The 80th anniversary of the Battle of Stalingrad, an anniversary exploited by Putin
Russia on Thursday marks the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory in the Battle of Stalingrad, a key turning point in World War II. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin will travel to Volgograd, as Stalingrad was renamed, to attend the celebrations, according to the Kremlin.
With around two million dead on both sides, the Battle of Stalingrad (1942-1943) is considered one of the bloodiest in history and changed the course of the conflict in the Soviet Union. It is still glorified by Russia as the event that saved Europe from Nazism.
Victory in this battle takes on additional symbolic meaning as we approach the first anniversary of the start of Russia’s operation in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, where Moscow is stepping up its actions after the recent capture of Soledar, a town in eastern Ukraine. A first success for the Russian armed forces in many months and a series of setbacks.
Mr. Putin, against all odds, does not hesitate to draw a parallel between resistance against Hitler and the offensive in Ukraine. “Forgetting the lessons of history leads to the repetition of terrible tragedies. Evidence of this is crimes against civilians, ethnic cleansing [et] the punitive actions organized by the neo-Nazis in Ukraine,” he ventured last Friday on the occasion of the International Day of Holocaust Victims. “Against this evil, our soldiers bravely fight,” he added.
These statements provoked violent reactions. The head of French diplomacy, Catherine Colonna, called it “appalling” and “shocking” and an “undignified provocation” on Holocaust Remembrance Day.