Today, May 9th, marks Victory Day over Nazi Germany in the Eastern European block. The official date of the end of World War II is actually May 8th, but time zone differences on the actual hour documents were signed had it May 9th in Moscow so the Soviet Union marked this day as the official day of victory.
Much mis-information has been spread after World War II, primarily about the USA's involvement, but also about Russia's contribution. It is unfortunate that the West refuse to acknowledge the fact that without Russia's effort, Europe and likely the USA would have been conquered by Nazi Germany. Of course, this statement is based simply on opinion, but the fact that almost 80% of Nazi forces were killed by Russian forces is a figure that is difficult to ignore. The USA lost 400,000 troops in total, where Russia lost more than that in a single battle.
This mis-information is continuing today in Western Media. Determined to portray Russia in a bad light, Russia's Victory Day Parade is being treated as a sign of hostility towards the world. Rather than throwing dirt, why doesn't the media asked he people of Russia what they think? The vast majority of Russian's in Moscow loved the parade, and were happy that their children could see a Soviet Style parade. To the older people, it gave them a sense of nostalgia, and to the younger they could gaze on military equipment, which most children enjoy.
The future will show how history will truly be written. Most knowledgeable people know how World War II was fought, and who the major players are, even in the USA. It is the people that don't really care about history (the vast majority) that hear something in one ear that pleases them (without the USA, Europe would be German), and so they believe it and repeat it often. University history books credit Russia with victory (at least mine did), I hope soon High School texts will do the same.
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