The Hindu : Opinion / Editorials : Commemorating a great victory

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Tuesday, May 10, 2005

Opinion

Opinion - Editorials

Commemorating a great victory

It was appropriate that the 60th anniversary of the Allied victory in the Second World War was commemorated in Moscow. While the forces of fascism tormented people in many parts of the world, their most devastating impact was on the inhabitants of Eastern Europe, especially the Soviet Union. With 27 million Soviet citizens killed in the course of the four-year conflict, the multinational socialist country lost about 14 per cent of its population. The destruction stands out in all its staggering scale when contrasted with the losses suffered by the western allies. The United Kingdom lost about 0.6 per cent of its population and the United States about 0.3 per cent. However, Russia's pre-eminent right to celebrate the victory is not based on sacrifices alone. After the fall of France and the Balkans and until the Anglo-Americans landed in Sicily, the Nazi war machine operated almost wholly in the East. Rommel's Afrika Korps was about the only major unit active in the western theatre. While the western allies faced 58 German divisions after landing in Normandy, the Soviet Union never faced fewer than 226 divisions. It was not sheer numbers or "Lend Lease" that enabled the Soviets to pull off their victory. They re-oriented their economy for the purposes of war; restructured their army; and mastered the art of combat in the age of armour. By the end of the war, there could be no doubt about the fighting ability of the Red Army soldier or the tactical skills of commanders such as Georgi Zhukov, Ivan Koniev, and Konstantin Rokkosovsky. This was the force that destroyed 80 per cent of Nazi Germany's military power.

The West's failure to recognise the Red Army's overwhelming contribution towards victory is matched by its refusal to appreciate the enormous effort made by the Soviet Union to rebuild after the war. The Soviet system under Josef Stalin committed enormous blunders and several acts of cruelty as it sought to transform backward societies. However, contrary to western propaganda, it did not make into its raison d'etre a policy of annihilating whole groups of people categorised as "sub-human." President Vladimir Putin has wisely refused to be apologetic. He has also been steadfast in his opposition to the attempt to create a new world order in which unilateralism and hegemonic impulses are allowed freer rein. In an effort to push back NATO's creeping encirclement of his country, Mr. Putin has once again tried to strengthen the Commonwealth of Independent States. Resurgent Russia has also reached out to countries such as China and India that could be major players on the world stage in future. These potential allies in the cause of multilateralism should never doubt Russia's strength.

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