The 80th anniversary of the Battle of Stalingrad, an anniversary instrumentalized by Putin
Russia celebrates Thursday the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory in the Battle of Stalingrad, a major turning point in the Second World War. Russian President Vladimir Putin will travel to Volgograd, as Stalingrad has been renamed, to take part in the celebrations, according to the Kremlin.
Considered one of the bloodiest in history, with around two million dead on both sides, the Battle of Stalingrad (1942-1943) 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 added symbolic importance as we approach the first anniversary of the February 24, 2022, launch of the Russian operation in Ukraine, where Moscow is stepping up its actions after the recent capture of Soledar, a town in the East Ukrainian. A first success for the Russian forces for many months and a series of setbacks.
Against all likelihood, Mr Putin does not hesitate to draw a parallel between the resistance against Hitler and the offensive in Ukraine. “Forgetting the lessons of history leads to the repetition of terrible tragedies. Proof of this is crimes against civilians, ethnic cleansing [et] punitive actions organized by neo-Nazis in Ukraine »he thus dared last Friday, on the occasion of the international day of the victims of the Holocaust. “It is against this evil that our soldiers are fighting courageously”he added.
These statements provoked strong reactions. The head of French diplomacy, Catherine Colonna, described them as “shocking” et “shocking”and of “unworthy provocation” Holocaust Remembrance Day.