Azerbaijani MPs have asked Russia to immortalize the contribution of Baku to Victory in the Great Patriotic War. The request became a topic of discussions on the program Questions of the Day broadcast on Vesti FM. Giorgi Saralidze and Yelena Shchedrunova, hosting the broadcast, considered the opinions of the audience about promotion of countries and cities of the former Soviet Union for their contribution to the Great Victory.
Over 150 people called Vesti FM in 15 minutes, they all advocated giving Baku the status of a Hero City, emphasizing the value of Baku oil for the Victory. One of the listeners proposed awarding heads of states with medals for promoting their cities for such status as respect to common history. “There used to be one country, everyone went to war regardless of nationality, knowledge of the Russian language, regardless of whether he was in a city or a district, a village on the frontline or near the frontline or far behind enemy lines. It is well-known there were more Ossetians per capita in the Great Patriotic War, that 10% of the Georgian population died, there was no combat on its territory, no special bombings. They were the ones who went to the frontline,” said Giya Saralidze.
12 cities have been given the status of Hero City for heroic defense in the Great Patriotic War: Leningrad (modern Saint-Petersburg), Stalingrad (modern Volgograd), Sevastopol, Odessa, Kiev, Moscow, Novorossiysk, Kerch, Minsk, Tula, Murmansk, Smolensk. The Brest Fortress was given status of a Hero Fortress. After the fall of the USSR, no more cities were given hero status. However, Russia created City of Military Glory status, given to already 40 cities in Russia for courage, endurance and mass heroism demonstrated by their protectors in the fight for freedom and independence of the Fatherland.
A city needs to comply with a set of conditions to become a Hero City. The audience of Vesti FM proposed such status as “home front hero city”, “city of heroes”, “city of labour glory”. Many cities were working to enforce defenses, making victories of the Red Army a reality: Baku, Tashkent, Almaty. Many people, libraries, theaters and factories were evacuated deep into the country. Locals were working at the factories. Baku was extracting oil for tanks, military vehicles, aircraft. In 1945, German Minister of Armaments and War Production Albert Speer testified that the need for oil was obviously the main motivation for invading Russia and the lack of oil was the main cause of the defeat.
Most listeners spoke for giving Baku the honorary status: “Yes, it should be given, such initiatives should be supported, they must be rewarded, especially in the current political situation.” Speaking of the political situation, the audience implied Ukraine, where nationalist Stepan Bandera became a hero. Explaining the phenomenon, Giya Saralidze said: “It means that something wrong was going on for over 20 years. Maybe we – Russia as a whole, journalists – were not working hard enough too. We cannot lease out the history of the Great Patriotic War to such people.”
Commenting on the initiative of the Azerbaijani MPs, Saralidze stated: “It is a country, people, deputies, state structures, electoral structures that want to be a part of the victory. History says that part of the victory was forged on drilling rigs. Not only Azerbaijanis worked there, Baku is generally an international city and it still remains an international city. If people want to become a part of the victory, we should promote it.”
The city, the drilling rigs of which were forging the victory in the Great Patriotic War, deserves an honorary statusAzerbaijani MPs have asked Russia to immortalize the contribution of Baku to Victory in the Great Patriotic War. The request became a topic of discussions on the program Questions of the Day broadcast on Vesti FM. Giorgi Saralidze and Yelena Shchedrunova, hosting the broadcast, considered the opinions of the audience about promotion of countries and cities of the former Soviet Union for their contribution to the Great Victory. Over 150 people called Vesti FM in 15 minutes, they all advocated giving Baku the status of a Hero City, emphasizing the value of Baku oil for the Victory. One of the listeners proposed awarding heads of states with medals for promoting their cities for such status as respect to common history. “There used to be one country, everyone went to war regardless of nationality, knowledge of the Russian language, regardless of whether he was in a city or a district, a village on the frontline or near the frontline or far behind enemy lines. It is well-known there were more Ossetians per capita in the Great Patriotic War, that 10% of the Georgian population died, there was no combat on its territory, no special bombings. They were the ones who went to the frontline,” said Giya Saralidze.12 cities have been given the status of Hero City for heroic defense in the Great Patriotic War: Leningrad (modern Saint-Petersburg), Stalingrad (modern Volgograd), Sevastopol, Odessa, Kiev, Moscow, Novorossiysk, Kerch, Minsk, Tula, Murmansk, Smolensk. The Brest Fortress was given status of a Hero Fortress. After the fall of the USSR, no more cities were given hero status. However, Russia created City of Military Glory status, given to already 40 cities in Russia for courage, endurance and mass heroism demonstrated by their protectors in the fight for freedom and independence of the Father
