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  • Victory Day!: May 09, 2009

Author Topic: Victory Report: News from the Eastern Front  (Read 11804 times)

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Offline Manny

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Victory Report: News from the Eastern Front
« on: May 09, 2009, 11:50:58 AM »
I did it on the Cyrillic thread already, but congratulations to the Russian folks on the forum.

For those who don't know what it is, the Wiki info is here.
Trip Reports: Links to my travels in Russia, Estonia, North Korea, South Korea, China and the US are >>here<<

Look what the American media makes some people believe:
Putin often threatens to strike US with nuclear weapons.

Offline mendeleyev

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День победы!
« Reply #1 on: May 09, 2009, 11:57:22 AM »
День победы!

It happened while you and I were sleeping in the West yesterday...10,000 soldiers marched on Moscow as a show of force.

But don't worry, it's a good thing! 9 мая 2009 is the day Russia celebrates victory in World War II with a parade in Red Square and yesterday's celebration featured 10,000 soldiers and a display of the latest military hardware. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev honored the veterans in a speech and said that the nation is ready to repel aggression.





Russian President Dmitry Medvedev attended the parade, praising the country's war veterans and telling the crowd, "Any aggression against our citizens will be met with an adequate response, and the future of Russia will be peaceful." "We are sure that any aggression against our citizens will be given a worthy reply," Medvedev said. "The victory over Fascism is a great example and a great lesson for all peoples and is still current today when people are again starting military adventures."

President Medvedev officially began the Victory Day observances with the laying of a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider in Moscow. The parade began when honor guard servicemen paraded the flag of the Russian Federation and the Victory Flag in front of the parade lines.


Mr Medvedev appoaches the Tomb.


Yes, it is very appropiate to congratulate your Russian friends for this holiday. 22 Million Soviet citizens died in the Great Patriotic War. The odds that your friend lost someone in her very close family are near 100%. It might have been an Uncle, Grandfather, Aunt, Grandmother or even a parent of older friends and associates. I have no concrete numbers but would guess that chances are well over 50% that your friend lost a family non-combatant from the bombings or executions of innocent civilians during the seiges of that time.


Its a tradition to give flowers to elderly veterans.


It was the country's 64th annual Victory Day parade, which observes the date of the final surrender of Nazi Germany to the U.S.S.R. in 1945, marking the end of World War II. Some 9,000 soldiers and sailors accompanied 103 tracked and wheeled military vehicles and 69 aircraft and helicopters in the parade, RIA Novosti reported.


In Moscow for this day hundreds of thousands of people migrated from Beautiful Square (Red Square) to Парк победы (Victory Park) for all day and night festivities. At night the red lights of the fountains create the symbol of flowing blood in memory of the 22 million who died.


Парк победы (Victory Park) is also the name of the Metro station nearby.




Tribute from a child.



Heros.

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: День победы! Victory Day Today!
« Reply #2 on: May 09, 2009, 01:20:42 PM »
The following was taken from a Voice of Russia broadcast, regarding the Battle for Stalingrad (modern day Volvograd):


THE MAMAYEV HILL WAR MEMORIAL




 
During the Stalingrad Battle the Mamayev Hill was the scene of fierce fighting the Stalingrad defenders waged against the German fascists, who feverishly tried to seize the hill as it was the key position during that battle. Within the period of 135 days and nights, from September 13th, 1942, to January 26th, 1943, the Soviet Army units conducted the defence of Stalingrad. The city, that was marked on the military maps as Height 102.0, at times, changed hands up to 11 times within a single day. The density of fire there was such that each square metre of land on the Mamayev Hill absorbed from 125 to 500 bullets and their fragments. We paid a dear price for the victory in that battle. The average life-expectancy on the battle-field for a platoon commander was 3 days, for a company commander - 7, for a battalion commander - 11, and for a regiment commander - 20 days. 

The Mamayev Hill retained its war-time appearance till 1959, that is till the time, when the construction work started there. All in trenches and loaded with deadly unexploded ammunition, the hill itself could have served as a historic monument, as many people said. But quite a different opinion prevailed, and earthwork, that was conducted with the utmost care, began immediately: there were many unexploded bombs, shells and mines on the Mamayev Hill. That is why disposal experts remained with the workers all the time. 

Today the Mamayev Hill is a sacred place for all Russians. The monument that was erected there – a gigantic and grandiose memorial ensemble, devoted to the heroes of the Stalingrad Battle, is a reminder of the epopee of bravery and courage all fighters displayed in one of the most decisive battles of the Great Patriotic War, the battle in which the Russian soldiers stopped the fascists’ advance. There’s always an endless stream of people to the memorial. 
Memorial pyramids, containing capsules with the earth taken in the Hero-Cities, including Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev, Minsk, Odessa, Sevastopol, Kerch, Novorossiisk, Tula, and the Hero-Fortress of Brest, are put at the foot of the Mamayev Hill. 

A broad staircase, whose initial steps offer a great view of the major monument of the local memorial ensemble – the allegoric statue of Motherland, is leading to the Mamayev Hill. We’ll say a few words about that statue some time later. 

There’s a long alley of Lombardy poplars at the end of that staircase. These poplars resemble soldiers standing at attention. At the end of this poplar alley your attention is shifted from the main monument to the mighty statue of a Soviet soldier. We see a Stalingrad defender. A mighty torso. A muscular hand is holding a grenade and the other one - a submachine -gun in readiness. There’s an expression of concentration on the soldier’s stern face, that is slightly turned, and his eyebrows are closely drawn together. This soldier is full hatred towards the enemy and is ready to enter into battle. There’s no force that could make him step back. He is ready to crush all enemies that would make any attempt to attack his Motherland. 

The heroism and staunchness of the Stalingrad defenders had no precedent: another section of the memorial is devoted to the Russian servicemen that performed many heroic deeds during the past war. On the left side there’s a wall resembling a banner with an inscription all along its length, relating to those who crushed the enemy on the Volga River: “A strong wind was blowing into their face as they were moving forward. And again and again it aroused superstitious fear in the enemy ranks: were those who rushed to the attack human and mortal?” So what the defenders of Stalingrad were like? Several sculptural compositions are devoted to them. The statues of the Russian soldiers symbolize high moral principles, brotherhood in arms, readiness for self-sacrificing for the sake of their comrades, loyalty to the banner, and deep-rooted hatred towards the enemy. Another sculptural composition has the name “Holding out against the enemy’s fire, they triumphed over death”. One soldier is seriously wounded. He can’t stand unassisted and is supported by his friend. His hand holding a grenade is hanging. His head remains turned towards the enemy, with hatred in his eyes. 

The next sculpture is devoted to the heroism of the Soviet woman soldiers. First-aid medic - a young girl – is removing a wounded soldier from the battlefield. He is a heavy burden for the young girl. But she is doing her job despite the raging battle around. With a concentrated expression on her face and lips, tightly drawn together. There were so many such girls that removed wounded soldiers from the battlefield. A third sculptural composition depicts some marines. These two sailors, that fought not far from Stalingrad, defended the same position. One of them is mortally wounded. He can’t stand up without help, and the enemy’s tanks are approaching. The second sailor is ready to destroy a fascist tank and to take revenge on the enemy for his wounded friend. 

He does not want to throw the last few grenades he has in his hands at the enemy tanks; he will throw himself under the advancing fascist tank. Two Soviet soldiers, the members of another sculptural group, situated nearby, are destroying swastika and the coiling fascist hydra. This sculpture is symbolic because the soldiers symbolize the Soviet army that liberated the world from Nazism. 

Completing the whole ensemble is a wall with a monumental relief, depicting the crushing defeat of German fascists near Stalingrad that was unprecedented in Germany’s military history. The relief that is laconic and expressive enough depicts the encirclement and the elimination of the biggest fascist army group and the new offensive of the Soviet troops. 

The visitors to the memorial complex can hear muted music: the sorrowful and touching sounds of Robert Schuman’s “Dreams”. This is the Hall of Military Valour. There are 34 lowered banners in the hall with the names of the dead heroes written on them. More than 7,000 names. The eternal fire, sentries standing guard and a stream of people. And in the very center of the hall a hand holding a torch, flickering with eternal fire, seems to be rising from the ground. The eternal fire here is the symbol of life, given to us by those who met their death and are now buried in the mass graves of the Stalingrad defenders. 

A serpentine road is leading to the top of the Mamayev Hill. It is from there that a 52-metre- high Motherland Statue, by sculptor Yevgeny Vuchetich, opens up in all its splendor. It is two times higher than the Liberty Statue in New York. Its war-like appearance urges the people to defend their Motherland from foreign enemies. The Motherland Statue crowns the memorial ensemble devoted to the heroes of the Stalingrad Battle – one of the most impressive works of art, created by a human being. 

The Motherland Statue is the key figure of the whole ensemble. Since from this point you can observe a broad view of the memorial complex, situated somewhat lower and the city itself that was later re-named Volgograd. There’s a memorial park at the foot of the Mamayev Hill. Thousands of Volgograd residents planted there trees in honour of their relatives and friends, that died defending their Motherland. The first tree was planted by Meliton Kantariya, the Hero of the Soviet Union, who hoisted the Victory Banneron the captured Reichstag in May of 1945. The memorial park and the trees waving in the wind will always remind us of the eternal fame of those who fought for their Motherland and for the freedom of all people living on the Earth and who defeated fascism. 

And this is what the Hero of the Stalingrad Battle Marshal Alexander Vasilevsky said: “By seizing the formerly little-known Height 102.0 – the Mamayev Hill - the Red Army fought its way to the fascists’ den – Berlin. We are proud to say that our victory in Stalingrad radically changed the whole situation in the Second World War. And this victory meant that our Motherland had withstood one of the most difficult tests in its history”.






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Re: День победы! Victory Day Today!
« Reply #3 on: May 09, 2009, 01:31:23 PM »
Dutch news reported the Russian lady in the picture of Mendeleyev is unstable on her feet, and many locals fear walking past her. Volgograd applied with Moscow to help them in the expensive renovation cost, but so far nothing happened.


Happy victory day all
OO===[][]===OO
My first trip to my wife: To Evpatoria!
My road trip to Crimea: Roadtrip to Evpatoria

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Re: День победы! Victory Day Today!
« Reply #4 on: May 09, 2009, 03:30:27 PM »
Kind of  :offtopic: Today was Europe Day too  :party0011:

Quote
On the 9th of May 1950, Robert Schuman presented his proposal on the creation of an organized Europe, indispensable to the maintenance of peaceful relations.

This proposal, known as the "Schuman declaration", is considered to be the beginning of the creation of what is now the European Union.

Today, the 9th of May has become a European symbol (Europe Day) which, along with the flag, the anthem, the motto and the single currency (the euro), identifies the political entity of the European Union. Europe Day is the occasion for activities and festivities that bring Europe closer to its citizens and peoples of the Union closer to one another.
source: http://europa.eu/abc/symbols/9-may/index_en.htm

Offline mirror

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Re: День победы!
« Reply #5 on: May 09, 2009, 07:30:35 PM »
9th May is huge celebration in Russia because nearly every family lost members in this war. In my family we lost 2 members and 1 was a veteran.

Offline anjutka

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Re: День победы! Victory Day Today!
« Reply #6 on: May 10, 2009, 04:17:24 AM »



same....our family lost one and one was veteran.......     



thank you for all congratilations and to Mendy for some historical  spravka

1 Life is not rehearsal... 2 sorry for my english;-)) 3 Thinking only always positive way=be healthy and happy))))) 4yes, and I am 41 yo ;-))))))))))))) 5 In life there are no rules!!! 6 but he should not be older 45 yo )))) 7...? ;-)

Offline Voyager

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Re: День победы! Victory Day Today!
« Reply #7 on: May 10, 2009, 04:36:38 AM »

same....our family lost one and one was veteran.......     


one KIA
two veterans {1 wounded}

But that's not including my wife's relatives....

Offline mendeleyev

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Victory Report: News from the Eastern Front
« Reply #8 on: March 01, 2010, 10:18:31 PM »
The Great Patriotic War

We call it "World War II" in the West. For many odd reasons we don't dedicate sizeable celebrations to recall the Allied victory. But for Russia, and for many good reasons, annual remembrances of the time is important and victory in the Great Patriotic War is celebrated with great passion. The training has been going on for months in anticipation of another grand remembrance of Victory Day on 9 May.

This week credential applications begin to stream in to the Moscow office of the "The 65th Victory Day" celebration in Moscow. News organizations from around the world will make the case as to why their network/journal/newspaper/broadcast group should be placed front and center, leaving lesser competitors to less choice spot placement and admittance to coveted events.

With a deadline for credential applications on 31 March, many a busy producer is ordering his/her staff to get it done for their journalists/photographers/camera crews/Satellite techs as soon as possible. Time is of the essence.

Its hard to describe the amount of work which goes into such a production. In some respects this celebration is almost as big, just not as long, as New Year and Christmas in Russia.


The people's volunteers:


(Photo by: L. Kapelyush)

In this photo were collective farmers from the Krasny Mayak agricultural artel (cooperative association) in the Gorodetsky District of the Gorkovsk Region, undergoing military training under the watchful eye of Comrade Stalin on the wall frame to the right.





(Photo by: N. Petrov)

Young men from all over the Soviet Union signed up, took an oath of fidelity, and headed off for what was to become a long and bitter struggle before achieving victory. These young factory workers from the Kirov district were deployed to the Red Army after a few short weeks in the training barracks.






(Unknown, Russian State Archives)

Basic training completed and headed for the front.






(Unknown, Russian State Archives)

For many a young man this was the last time they'd wave to a friend, sweetheart, parent, child, wife...




As we lead up to the 9 May celebration this thread will be used to give the readers of RUA a front row seat to the festivities.







Of course we invite comments and Russian/Ukrainian/Belarussian members are especially encouraged to share comments, stories and experiences.

We already have a World War II/GPW thread for war facts so we'll actively moderate posts to keep this one on focus in how the celebration of Victory Day is experienced in Russia and other parts of the former Soviet Union.

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Victory Report: News from the Eastern Front
« Reply #9 on: March 01, 2010, 10:34:37 PM »
News from the Moscow front:


On 23 February, Fatherland Defender’s Day, the Eternal Flame was returned to the Aleksandrovsky Garden from the Poklonnaya Hill (Victory Park) where it had been moved while restoration work was begun at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers in December 2009.


The memorial just outside Kremlin walls had been veiled during the restoration but was reopened for the Defenders of the Fatherland day. Final restorations will be completed by 9 May in time for Victory Day celebrations.






















By a decree of President Medvedev, a National Military Memorial will be established in the Aleksandrovsky Garden, featuring a new commemorative monument for the Cities of Military Glory.

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Victory Report: News from the Eastern Front
« Reply #10 on: March 01, 2010, 10:48:58 PM »
Of course we invite comments and Russian/Ukrainian?Belarussian members are especially encouraged to share comments, stories and experiences.

We already have a World War II/GPW thread for war facts so we'll actively moderate posts to keep this one on focus in how the celebration of Victory Day is experienced in Russia and other parts of the former Soviet Union.



Plans to be in Moscow in May?

According to the Russian Meteorological Center, the average Moscow temperature in the first half of May will be +11.7 °С (+52.7 °F).

In the first two weeks of May, Moscow averages 51 mm (1.9 in) of rainfall. The record rainfall occurred in 1933 totaling 131.7 mm (5.1 in), and the smallest was 1.8 mm (0.07 in) in 1940.

According to the Russian Meteorological Center, the coldest day of this month in Moscow was recorded on May 1, 1902 with the temperature of -6 °С (+21 °F).

The warmest days in the first half of May in Moscow were the 8th and 9th of May, 1967 when the temperature reached +30.0 °С (+90 °F).

In May Moscow averages three to four (with a maximum of eight) thunderstorms. Storms last for about an hour with the longest occurring from 6 p.m. to 12 a.m.


(Mendeleyev advice for May: bring an umbrella for rain and a jacket for cool evenings.)

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Victory Report: News from the Eastern Front
« Reply #11 on: March 02, 2010, 11:50:03 PM »
In recent years each annual celebration of Victory Day is met by growth of the Moscow skyline. The old days when no building could tower above the Kremlin's Ivan the Great Bell Tower are over and new developments add to the testament of post-Communist Russia.



ila_rendered



The sign proclaiming "Pobeda" (победа = victory) is a good illustration of how Russian sign designers like to mix both cursive and printed letters in a word.



ila_rendered



View from Victory Park/ looking back toward what used to be an open view of Moscow below.

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Victory Report: News from the Eastern Front
« Reply #12 on: March 03, 2010, 08:38:47 PM »




(TimesOnLine)

Joseph Stalin is to make a comeback on the streets of Moscow for the first time in decades in a celebration of the Soviet victory over Hitler in the Second World War.

Posters and information booths devoted to the Soviet dictator are to go up across the capital under a proposal by Moscow City Council to mark the 65th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany on May 9. The decision outraged rights groups and opposition parties yesterday, who condemned it as another step towards rehabilitating a tyrant.

It also split the political establishment amid signs of Kremlin unease that Stalin’s legacy of repression could overshadow plans to honour veterans of what Russians call the Great Patriotic War. Millions of people perished in the Gulag slave labour camps during Stalin’s rule.

“We can say that it was not Stalin who won the war but the people,” said Boris Gryzlov, the leader in parliament of Vladimir Putin’s ruling United Russia party. “The ambiguous role that Stalin played in the life of our country will not be corrected by posters.”

Lyudmila Alekseyeva, the head of the Moscow Helsinki Group, told Interfax news agency: “We are going to protest against this. Those who want to put up portraits of Stalin in Moscow would like to see a return to the state terror of the Stalinist period.”

Sergei Mitrokhin, the leader of the opposition Yabloko party, said that the plan was “an insult to the memory of our fathers, grandfathers, and great- grandfathers, who won the war against fascism with their labour and blood”.

Mikhail Gorbachev, the former Soviet President, also objected. He told the newspaper Izvestia: “You cannot remove Stalin from the history of the war. But it should be remembered that the country entered the war badly prepared with its own military commanders repressed.”

Gennadi Zyuganov, the Communist Party leader, said that recognition of Stalin as commander-in-chief of the Red Army was “not only indisputably correct but also courageous”. He said: “For the first time in 20 years we have ended the hypocrisy of the authorities forgetting under whose leadership the war was won.”

Vladimir Makarov, head of the city council’s advertising and information committee, said that the campaign was being undertaken after a request from veterans’ groups. He said: “For years we have had information stands about the war commanders. But the supreme commander was missing. We need to remember the man who led our country in the war.”

It will undoubtedly be welcomed by many veterans who continue to revere Stalin as a war leader. Nadezhda Popova, a wartime pilot decorated as a Hero of the Soviet Union, told The Times: “Of course there were repressions but we have the right to remember him because we fought under his leadership. We believed in him. He was like a god for us.”

Official endorsement of Stalin at a key moment of national celebration would be a dramatic development in the gradual restoration of Soviet-era symbols in Russia under Mr Putin. He brought back the Soviet national anthem in 2000 and revived military parades in Red Square in 2008.

Mr Putin also endorsed a textbook for teachers that described Stalin as an “efficient manager” rather than a mass murderer, and as someone who behaved rationally in making the Soviet Union into a superpower.

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Victory Report: News from the Eastern Front
« Reply #13 on: March 13, 2010, 10:28:19 AM »
In honouring those men and women who fought in this great conflict, we'll trace the lives of some of the veterans from the Great Patriotic War. Russian photographer Alex Vasukovich follows the life of one elderly man, his beloved grandfather Vasya, a veteran of the Prussian front and who was wounded by mortar fire.

09 May 2008



(photo: Alex Vasukovich)


Grandfather Vasya arises on 9 May 2008. He and his wife live in the Belarussian village of Dubrovka, located in the Vitebsk area, about 3 kilometers from the Lithuanian border.




(photo: Alex Vasukovich)


Vasya's wife watches as Vasya gathers up the bags of seed potatoes. She too will be busy tending the family domestic garden while Vasya works in the field.




(photo: Alex Vasukovich)


First comes the necessities for life--potatoes, an extremely important crop in rural areas of Belarus, must be carted out to the field for planting.




(photo: Alex Vasukovich)


Only after the work is done can a busy man entertain any thoughts of celebration. These potatoes, with the help of neighbors and extended family members, must be planted for the family to survive the next winter.




(photo: Alex Vasukovich)


Meanwhile babushka is busy in the family domestic garden. From her efforts they will have tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, beans, carrots, etc, on the table. Plastic scarecrows and plastic waterbottles with pebbles inside will help to ward off birds.

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Victory Report: News from the Eastern Front
« Reply #14 on: March 13, 2010, 11:00:55 AM »
The sun is barely out (it will be a cloudy day anyway) but village life is hard and one must rise early in order to accomplish all that is necessary to survive.



(photo: Alex Vasukovich)


Finally, afternoon arrives and Vasya must prepare to be picked up for the drive into town for the celebration. Look at this man...jeans!   tiphat  Mendeleyev doesn't own a single pair of blue jeans, but Vasya looks in style!




(photo: Alex Vasukovich)


Officials in cars have come for Vasya and his wife. The horse can rest this afternoon. Vasya may be a little older than most of us, but no matter our age or status, all of us men still have something in common--we have to wait for the ladies to get ready!




(photo: Alex Vasukovich)


обед (dinner). The celebration in town is over and although the parade made everyone proud, the government allotted a whopping 50 тысяч белорусских рублей (50,000 Belarussian rubles is about $20) for a "feast" to honour the 5 surviving veterans of this village. Needless to say, Vasya and his wife came home to eat. Dinner is shared with a neighbor and a couple of relatives who had come from town earlier to help grandfather and grandmother with the planting.


 

(photo: Alex Vasukovich)


Photos of children and grandchildren can be seen behind Vasya. He is very proud of his family.




(photo: Alex Vasukovich)


Be it ever so humble, there is no place like home to watch the evening news on TV. Photographer Alex writes парад ветеранов Дед смотрел стоя, несмотря на то, что из-за усталости, пойдёт спать сразу после просмотра. (My grandfather stood to honour the parade of veterans, despite the fact that due to fatigue he went to sleep immediately after the coverage had finished.)

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Victory Report: News from the Eastern Front
« Reply #15 on: March 15, 2010, 10:01:15 PM »
Honouring the veterans, part 2

Do you enjoy spending time with elderly veterans? They possess a lot of knowledge to share, and we could certainly stand to learn, though that requires the skill of active listening.

Business consultants and sales trainers talk a lot about "active listening." True, it helps when one focuses on what a client is saying, but it's a business buzzword these days. When it comes to listening to elderly veterans, of sometimes discovers it to be relaxing, anything but "active." They are so much in command and speak with conviction. They're seen both the best and worst in life and can speak with confidence because of real life experience.

This year will mark 65 years since the Allied victory. Most of the veterans still alive today were already approaching the age of 20 when the war broke out in 1941. The math tells us that the time to listen to these veterans, seasoned and wise men and women, will soon be gone.

It's the winter of their lives. Take the time to listen and learn today because the promise of tomorrow comes with no guarantee.



St Petersburg, 09 May 2009



Winter Nears (Boris Pasternak)
 
Winter nears. Once more
the bear’s secret retreat
will vanish under mud’s floor,
to a child’s fretful grief.

Huts will wake in the water,
reflecting paths of smoke,
circled by autumn’s tremor
lovers meet by the fire to talk.

Denizens of the harsh North
whose roof is the clear air,
‘In this sign conquer’, set forth,
marks each unreachable lair.

I love you, provincial haunts,
off the map, the road, past the farms,
the more tired and faded the book,
the greater for me its charms.

Slow files of carts lumbering by
you spell out an alphabet flowing
from meadow to meadow. And I
found you always my favourite reading.
 
And it’s suddenly written again,
here in first snow is the spider’s
cursive script, runners of sleighs,
where ice on the page embroiders.
 
A silvered hazel October.
Pewter glow since frost began.
Autumn twilight, of Chekhov,
Tchaikovsky, and Levitan.
 

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Victory Report: News from the Eastern Front
« Reply #16 on: March 25, 2010, 10:28:49 PM »
The life of US paratrooper Jumpin' Joe Beyrle was celebrated during the month of February with an exhibit in St Petersburg. Russian historians think that Jumpin' Joe may have been the only veteran who fought for the US Army as well the Soviet Red Army during the war.





What makes this story interesting is not only the story of his service as a Great Patriotic War (World War II) US paratrooper, but also as a name that lives on in Russia today. Nicknamed "Jumpin' Joe" he was a young man who enjoyed leaping out of planes and fighting the Nazi's.

Jumpin' Joe Beyrle died last December of congestive heart failure in a hotel room in Toccoa, Ga., the small town where he had trained. He was in Toccoa to speak to school and veterans groups and to promote a book about his life.

The website of the Arlington National Cemetery has this to say: A member of the 101st Airborne's Screaming Eagles, Mr. Beyrle was 20 when he parachuted into Normandy for the first time; he was wearing bandoliers packed with gold for the French Resistance.

On June 5, 1944, the night before D-Day, he again parachuted behind enemy lines into Nazi-occupied France, landing on the roof of a church in St. Come-du-Mont. Under fire, he bounced down the steep pitch of the roof into a cemetery and set out on his mission, the demolition of two bridges behind Utah Beach. Three days later, he crawled over a hedgerow and stumbled into a Nazi machine gun nest.

His captors marched Mr. Beyrle and his fellow American POWs toward a prisoner staging area, while Allied planes strafed the scraggly procession. Mr. Beyrle was hit by shrapnel but managed to escape for a few hours before running into another German unit. His dog tags were taken and ended up around the neck of a German soldier who was killed in France while wearing an American uniform. In early September 1944, Mr. Beyrle's parents in Muskegon, Michigan, received the dreaded telegram about their son's "death."

Mr. Beyrle, meanwhile, was being hauled by train from one prison camp to another, where he endured interrogations, frequent beatings and near starvation. He finally managed to escape, after several attempts, in January 1945. He encountered a Russian tank unit led by a tough commander; he knew her only as "the major."

The Russian troops were hungry, desperate and barely under control. He recalled how the Russians seized the elderly German couple who owned the farm where he had been hiding, shot them and fed them to their pigs. A few days later, the troops ate the pigs.

Mr. Beyrle, looking for a way back to U.S. troops, fought alongside the unit for nearly a month, riding as a machine gunner on the back of a Sherman tank. After taking part in the destruction of his old POW camp, he was seriously wounded in an attack by German dive bombers and transported to a field hospital in what is now Poland.

He eventually made his way to the U.S. Embassy in Moscow but was placed under house arrest when he could not convince anyone that he actually was Joe Beyrle. Fingerprints finally established his identity.

On Sept. 14, 1946, he returned to Muskegon and got married in the church where his premature funeral Mass had been held two years earlier.


The War Department registered Beyrle as killed in action and his parents held a memorial service in Muskegon, Michigan. Four months later however they received a postcard. Beyrle, with the help of the Red Cross, sent a short note that he was POW and “fine.”

In reality, Beyrle was anything but -- he had lost a third of his body weight. He staged two escapes and the third attempt was successful in escaping from Stalag 3-C POW camp in Alt Drewitz in January 1945. After running for a day, he figured his best chance was to search out Soviet troops, the only U.S. ally fighting in the area.

“I knew two words of Russian, Amerikanskii tovarishch” -- “American comrade,” Beyrle had said. With his hands in the air, he called out to the Soviet troops. He won their trust by using his demolition skills to blow up trees hindering the advance of the Soviet tank brigade. Beyrle joined the Soviet ranks, but as his unit advanced toward Berlin, he was seriously wounded in a German attack. Recovering in a Russian field hospital, he met Marshal Georgiy Zhukov who gave him a letter of transit to the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, from where he made his way home to Muskegon.

Beyrle returned to Russia numerous times and traveled widely later in life, despite complications from his war wounds. He wore a vest filled with American medals on one side and Soviet and Russian medals on the other.

Story on NBC News here:
Story on Russia Today TV here:

So how is this story relevant today?
Jumpin' Joe's son, John Beyrle, became a Russian specialist at the U.S. State Department and today he works in Russia. In fact, he is the U.S. Ambassador to Russia. Naturally he has an unusual love and respect for Russia and the Russian people.


Joe's son, John Beyrle, US Ambassador

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Victory Report: News from the Eastern Front
« Reply #17 on: April 07, 2010, 08:57:25 PM »
Behind the scenes intensive planning is going on for the 65th Anniversary celebrations in Moscow and across Russia for victory in the Great Patriotic War (WWII). If you have the opportunity to be in Moscow this May, do so as the events will be spectacular.

The Steering Committee is comprised of members from many segments of Russian life and the most recent meeting of the committee at large took place in the triumphal hall of the Battle of Stalingrad Museum in Volgograd.





The meeting focused on matters of social support for veterans and preparations for celebrating the 65th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. The committee agreed that regional and municipal authorities must work to meet war veteran needs, including access to medicine, housing and other social benefits.





Speaking to the committee as a permanent member, President Medvedev emphasised that the celebration should be part of a well conceived, serious and large-scale publicity campaign. Mr Medveved reminded planners that their mission is to tell the truth, saying "We cannot allow the rehabilitation of Nazi collaborators, nor turn a blind eye to the glorification of those who in effect fought against their own people."


Wreath at the Eternal Flame, Volgograd.


The President also announced that, in accordance with the executive order he has signed, there will be five new Cities of Military Glory in Russia. This honorary title is to be conferred on Volokolamsk, Bryansk, Nalchik, Vyborg and Kalach-on-Don, a town in the Volgograd Region.





After a special luncheon the President met with surviving veterans of the Battle of Stalingrad.

Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Victory Report: News from the Eastern Front
« Reply #18 on: April 09, 2010, 11:06:45 AM »
As confirmed in the Moscow Times yesterday, Moscow mayor Yury Luzhkov will approve at least 10 billboards honouring Josef Stalin during the 65th anniversary celebration of Allied victory in the Great Patriotic War (WWII) in May 2010.



(photo: Igor Tabakov/Moscow Times)


Political groups like United Russia and human rights groups are protesting the decision however Luzhkov, who insists that his is not a “Stalinist” says that the billboards should be allowed as part of the Victory Day celebrations on May 9 because of requests from war veterans. Authorities have promised that the billboards will not be placed on Red Square, avoiding the potential embarrassment of U.S., British and French troops — who will participate in the Victory Day parade this year  — being asked to march under Stalin’s watchful gaze.

If allowed,10 billboards featuring Stalin with Soviet workers and collective farmers, will be placed around the city in time for the May celebrations. Critics say that the 65th anniversary will attract additional tourists and Stalin’s legacy is best forgotten as Russia build's it's image as a democratic country.





The human rights group "Memorial," which has conducted research into Stalin’s purges, vow to sponsor alternative billboards with facts about Stalin’s wrongdoings. Some Russian anarchist groups promise to destroy the Stalin billboards with paint.



Offline mendeleyev

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Re: Victory Report: News from the Eastern Front
« Reply #19 on: April 23, 2010, 11:40:43 PM »
More news from Moscow in preparation for the May 2010 Victory Day celebrations:


President Medvedev visited Great Patriotic War veterans in the town of Istra, near Moscow. Istra, part of the Moscow Oblast and about 50+ km west, is best known for the famous New Jerusalem Monastery (Новоиерусалимский монастырь).










While in Istra Mr. Medvedev issued an executive order that war veterans will travel free of charge within Russia during anniversary celebrations of Victory. The order provided that "citizens of Russia, as well as foreign residents and stateless persons living permanently in Russia, who either participated in or were wounded in the War, and persons accompanying them shall be entitled to free rail, sea, inland waterway, air and road transport within Russia from May 3 to May 12, for the entire period of activities and events to celebrate the 65th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945."


 



Back in 2008 President Medvedev had become angry at stories of homeless war veterans and ordered new housing be provided for all surviving veterans of the Great Patriotic war.





Today the president visited Vladimir Zhukovsky, a Great Patriotic War veteran, who moved into a new Istra apartment in October 2009. The President took a look at the apartment Mr. Zhukovsky received as part of implementing the presidential executive order of May 7, 2008. The President presented him with a television as a gift for his new apartment home.





Mr Zhukovsky was honoured to host the president's in his new apartment and shared pastries, tea with lemon slices, and small chocolates (in the glass bowl) with Mr Medvedev.

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Re: Victory Report: News from the Eastern Front
« Reply #20 on: April 30, 2010, 10:11:36 PM »
It is important to preserve the truth about the war to avoid the possibility of new tragedies. (Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Olso, Norway, 26 April 2010)

A week or so back I asked a member of the planning commission office about the intensity of preparations for the upcoming 65th anniversary & Victory celebration on 09 May. Her response fit the mood of the planners; the war began in 1941 and the average age of a new soldier was between 16-18. Today in 2010 the typical surviving veteran is around 85-88 years old and the chances of them making it to celebrations number 70 or 75 are rapidly diminishing. Russia wants this year's celebration to be special and that is evident in the stories of finding homes for veterans, offering more health care options for veterans, etc.

Moscow also hopes for this to be a way to reach out to Western Europe, reminding them of Russia's role in the liberation of Europe as a way to reset strained relations with her Western neighbors.

This past Monday President Medvedev traveled to Norway where he took part in a ceremony presenting Russian 65th Anniversary of Victory jubilee medals to 16 Norwegian veterans and one Russian veteran who lives in Norway. All of them participated in the Petsamo-Kirkenes Operation during which the Red Army liberated the eastern part of Norway.

During his meeting with veterans at the Norwegian Armed Forces Museum, President Medvedev stressed the importance of preserving the truth about World War II and preventing attempts to rewrite history to suit the ambitions of individual politicians.




(King Harold with President Medvedev)

The Presiden and Mrs Medvedeva, King Harald V of Norway and Queen Sonja visited an exhibition dedicated to Soviet prisoners of war buried in Norway. In 2009, the Falstad Memorial and Human Rights Centre launched a project called Soldiers' Graves Need Names which aims at collecting information to identify nearly 11,000 Soviet prisoners of war who died in Nazi concentration camps and were subsequently buried in Norway.

More than 4,000 Soviet soldiers died in battle during the liberation of northern Norway. Their remains were exhumed and transferred to Russia for reburial in Murmansk Region in 1951.

We'll use this thread to catch up with some of President Medvedev's Victory celebration related travel in the days ahead.

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Re: Victory Report: News from the Eastern Front
« Reply #21 on: May 01, 2010, 01:52:40 AM »
Veta's Grandma received a payment of 1000 Roubles as 'Thank you' for defending the Motherland - it was 500 Roubles last year !
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Re: Victory Report: News from the Eastern Front
« Reply #22 on: May 01, 2010, 10:40:56 AM »
Cool!  tiphat

One can only imagine how it must be to hear her stories of life and service during those horribly difficult years.

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Re: Victory Report: News from the Eastern Front
« Reply #23 on: May 01, 2010, 10:45:29 AM »
Yesterday Presiden Medvedev presented awards to the winners of the second national contest for the Best Hospital for War Veterans. Speaking at the award ceremony, held at the Moscow Region Hospital for War Veterans in Moscow Region’s Solnechnogorsk District, the President said he has made frequent reference of late to the victory in the Great Patriotic War in his addresses both at home and abroad, and always stresses that were it not for the Red Army’s victory in the war against Nazism the world would look very different today.

Later generations should remember this victory with gratitude and not let it be devalued or used by politicians to pursue their personal ambitions, Mr Medvedev said.





The President visited several of the hospital’s departments and spoke with medical staff and patients.

In all, 65 hospitals for war veterans from around Russia took part in the contest. First place went to Samara Region Clinical Hospital, Moscow Region Hospital for War Veterans and Krasnodar Territory Hospital for War Veterans shared second place, and third place was shared by hospitals in St Petersburg, Chelyabinsk, and Ulyanovsk Regions. All of the hospitals received prize money as incentives for their staff.
 

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Re: Victory Report: News from the Eastern Front
« Reply #24 on: May 01, 2010, 02:16:59 PM »
Cool!  tiphat

One can only imagine how it must be to hear her stories of life and service during those horribly difficult years.

Thanks, Mendy, I will ask Veta to regale them -if not in person, via me...
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