3 February 2018. A Seen by Vitaly Podvitsky: 75th Anniversary of the Defeat of the German Fascists in the Battle of Stalingrad

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Today, 75 years ago, Soviet troops defeated the German fascists in the Battle of Stalingrad. Eternal glory to our heroic grandfathers!

2 February 2018

Vitaly Podvitsky Masterskaya Karikatury

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18 February 2014. A Point to Ponder from HH… We Must REMEMBER Our History…NOT Erase It

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One can take the above quote two ways. Firstly, it means that ALL of Russian history is ours… the old Empire, the USSR, the Nasty Nineties (when the ROCOR stabbed the Motherland in the back at the behest of Langley)… it’s all ours, and all of it holds lessons for us. Those who attack the Soviet legacy (like an ignorant loudmouth priest on the ROCOR official website) are WRONG… you’ll usually find them to be nasty-minded enablers of the worst greedster elements of the American Hard Right. Anyone who wants to “erase” the Soviet legacy is a damned fool… and HH showed us that by his honouring of the podvig of the Red Army at Stalingrad (then again, he doesn’t have KONR and Vlasovtsy traitors in his family tree, does he?). 

Secondly, it means that we can’t erase portions of our history merely because they’re “inconvenient” for this one or that one amongst the powers-that-be. Here in the Russian Orthodox diaspora, we have to stop lying about our past (for that’s what we’re doing now… and it’s WRONG). We have to own up to the Church War and to Feodosy Lazor and to Gleb Podmoshensky (and to Seraphim Rose, who wasn’t wrapped overly-tightly) and to Seraphim Storheim. If we don’t, we not only won’t grow, we’ll stop living, and we’ll die out (deservedly). 

All of our history is ours… none of it’s so shameful that we need to hide any of it. It’s what our forebears did. They did their best… just as we try to. They did wrong things (and dumb things), just as we do. Don’t attend to anyone who attacks this or that part of our past. They have agendas… they’re evil. After all, if the truth sets you free, then, falsehood fastens chains around us. Keep that in mind when you hear certain loud sorts condemn Stalin… and when those same sorts try to cover over inconvenient truths about our Church history. Keep your wits about you and remember that knowledge is NEVER a bad thing. 

Никто не забыт и ничто не забыто… No one is forgotten, nothing is forgotten.

Keep it focused…

BMD

3 March 2013. A Frontline Fighter Speaks… We Should Listen

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Aleksei Stefanov, a 90-year-old VOV vet who spoke with the press, said:

“War isn’t a game; it’s the most horrible thing that there is. That’s the thing youngsters should always know”.

That’s the voice of truth; it’s spoken by a veteran fighter of the VOV who knows which end is up. What does that tell you about contemporary warmongering politicians (especially, those cowards who refused to serve themselves, but who stridently shout for war)? I think that it speaks volumes…

BMD

17 February 2013. RIA-Novosti Infographic. The Battle of Stalingrad: A Victory That Changed the Course of the War

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70 years ago, one of the greatest military podvigs* in Russian history occurred. In the bloody Battle of Stalingrad, the Red Army crushed the Wehrmacht, beginning its liberation of the USSR from the invaders. As a special offering for the anniversary of the great battle, RIA-Novosti gives you this Infographic about the legendary battle.

The victory at Stalingrad had a decisive influence on the future course of the Great Patriotic War. Because of its victory in the battle, the Red Army firmly seized the strategic initiative, dictating its will to the enemy. This changed the nature of the actions of the German forces in the Caucasus, in Rzhev, and in Demyansk. The Red Army’s attack forced the Wehrmacht to order the preparation of Eastern Wall, which was supposed to stop the advance of the Red Army. The outcome of the Battle of Stalingrad caused consternation and confusion in the Axis countries. Crisis brewed in the pro-fascist juntas in Italy, Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia. It also dramatically weakened the influence of Germany on its allies, and notably aggravated the differences between them. It caused political circles in Turkey to have an increased desire to maintain neutrality. In other neutral countries, it caused restraint and aloofness in their relations with Germany.

1 February 2013

RIA-Novosti

http://en.rian.ru/infographics/20130201/179170241/Battle-of-Stalingrad.html

* Podvig is almost untranslatable in English… it’s the highest form of exploit… going beyond “beyond the call of duty”… it’s the ne plus ultra in Russian. It is NOT a purely-spiritual term… it applies to all extraordinary feats of bravery, self-sacrifice, and dedication.