DISINFO: The victory over Nazism is completely down to Russia
SUMMARY
In the case of Russia, concepts like Nazism, World War 2 and the Great Patriotic War are all undergoing a major revision. Russia will be deprived of intangible value: the victory in the Great Patriotic War and over Nazism. But the victory was completely due to Russia. Of course the Allies and other countries assisted but it was Russia that suffered most; bearing the lion’s share of all the losses and burdens of the war.
RESPONSE
An unfounded statement, not supported by evidence. Previously, European political leaders attended Victory Day celebrations, only stopping after the Russian aggression in Ukraine. Media, scholars and historians in Europe regularly refer to the Soviet contributions in WW2. "The Red Army was "the main engine of Nazism's destruction," writes British historian and journalist Max Hastings in "Inferno: The World at War, 1939-1945". In several European countries, memorials are in place to commemorate the USSR's contribution to the victory over Nazism. In fact, it is the Russian government which has consciously exploited the epic of Soviet victory over Nazi Germany for political reasons and minimised or denied the role played by other Allied powers. Examples can be seen here and here. While blaming the West for a revision of history, this disinformation narrative goes to another extreme, assigning victory only to Russia: talking about Russia's victory, Russia's merit, Russia's losses and Russia's suffering. Neither the USSR, or the 14 other Soviet republics are mentioned. The estimated losses for each Soviet Republic given by Russian historian Vadim Erlikman are here. By these estimations, Belarus lost 25,3 % of its population, Ukraine 16.3%, Armenia 13,6%, and Russia 12,7% (both military and civilian deaths).