perfidious. And in 2009 the Kremlin created a history commission dominated by the security services to counter foreign and domestic arguments that the Soviet Union shared responsibility with Nazi Germany for starting the war.

Western scholars and commentators have used such facts to argue that Russia has clearly failed the “Stalin test” — that the brutal dictator (and the Soviet era as a whole) has enjoyed a gradual rehabilitation under Vladimir Putin.

But an opposing trend has been gathering strength in Russia for some time, often with the support of President Dmitri Medvedev and with at least the partial approval of Prime Minister Putin. Consider the following: Apart from a few important exceptions — like the history textbooks — positive official references to Stalin have been rare since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Although in the 1990s, President Boris Yeltsin was unwilling to launch a sustained condemnation, he stood as a bulwark against Stalin’s rehabilitation. Mr. Putin has obviously favored a more positive assessment of the Soviet era, but he has nevertheless temporized, preferring silence to debate on the Soviet past.

Mr. Putin’s ambivalence reflects, in part, his oft-stated desire to consolidate Russian society and avoid social conflict over contentious issues. To be sure, Mr. Putin did press for the textbooks in 2007, primarily as a reaction to the “color revolutions” in Ukraine, Georgia and Kyrgyzstan, which were viewed as serious threats to the Kremlin’s power. The narrative of the textbooks was designed to demonstrate that Russia, like the Soviet Union, is under siege and requires a steady hand.

Yet, as one of the authors recently told me, criticism against the books has forced Russian conservatives to reconsider further steps to rehabilitate Stalin’s historical image. Indeed, the print run of the textbooks has been drastically cut, strengthening competing history textbooks and the marketplace of ideas.

The Russian Orthodox Church also has weakened efforts to rehabilitate Stalin’s image. Particularly under Patriarch Kirill, church representatives have condemned the Soviet era as a time when the institution itself almost perished. Although the church is not united in its criticism of the Soviet era, an essential part of its contemporary identity is the veneration of the many thousands of believers who were murdered by the Soviets. Several hundred of these victims are now worshiped as saints, notably at the new cathedral near the Stalinist killing fields at Butovo on the outskirts of Moscow.

The fact that both Mr. Putin and Mr. Medvedev are professed believers strengthens the normative power of the church and weakens the impulse to rehabilitate the Soviet past. Mr. Putin has paid homage in person to the martyrs at Butovo. The growing appreciation of remembrance also helps explain why the works of Alexander Solzhenitsyn, a devout believer who personified resistance to Stalinism, are now mandatory reading in secondary schools.

In reshaping Russia’s narrative of the Soviet era, Mr. Medvedev understands that his efforts to forge a coalition that rests more on liberal values, legal principles and individual initiative — and less on the corrupt and authoritarian Russian state — requires an explicit rejection of Stalinism. This emerging narrative acknowledges and mourns the dark pages of Russian and Soviet history as a means to weaken conservative opposition to reform. Not surprisingly, Mr. Medvedev has condemned Stalinism — and by implication, its modern variant — as an inhumane ideology.

For his part, Mr. Putin last month knelt with his Polish counterpart at the memorial in Katyn, Russia, to the thousands of Polish prisoners murdered by Stalin’s secret police in 1940. Mr. Putin stated that both Poles and Russians suffered from the “inhumanity” of the “totalitarian” Soviet regime. Indeed, thousands of murdered Russians and other Soviet citizens are also buried in the mass pits of Katyn. Days earlier Russian state television aired the graphic and moving film “Katyn” by Andrzej Wajda, the Polish director.

The growing importance of history as an instrument for inter-state reconciliation is a welcome challenge to the use of the past as a political weapon. A new, hard test will be whether the Kremlin finally acknowledges that Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia were forcibly incorporated into the Soviet Union as part of Stalin’s Pact with Hitler in 1939.

Russian liberals are convinced that historical truth will generate the social and political energy to support reform. Yet similar expectations on the part of Mikhail Gorbachev were profoundly misplaced. His policy of historical glasnost unleashed insurgent narratives that helped lead to the collapse of communism and the Soviet state. Although it is now more likely that the controversies of Soviet history can be addressed without causing political destabilization, Russian conservatives are appalled by the gathering criticism of the Soviet past. Yet Mr. Putin himself now seems to recognize, however tentatively, the domestic and international costs of distorting history.

To help ensure that Russia continues to lay the foundation for a democratic future, the West, particularly the former Soviet republics and European satellites, should engage in a supportive dialogue with their Russian counterparts that addresses not only the crimes of Stalinism but also the enormous contribution of the Soviet Union in defeating Nazi Germany.

The Kremlin is now more willing to face the Stalinist past after years of foot-dragging. An unvarnished assessment would be a fitting tribute to the tens of millions of Soviet citizens who died in the Great Patriotic War.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/11/opinion/11iht-edsherlock.html?pagewanted=1&ref=global