May 09, 2016

Not to Be Forgotten


Not to Be Forgotten

[This essay was delivered on Vermont Public Radio on May 10, 2010. To hear it, visit here.]

For 45 years, the Cold War made it politically incorrect to recognize Soviet sacrifices and victories in defeating Hitler in World War II. Yet the Cold War has now been over for 20 years, so it seems a good time to unequivocally acknowledge the primary contribution of the Soviets in the winning of that war.

The Soviet regime had a very cavalier attitude toward statistics. If something didn’t compute, it was hidden. And even if something wasn’t hidden, it probably still didn’t add up.

So it was with Soviet statistics on World War II. While the Soviet leadership commonly pronounced that 20 million citizens died in what they called The Great Patriotic War, we now know that this astonishing statistic was a vast and purposeful understatement.

In 1941, the population of the Soviet Union was nearly 197 million. In 1946, after the war was over, it was just over 170 million – reduced by a shocking 13%.

Today, official military records indicate that more than eight and a half million Soviet soldiers died in combat. Yet more than twice that many civilians perished during the war.

According to historian Olga Verbitskaya, best estimates are that roughly 18 million Soviet civilians died during WWII, including eight and a half million from famine, bombings, relocations and occupation, more than 2 million from forced labor in Germany, and nearly seven and a half million in German concentration camps, jails and ghettos.

Further, Verbitskaya notes, we should not forget to calculate “indirect losses,” meaning those who died prematurely after the war was over, due to poor living and medical conditions, injuries sustained during the war, and declining birth rates, which fell 30-50% versus the pre-war era. In all, it is estimated that nearly 50 million Soviets (one quarter of the pre-war population) had their lives cut short by what some have been so bold to call “The Good War.”

Yet in spite of these terrible losses - caused primarily by the Nazis, but also by strategic errors and the genocidal policies of Stalin and his cohorts - there is also the reality of victory.

The facts are unequivocal: 80-90% of all German and Axis forces killed in Europe during World War II died on the Russian front. It was the largest theater of warfare in history and, as historian Chris Bellamy wrote, the “single most decisive component of World War II.”

It is therefore my hope that, as we observe the 65th anniversary of the end of war in Europe, we will also fully acknowledge the 26 million Soviets who laid down their lives defending their homeland – and by extension - all of us.

Such recognition would not diminish the sacrifices and accomplishments of American soldiers or those of any other nation. But it might well strengthen our relations with Russia, at a time when our two countries are once again allied in a worldwide war against terror and evil.

You Might Also Like

WWII in Russian Cultural Memory
  • June 22, 2016

WWII in Russian Cultural Memory

June 22nd, as any student of Soviet history knows, is the day remembered in the official histories as the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. Recent TV productions have sought to keep the state sanctioned view of the war alive in popular memory.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.  
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
Fish: A History of One Migration

Fish: A History of One Migration

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.
Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
Murder at the Dacha

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided. 

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955