____________________________________
Today, 22 December, is the 91st birthday of Yekaterina Illarionovna Kalinchuk Demina… a legendary veteran of the VOV. At 16-years-old, she became a medical orderly in the 369 Separate Naval Infantry Battalion of the Danube Flotilla. She served with that unit throughout the entire war, being at the front in the Caucasus and Stalingrad, ending up in Hungary and Austria. She was a frontline hero, winning not only the Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin, but also two Orders of the Red Banner, the Order of the Patriotic War (First Class), and the Medal “For Courage”.
Congratulations, Yekaterina Illarionovna! Happy birthday! We wish you health and many years!
22 December 2016
Yevgeni Spitsyn
Editor:
Compare Yekaterina Illarionovna to John McCain… there’s no comparison between a real heroine and a posturing cowboy, is there? McCain was no coward, but he was no hero either. Old hands warned him many times that his recklessness would end badly, but he refused to listen to his elders and betters (nothing much has changed in him, has it?). The US Navy refused to promote this son and grandson of admirals to flag rank (a friend told me that the Navy didn’t want such a man in command of a task force… they feared that he’d kill others to prove his macho creds). On the other hand, Yekaterina Illarionovna did her duty at the front, showing not only prudence (for she did survive four years of the most-gruelling war ever fought), but also heroism (as her decorations prove to all comers).
I know whom I admire. It’s NOT John McCain. I confide that I’m not alone in thinking that way.
BMD
+Kirill
Voices from Russia 
9 October 2016. Friday Was VVP’s Birthday!
Tags: birthday wishes, Birthdays, happy birthday, patriotic, patriotism, political commentary, politics, Russia, Russian, Vladimir Putin
____________________________________
Friday was Vladimir Vladimirovich’s 64th birthday! He’s two years older than I am… so, I’m well aware that he’s thinking of the future and of who’s going to carry on after he retires (or dies). The smart word has it that D O Rogozin, the Deputy Chairman of the Government and head of the defence industry apparat is the leading candidate. Dmitri Olegovich is a nationalist, a socialist, and a patriot… what’s not to like in any of that? He’s also anti-American to the core and a determined foe of the hegemonist aggressors in Washington. The future looks good for the Rodina, in that respect…
Like all Russians, VVP keeps cats. Our saying is, “A house isn’t a home unless it has a cat in it”. In the above image, VVP shows the truth of that adage…
BMD