Генеральное консульство России в Эдинбурге
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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.

#Victory79
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On May 5, a motor rally was held by Russian compatriots who gathered in #London from all areas of the United Kingdom to commemorate the 79th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War.

#Victory #Victory79
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🏅 Happy #VictoryDay!

Today marks the 79th Anniversary of the Great Victory over Nazism.

#LestWeForget

#Victory79 #May9
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🙌Victory Day celebrated in Britain

May 9, on the occasion of the 79th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War, H.E. Ambassador Andrei Kelin and Russian diplomats laid flowers and wreaths at the Soviet War Memorial in London.

The commemorative ceremony was also attended by CIS countries’ Ambassadors, members of the Russian Speaking Community Council and the Russian diaspora in the UK.

Other events took place in Edinburgh, Errol, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and other cities.

#9May #WeRemember #Victory79 #GreatVictory
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🕯 June 22 marks the Day of Memory and Sorrow in Russia.

At dawn on June 2️⃣2️⃣, 1941, enemy aviation launched massive attacks on airfields, railway stations, Soviet naval bases and numerous cities along the entire western state border to a depth of up to 250-300 km.

This opened one of the most tragic chapters in our country’s history. The Great Patriotic War broke out.

Hitler had a lightning war in mind. Operation Barbarossa implied a crushing defeat of the Red Army and the defeat of the Soviet Union within a few months with the help of the hitherto faultless blitzkrieg tactics.

Romania, Italy and other countries joined Germany to form a united front against the Soviet Union.

However, the Red Army’s fierce resistance and the efforts of all Soviet people foiled the Third Reich’s plans.

🎙 The news about German invasion and the beginning of the war was announced over the radio. At noon on June 22 the People’s Commissar for Foreign Affairs V.Molotov addressed the Soviet citizens with a phrase that went down in history:

“Ours is a righteous cause. The enemy shall be defeated. Victory will be ours”.

The Great Patriotic War lasted 1418 days and nights and ended on May 9, 1945 with the victory of the Soviet Union and the complete rout of the Nazi bloc.

❗️ The Soviet people perished amounts to 40% of all human losses in WWII, i.e. 26.6 million people! Of them, more than 8.7 million died in combat, 7.42 million were intentionally exterminated by the Nazis in the occupied territories, and over 4.1 million died from the atrocious conditions of the occupation regime.

• Since 2009, the day marked by the Candle of Memory nationwide action. Candles are lit throughout Russia in the silence of the night in memory of all those who died during the Great Patriotic War protecting our peaceful life.

Since 2020, an annual nationwide minute of silence has been held at 12:15 Moscow time the exact time when the Soviet government announced Nazi Germany’s invasion.

🔗 Read our full material for more information

#Victory79 #WeRemember
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🗓 On August 9, 1944 — exactly 80 years ago — the Battle of Leningrad, the longest military engagement in the history of the Great Patriotic War, concluded with a Red Army victory.

For more than three years, Soviet soldiers and officers fought fierce battles in the northwestern theatre, while the people in Leningrad steadfastly endured the horrors of the siege.

Capturing Leningrad was a goal of high military and political significance for the Nazi leadership. The city was one of the largest strategic, political and economic centres of the Soviet Union, and its loss would mean isolation of the northern regions of the USSR, and cutting off the Soviet fleet’s access to bases in the Baltic Sea.

⚔️ The Battle of Leningrad included several stages: defence of the distant and near approaches, 872 days of the siege, the breakthrough and the Soviet offensive in the northwestern direction. Instead of taking the city in three weeks, as Hitler planned, the Nazi troops spent about three years at the gates.

The siege was finally lifted on January 27, 1944, paving the way for liberating the southern parts of the Leningrad Region in February. But the Battle of Leningrad did not end until August 1944 and the defeat of Finnish troops in Karelia. The Soviet soldiers were liberating Europe at that time.

☝️ The defence of Leningrad became a symbol of the courage of the Soviet people. At the cost of incredible hardship, heroism and self-sacrifice, Soviet soldiers and residents of Leningrad defended the city.

🎖 Over 350,000 soldiers, officers and generals of the Leningrad Front were decorated with orders and medals, with 226 of them awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. The medal For the Defence of Leningrad was conferred on 1.5 million people. In 1965, Leningrad was among the first to receive the title Hero City as a tribute to the heroism and courage shown by its residents during the siege.

#WeRemember #Victory79
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🗓 September 3 marks the Day of Military Glory in Russia — the day of victory over militarist Japan and the end of World War II.

On September 2, the representative of the USSR General Kuzma Derevyanko and the allies of the Soviet Union during WWII signed the Instrument of Surrender of militarist Japan.

At the Tehran (1943) and Yalta (1945) conferences of the heads of the Big Three Joseph Stalin agreed to help the United States and Britain in the war against Japan, which at that time the USSR had a pact of neutrality with.

It was agreed in Tehran that the USSR would enter the war two or three months after the surrender of Germany.

The redeployment of Soviet soldiers to the Far East began even before Berlin was captured. According to the plan the Soviet forces were to encircle and defeat the enemy in the Far East within two months but victory was achieved much faster — merely 11 days later.

☝️ The Red Army dealt a crushing blow to the Kwantung Army, which became one of the determining factors of the defeat of militaristic Japan. Southern part of Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands, Manchuria and part of Korea were liberated from Japanese occupation.

📹 The Russian Military Historical Society

#Victory79 #WeWereAllies
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🗓 On September 7, 1945, a military parade of the allied forces of the #USSR, US, UK and France took place in Berlin near the walls of the defeated Reichstag on Alexanderplatz Square, marking the end of #WWII.

The location of the parade – at the Brandenburg Gate, at the very heart of the German capital – was not chosen by chance. It was right here where the Battle of Berlin ended and the remnants of the Berlin group of German troops surrendered to the Red Army. Scheduled for September 7, the parade was timed to coincide with the victory over militaristic Japan.

Representatives of the allied powers responded positively to Moscow's proposal to hold a joint parade in Berlin. However, on the eve of the event, after the date and all the details had been agreed upon, the US, UK and France announced that instead of the commanders-in-chief – Eisenhower, Montgomery and Tassigny – they would send lower-ranking generals, who were already stationed in Germany, to the parade. By doing so, the allies tried to downplay the significance of the parde, which emphasized the decisive role of the Soviet Union in taking Berlin. At that time, no one doubted who bore the brunt of the storming of the capital of the Third Reich.

🇷🇺 The USSR carried out thorough preparations for the parade. The Soviet command attracted the most distinguished soldiers, sergeants, officers and generals who had shown unrivalled courage in taking Berlin and the main centers of the reich – the Reichstag and the Imperial Chancellery.

🎖On September 7 at 11 am, the Berlin allied parade commenced. It was received by the Commander of the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany Georgy Zhukov. The parade was opened by the combined regiment of the 248th Rifle Division of the Red Army, led by Hero of the Soviet Union, Lieutenant Colonel Georgy Lenev. The parade was closed by a column of the Soviet armor, with the latest heavy tanks IS-3 ("Joseph Stalin") marching.

💬 In his welcoming speech to the parade participants, Marshal Zhukov paid tribute to the exploits of the Soviet and Allied forces in the struggle for victory over Nazi Germany:

"Fighting friends, comrades in arms, soldiers, officers and generals... <...> The Second World War ended with a decisive and powerful strike from the great allied powers. Our victory is a triumph of an unprecedented military partnership of democratic states.

From now on, people <...> will be eternally grateful to the great nations of America, England, the Soviet Union, the French Republic and China, to their valiant soldiers who, in the difficult time of military trials, gave each other helping hands, united to win a victory over a common enemy, to win the long-awaited peace on Earth."


#Victory79 #WeRemember #WeWereAllies
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🗓 On November 7, 1941, the historic military parade took place on the Red Square in Moscow marking the 24th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution.

The parade was organised and held, when the Nazi forces were already approaching the Soviet capital — at the time an unthinkable endeavour.

Not only was it a defiance of Hitler's war machine and inhumane regime, but a testament to the unbending will of the Soviet people, the parade showed the Red Army soldiers and officers’ resilience and determination.

The march involved some 28'500 servicemen, as well as 140 artillery pieces, 160 tanks, and 232 vehicles. From the Red Square, Soviet soldiers and officers headed directly to the front, ready to defend their Motherland from the Nazis no matter the hardships and seemingly improbable odds.

The military parade became a symbol of the Soviet people’s fortitude and courage, inspired them in their fight against German aggression. It bolstered the USSR’s international prestige and strengthened the Allied coalition.

⚔️ A month later, the “invincible” Wehrmacht suffered its first major defeat, and Hitler’s ambitious blitzkrieg plan against the Soviet Union was thwarted.

In 2004, a federal law was passed designating November 7 as a Day of Military Glory in Russia in honour of the Red Square military parade. Ever since, festive concerts and exhibitions commemorating this event have been held annually across the country.

#Victory79