Sergey Ordzhonikidze
Sergey Ordzhonikidze is Deputy Secretary of the Russian Civic Chamber, Chairman of the Russian Public Council for International Cooperation and Public Diplomacy at the Civic Chamber, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation. A career diplomat, Mr. Ordzhonikidze joined the Soviet diplomatic service in 1969. In 1983−1991 he was Deputy Chief of the International Legal Department. In 1991−1996 he served Deputy Permanent Representative of the Soviet Union and then of the Russian Federation to the United Nations in New York. In 1996−1999, he was Director of the Department of International Organizations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1999−2002 Sergey Ordzhonikidze served as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and for 9 years in 2002−2011 he was Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, Secretary-General of the Conference on Disarmament. He is Member of the Civic Chamber since 2012. Sergey Ordzhonikidze was born in 1946 in Moscow. Sergo Ordzhonikidze, one of the leading Bolsheviks and head of the People’s Commissariat of Heavy Industry was his grandfather.
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Today we witness numerous attempts to cast doubt on the outcome of the Second World War, to rewrite the decisions of the Nuremberg Tribunal. Attempts to place responsibility for the unleashing of the most horrendous and murderous war in the history of mankind on the Soviet Union, a country that defended the idea of creating a system of collective security in Europe and preventing aggression to the very last, seem utterly blasphemous.
If today’s European youth are asked who won World War II, they will answer "the United States" without hesitation. But when we look at the numbers and estimate contributiond to the victory, we get the following picture. During Operation "Overlord" the Allies confronted by 23 German divisions, while on the Eastern Front in the Belarusian offensive operation "Bagration" the Soviet troops faught 179 Nazi divisions, of which 74 were concentrated directly in Belarus.
Obviously, it was the Red Army that bore the brunt of the war. To defeat such a powerful enemy, the Soviet Union used all possible resources.
If today’s European youth are asked who won World War II, they will answer "the United States" without hesitation. But when we look at the numbers and estimate contributiond to the victory, we get the following picture. During Operation "Overlord" the Allies confronted by 23 German divisions, while on the Eastern Front in the Belarusian offensive operation "Bagration" the Soviet troops faught 179 Nazi divisions, of which 74 were concentrated directly in Belarus.
Obviously, it was the Red Army that bore the brunt of the war. To defeat such a powerful enemy, the Soviet Union used all possible resources.
The war in one way or another affected every family of the 200 million population, most families lost members
Counting the losses of the USSR in the Great Patriotic War is still one of the unresolved scientific tasks of historians. In 2015, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the following data: military losses — about 12 million people, total human losses of the USSR — soldiers and civilians — 26.6 million people. In 2017, even higher numbers were announced in the State Duma, according to which the losses of the Soviet population as a result of all factors of the war, including the postwar famine, amounted to almost 42 million people.
However, attempts to consign to oblivion this colossal human sacrifice for the good of all mankind started right after the Nuremberg Trials. Already then, the recent Allies began the process of erasing the Red Army’s feat, although everyone was well aware of who had made the decisive contribution.
The British and Americans were not present in Europe either during the crucial battle of Moscow or during the decisive Battle of Stalingrad.
However, attempts to consign to oblivion this colossal human sacrifice for the good of all mankind started right after the Nuremberg Trials. Already then, the recent Allies began the process of erasing the Red Army’s feat, although everyone was well aware of who had made the decisive contribution.
The British and Americans were not present in Europe either during the crucial battle of Moscow or during the decisive Battle of Stalingrad.
While Soviet soldiers were giving their lives in the Kursk battle, the Allies landed in Italy to reach the Balkans and prevent the Red Army from advancing further in Europe
It is worth remembering that already in April 1945, that is, a month before the end of the Great Patriotic War, Churchill ordered a plan to attack the Soviet Union, codenamed "Unthinkable". The plan was not implemented only because the British General Staff saw no chance of winning this new all-out war, as the USSR had a significant military advantage over the Allied contingent in Europe.
Developing similar plans, but with nuclear weapons against the Soviet Union, became routine for the British and Americans. And each time they were stopped by the lack of a significant chance of success in such a war. For this reason, they chose the tactic of forgetting the exploits of the Soviet people — Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Kazakhs, Armenians and many other peoples who inhabited the united country.
Developing similar plans, but with nuclear weapons against the Soviet Union, became routine for the British and Americans. And each time they were stopped by the lack of a significant chance of success in such a war. For this reason, they chose the tactic of forgetting the exploits of the Soviet people — Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Kazakhs, Armenians and many other peoples who inhabited the united country.
Today, rewriting history is necessary for the sole purpose of justifying the policy of "Russia is the enemy and the aggressor," for which NATO’s infrastructure must be — and is being — relentlessly moved closer to our borders
But what threat modern Russia could pose to the Alliance with a ratio of military budgets of 1 to 20, remains a mystery.
Despite such a ratio of military spending, Western countries, with the active assistance of the Baltic States, Poland and Ukraine, are inciting hatred of today’s Russia. They are trying to erase the real memory of the war from the minds of young people and to turn the matter in such a way that Hitler’s Germany and the USSR started World War II in a conspiracy together.
In this connection, the portal "Honoring the Victory" is very important and timely. I am sure that it will become one of the reliable pillars of the international struggle for the preservation of historical memory and defense of the ideals of our common great victory.
Despite such a ratio of military spending, Western countries, with the active assistance of the Baltic States, Poland and Ukraine, are inciting hatred of today’s Russia. They are trying to erase the real memory of the war from the minds of young people and to turn the matter in such a way that Hitler’s Germany and the USSR started World War II in a conspiracy together.
In this connection, the portal "Honoring the Victory" is very important and timely. I am sure that it will become one of the reliable pillars of the international struggle for the preservation of historical memory and defense of the ideals of our common great victory.
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Demonstration of Nazi and fascist paraphernalia or symbols on this resource is related only to the description of the historical context of the events of the 1930−1940s, is not its propaganda and does not justify the crimes of fascist Germany.
All materials on this website are available under license from Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International and may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes, provided the source is acknowledged.
Demonstration of Nazi and fascist paraphernalia or symbols on this resource is related only to the description of the historical context of the events of the 1930−1940s, is not its propaganda and does not justify the crimes of fascist Germany.
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