Embassy of Russia in the USA / Посольство России в США
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Официальный новостной канал Посольства России в США.
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🕯 President of Russia Vladimir Putin is taking part in the events to commemorate the 80th Anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the Nazi siege.

The President laid flowers at the Landmark Stone monument at the Nevsky Pyatachok military-historical complex. From the first days of the siege, the Red Army fighters held back the superior enemy forces in that area, a small three-kilometre stretch of the frontline south of Leningrad, preventing the Nazis and their allies from approaching the city.

The President visited the Piskarevskoye Memorial Cemetery, where he honoured the memory of the fallen Leningrad residents and defenders of the city by laying a wreath at the Motherland monument. About half a million people are buried in mass graves at the Piskarevskoye cemetery. The words of poet Olga Berggolts, ”No one is forgotten, nothing is forgotten“ are carved on the memorial wall behind the Motherland monument.

Leningrad is the only city in world history with a population of several million people that was able to withstand almost 900 days of encirclement. The siege by Nazi Germany lasted 872 days from September 8, 1941, to January 27, 1944. The ring was broken on January 18, 1943, and on January 27, 1944, a ceremonial salute was fired to mark the end of the blockade.

By that time there were no more than 800,000 inhabitants left in the Northern Capital out of the three million who had lived in Leningrad and its suburbs before the siege.

#Victory79 #WeRemember
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🗓 On January 27, President of Russia Vladimir Putin and President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko took part in a ceremony for unveiling a memorial to the USSR civilians who fell victim of the Nazi genocide during the Great Patriotic War. The event is timed to the 80th Anniversary of breaking the Siege of Leningrad.

💬 President Putin: January 27 is one of the most important dates in our shared national history. On this day in 1944, Red Army soldiers completely lifted the Siege of Leningrad. A year later, in 1945, they liberated Auschwitz.

<...>

For eight decades now, our pain for the victims, for the shattered destinies, and for everyone who endured incredible ordeals has not subsided. Our compassion is passed on from generation to generation and has #NoStatuteOfLimitation, just like the crimes of Hitler’s fanatics and their accomplices, those who cold-bloodedly planned and cruelly carried out the genocide of the Soviet people.

🕯 The massacres of unarmed and defenceless elderly people, women, children, and disabled were deliberate, systemic punitive acts.

<...>

We are witnessing a disturbing trend where the outcomes of the Nuremberg trials, which unequivocally condemned Nazism, are being revised. Some countries not only rewrite history and exonerate the executioners: revanchists and neo-Nazis have embraced the Nazi ideology and methods.

• Tens of thousands of people in the Baltic states are labelled “subhuman,” stripped of basic rights and persecuted.

• The Kiev regime glorifies Hitler's followers and members of the SS and uses terror against dissenters. Barbaric shelling of peaceful cities and towns persists, and the killing of the elderly, women and children continues.

• Some European countries endorse Russophobia as a state policy.

❗️ We will do everything in our power to halt and eradicate Nazism.

The followers of Nazi executioners are doomed. Nothing can deter the desire of millions of people in Russia and across the planet for true freedom, justice, peace, and security.

#Victory79 #WeRemember
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🏅 #OTD in 1943 one of the largest and fiercest battles in history, which radically changed the course of World War II, the Battle of Stalingrad was concluded.

This bitter battle lasted 2️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ days on the banks of the Don and Volga rivers, at the walls of Stalingrad, and finally in the city itself. The Battle for Stalingrad surpassed all previous battles in world history in its scale and intensity.

Up to 2.1 million people took part in the battle on both sides at a given time.

By late June, 1942, the enemy had concentrated at a front some 600–650 kilometres long from Kursk to Taganrog up to 35 percent of the infantry and over 50 percent of the tank and motorised divisions from the overall number of forces on the Soviet-German front.

☝️ However, their plans to win because of significant forces in this area were not destined to come true.

The Battle of Stalingrad includes two periods:

Defensive: from July 17 to November 18, 1942

Offensive: from November 19, 1942 to February 2, 1943.


There were no long pauses or lulls in the battle - the fighting was continuous. Stalingrad for the Nazi was a kind of "mill", which grinded thousands of German soldiers and officers.

The invaders lost a quarter of its forces on the Soviet-German front during this battle with the total losses, including the dead and wounded, prisoners of war and those who went missing, totalling around 1.5 million people. This led Germany to announce its first national day of mourning during the war.

🎖 The Battle of Stalingrad ended with a historic victory by the Soviet armed forces, marking a radical turn not only in the course of the Great Patriotic War, but also in the entire World War II.

The victory in Stalingrad created conditions enabling Soviet forces to mount a large-scale counteroffensive aimed at expelling the invaders from the Motherland.

☝️ Not only did this massive feat increase the international prestige of the USSR & the Red Army, but also helped strengthen the anti-Hitler coalition.

📖 Learn more

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🗓 On April 10, 1944, exactly 8️⃣0️⃣ years ago, the forces of the Third Ukrainian Front under the command of Army General Rodion Malinovsky ousted Nazi German and Romanian invaders from Odessa.

🕯 The Nazi occupation of the city lasted 907 days. During this period, approximately 200,000 people died in Odessa and in the region. Many of them fell victim to mass bloody massacres and brutal executions. About 78,000 people were deported to Germany for forced labour; plants and factories were destroyed; and over 2,000 buildings, including hospitals and schools, were blown up or burned down.

During their retreat, German and Romanian troops shot at ordinary people, including the elderly, women and children and mined the most important buildings, plants, the power station and the seaport.

⚔️ The Red Army inflicted a crushing defeat on the enemy with over 27,000 soldiers and officers killed and more than 11,000 taken prisoner. The enemy also lost 952 artillery pieces, 443 tanks and assault guns, and 97 ammunition and food depots.

The liberation of Odessa by the Red Army disrupted supplies to the German army group in Crimea and opened the way to an offensive towards the Balkans.

During the entire period of occupation, local citizens resisted the Nazis. After the city was captured, they went into catacombs. During the war, Odessa underground fighters and partisans destroyed over 5,000 enemy soldiers and officers, 248 motor vehicles, and saved about 20,000 Soviet citizens from being forcibly exported to Germany.

In honour of the liberation of Odessa, 324 artillery pieces made 24 salvoes in Moscow.

🎖 The honorable title of Odessa units was conferred on 27 formations and units that distinguished themselves during the operation. The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to 14 people and over 2,000 people received Soviet orders and medals.

On May 8, 1965, Odessa was officially declared Hero City.

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📅 On April 16, 1945, the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation was launched. It led to the final rout of the main German Nazi forces, the seizure of Berlin and the linking up with the troops of the Western allies. Over 3.5 million people took part in this large battle for the future of Europe.

The main Soviet forces were those of the 2nd Byelorussian Front under the command of Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky, the 1st Byelorussian Front under the command of Marshall Georgy Zhukov and the First Ukrainian Front under the command of Marshall Ivan Konev. The Dnieper Military Flotilla, part of the forces of the Baltic Fleet and the 1st and 2nd Armies of the Polish Armed Forces were also involved in the hostilities.

The operation started with a night attack during which 143 searchlights were used to blind the enemy. Soviet attack forces quickly broke through the first line of enemy defences but later on, the troops of the 1st Byelorussian Front under Marshal Zhukov were faced with strong resistance on the Seelow Heights.

After fierce fighting on the approaches to the city on April 25, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front and the 1st Byelorussian Front linked up to the west of the Third Reich capital, having completed the encirclement of the German group. The fighting for Reichstag began on April 29.

By the late hours of May 5, the enemy resistance was finally suppressed and 134,000 German soldiers and officers surrendered. On the night of May 9, Marshal Zhukov together with representatives of the British, American and French commands accepted unconditional surrender of German troops in Karlshorst. The war in Europe was over.

☝️ During the Berlin operation, Soviet troops not only surrounded and defeated one of the Wehrmacht’s largest groups but also liberated about 200,000 prisoners of Nazi camps in the zone of hostilities. Over 600 participants in the operation were awarded with the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union.

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🗓 On April 26, 1945, the Red Army liberated Brno from the Nazi invaders as part of the Bratislava-Brno operation.

In early April 1945, the Red Army expelled the Nazis from Bratislava and by April 22, units of the 2nd Ukrainian Front breached the Wehrmacht’s Moravia defensive line and encircled the Brno sector. The Soviet forces launched an attack on the Nazis the following day.

🏭 After Czechoslovakia was occupied, a highly important industrial centre Brno became a significant production hub of the Third Reich where Skoda and Zbrojovka weapons manufacturers were located. One of Auschwitz sub-camps was also located there.

For those reasons the Nazi invaders mounted desperate counterattacks in an effort to halt the Red Army’s onslaught. However, by April 25, Soviet units had already reached several sectors of Brno, engaging the enemy on the outskirts and crossing the Svitava River. By the evening of April 26, Soviet forces established control over the entire city. On the same day, Moscow ordered a 224-gun artillery salute to commemorate this event.

🎖 The 1st Czechoslovak Army Corps, under the command of Ludvik Svoboda, and Czechoslovak partisans played an active role in the liberation of Czechoslovakia, providing substantial support to the Red Army units. Six Czechoslovak citizens were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for their deeds during the Great Patriotic War, more than any other foreign nationals.

☝️ With the liberation of Brno, the Red Army was able to outmanoeuvre the remaining enemy forces on a broad front, preparing for a direct assault on the Nazi forces, occupying Prague.

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📅 On April 30, 1945, Soviet soldiers Rakhimzhan Koshkarbayev & Grigory Bulatov raised the first Red Banner on the facade of the Reichstag.

The distance between the former Himmler's house and the Reichstag was less than 500 metres. Bulatov & Koshkarbayev struggled for 7 hours, crossing this distance under heavy fire, with a makeshift flag - a flagpole with a simple scarlet cloth.

According to the 150th Division's combat log, at 14:25 Bulatov & Koshkarbayev "crawled to the central part of the building and placed a red flag on the steps of the main entrance". It was the first of the banners the liberators raised over the Reichstag.

🎖 Rakhimzhan Koshkarbayev & Grigory Bulatov were awarded the Order of the Red Banner for the courage and heroism during the assualt on the Reichstag. Monuments to Koshkarbayev have been erected in his home region of Akmola in Kazakhstan and in the republic's capital, Astana, and to Bulatov in Kirov.

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📅 In the early hours of May 1, 1945, the #VictoryBanner was raised atop of the Reichstag during the Battle of Berlin. It became a symbol of the triumph of the Soviet Union & its peoples in the fight against Nazism.

Before the assault, a decision was made for a group of Soviet fighters to hoist the flag over the Reichstag, which would embody the final collapse of Nazism.

🚩 A total of 9 makeshift banners were promptly made, designed after the state flag of the USSR. Ultimately, a battle flag of the 150th Order of Kutuzov 2nd Class Idritsa Rifle Division, 79th Rifle Corps, 3rd Shock Army of the 1st Belarusian Front, became the Victory Banner.

The order of events:

• A Red Army unit broke into the Reichstag through breaches in the walls, with a fierce close combat unleashing. The Nazis took advantage of effectively advancing inside the building they new well, throwing grenades at Soviet soldiers & firing back with machine-guns: they basically had nothing to lose.

• Lieutenant R.Koshkarbayev & private G.Bulatov placed a makeshift red flag to the column on the steps of the Reichstag main entrance.

• Staff sergeants G.Zagitov, A.Lisimenko & A.Bobrov as well as Sergeant M.Minin supported by Captain S.Neustroyev’s battalion were the 1st to hoist a red banner on the roof of the Reichstag atop of the Goddess of Victory sculpture.

• The 3rd red banner was raised on the western facade of the roof by the scouts of the 674th Regiment led by Lieutenant S.Sorokin.

• Finally, the Red Banner №5 was raised over the dome of the captured Reichstag by the 756th Rifle Regiment’s scouts, Sergeant M.Yegorov & Junior Sergeant M.Kantariya, led by deputy battalion commander Lieutenant A.Berest, covered by riflemen from I.Sayanov’s squad. That flag ultimately became the Victory Banner.

📃 By a Presidential Executive Order of April 15, 1996, the Red Banner hoisted atop of the Reichstag by Yegorov & Kantariya was declared the symbol of the Soviet people’s Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.

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8️⃣0️⃣ years ago, on May 1, 1944, an executive order of the USSR Presidium of the Supreme Soviet established the Medal For the Defence of Moscow.

The Battle of Moscow was one of the largest of the Great Patriotic War. The fighting near the capital went on from September 30, 1941 to April 20, 1942.

☝️ Cadets of military schools as well as ordinary Muscovites joined the Red Army soldiers, rallying to defend the city. No capital in the world had ever given Hitler such a strong rebuff.

⚡️ The Battle of Moscow dispelled the myth about the Third Reich’s war machine being invincible, & thwarted the Nazi Germany’s ‘lightning war’ plan to defeat the USSR.

The Medal For the Defence of Moscow immortalised the heroic deeds of all those who fought for the liberation of Moscow, conferred on them in acknowledgement of their unparalleled heroism during some of the most difficult days the Motherland faced. It was awarded to more than a million fearless defenders of Moscow (~1,028,600), including women & children. The award was also conferred on ordinary residents who defended the city. The medal was given to the military responsible for Moscow’s air defence & civilians who helped defend the city from enemy air raids. Military & civilian personnel who built defensive lines around the capital were also noted.

🖼 The future medal was based on a drawing by Nikolai Moskalyov, whose sketches were also used as the basis of many other Soviet awards.

The medal’s exterior side depicts the Kremlin wall with a T-34 tank under it in the foreground, the monument to Minin & Pozharsky on the left, & a Kremlin tower on the right. The dome of the Government building rises above the wall with a hammer & sickle flag fluttering above. Along the upper circumference of the medal — the name of the medal. The lower half displays a laurel wreath, which is divided by a five-pointed star. The inscription on the reverse side reads: “For our Soviet Motherland,” with a hammer & sickle above it.
 
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🏅 On June 9, 1945, the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the USSR issued an executive order to establish the medal For the Capture of Berlin, a symbol of the end of the Great Patriotic War and Victory over Nazism.

The Berlin Offensive, which lasted 23 days from April 16 to May 8, 1945, was the final chord in liberating Europe from the Nazi oppression. The troops of the three Red Army fronts, led by marshals Georgy Zhukov, Konstantin Rokossovsky and Ivan Konev, overcame the resistance from the million-strong Wehrmacht troops, capturing the capital of Nazi Germany. In the early hours of May 1, 1945, the Victory Banner was raised atop of the Reichstag.

🖼️ A total of 116 sketches were submitted for the design competition for the medal For the Capture of Berlin. By May 3, 1945, the initial metal samples were cast based on the best designs. The sketch by artist Alexander Kuznetsov was approved as the final option.  

👉 The decoration was presented to participants in the heroic battle and capture of Berlin. Overall, more than 1.1 million soldiers, officers and commanders received the medal.

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