Ahead of the Victory Day, Vestnik Kavkaza interviewed Miroslav Morozov, a Russian military historian and writer, PhD (History), Colonel, an author of books on military and historical topics.
- How do you assess the role of the peoples of the South Caucasus in the Great Victory?
- The Victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War was a unifying symbol for all peoples living in the Soviet Union, who are now living in the Russian Federation and in other CIS countries. There are several international agreements signed between the CIS countries that this holiday is our common heritage. A series of projects are being implemented by the Russian government, the Defense Ministry to show the contribution of the peoples of Russia and the peoples of the USSR to the common victory. There are works about the Commanders of the Order of Glory. A new edition about the Heroes of the Soviet Union was published ahead of the 70th anniversary of the Victory. It was written by our experts of the Military History Institute of the Military Academy of the General Staff. It clearly shows that huge contribution made by all the peoples. Nobody is forgotten, nothing is forgotten. I would not single out any of the people, including the Russians.
The Victory was won through the joint efforts. People of different ethnic groups took part in the raising of the Victory Banner over Reichstag. One of them was a representative of the South Caucasus. People of all ethnic groups of the Soviet Union defended Pavlov’s House in Stalingrad. The Victory could not have been won by one ethnic group alone. It was won thank to internationalism, friendship between peoples who are now artificially separated, to my mind.
- Do people of the former Soviet Union remember the Great Victory?
- All CIS countries have their own sovereignty and they themselves deicide how to preserve the memory of those who sacrificed their lives. Some countries pay more attention to this, others less. In the Baltic countries, the memory of the war is acquiring specific forms. Not only those who participated in the liberation of the Soviet republics, but also former legionaries of Waffen-SS are recognized as participants of the war. There were two Latvian Waffen-SS Divisions and one Estonian Waffen-SS Division. There were many security police battalions in Lithuania, who also received a status of the participant of the World War II. However, we do not understand what their status indeed is. New monuments to honor them are being erected. But these were people who fought for the Nazi system of oppression of human beings, the system of eliminating of human beings, [the system] of genocide of peoples. Not all of them worked for SS voluntarily. But it is time to assess even those who were forced to work [for the Nazis]. Of course all this cannot be approved by the Russian Federation.
At the same time, we are able to reach a consensus with the CIS countries about the role of the peoples in the Great Patriotic War, about what events were crucial for the Victory over Nazism
- What is being done to preserve the memory of the war?
- The desire and plans are there. However, we have a difficult economic situation, and many ideas are restrained by the Ministry of Finances; even though this money will ‘bring dividends’ in terms of the civil position, the patriotic position, the memory of the war, the appropriate upbringing of the next generation. So, we need to connect desires with economic possibilities. Meanwhile, the memory of the war must be preserved not only during anniversaries. Our descendants will have to work hard erecting new monuments, writing historical books two and three generations after us. Our goal is not to complete everything today. Let them [next generations] work as well and strengthen their patriotism and knowledge.
