80 years after the Battle of Stalingrad – one of the bloodiest chapters of World War II – volunteers like Andrei Oreshkin are still recovering the remains of Soviet soldiers who died at the time. More than a million Red Army soldiers died defending the city against the Germans for months in 1942/1943. The unimaginable magnitude of this sacrifice has made Stalingrad a symbol of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany – and an important reference point for contemporary patriotism in the conflict with Ukraine.
The offensive in Ukraine has made the February 2 anniversary of the Battle of Stalingrad even more significant this year. The Kremlin has been trying for months to portray the Ukraine operation as another fight against Nazis – like the fight against the Germans fought two generations earlier in the southern Russian city now called Volgograd.
Many Russians are receptive to this message, including Andrei Oreshkin, who leads an initiative to search for remains from World War II. “Of course we fight fascism” in Ukraine, he tells the AFP news agency at the Rossoshka war cemetery near Volgograd, where Russian, German and Romanian soldiers are buried. Like Moscow’s leadership, he sees the root of the conflict with Ukraine in the West’s misjudgment of Russia’s determination and capabilities. “Back then, Nazi Germany and its allies underestimated the Soviet Union, its power and the patriotism of the people. Today, the West hopes that Russia is weak.”
Such comparisons with the past can be found everywhere in Volgograd. In the city with its one million inhabitants, every street keeps alive the memory of the destruction 80 years ago. Symbols of Russia’s troops in Ukraine – the Latin letters Z and V – are placed right next to insignia honoring the Soviet troops. As soon as he gave the order to attack Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin announced that he would “denazify” Ukraine.
At the Battle of Stalingrad Museum, Tatyana Prikachikova, a staff member at the Battle of Stalingrad, says that after centuries of confrontation, Western criticism of Russia is “nothing new.” The museum organized celebrations for the families of Russian soldiers who died in Ukraine. “The message is that their ancestors fought against fascism,” Prikachikova explains, pointing to a panoramic image of the Battle of Stalingrad. Russian soldiers today “follow this tradition”.
The museum also hosted a ceremony of the Defense Ministry-sponsored Patriotic Youth Army, praising children as “descendants of the Stalingrad victors.” The well-known war memorials of Volgograd were also used as meeting points for soldiers on their way to Ukraine.
Most of the city’s residents AFP spoke to support large-scale celebrations to mark the anniversary of the Battle of Stalingrad, but many don’t necessarily want the Ukraine comparison.
Yekaterina Sedova, a 21-year-old chemistry student whose grandfather fought in Stalingrad, says: “We should remember [Stalingrad] so that we don’t make the same mistakes again and draw the same conclusions.” She took part in commemorations, but did not want to mix up the commemoration with the conflict in Ukraine.
Other respondents think the celebrations, which President Putin reportedly wants to attend on Thursday, are too pompous. “The battle (for Stalingrad) was a tragedy for Volgograd and for our country,” says 31-year-old Maria Anshakova. She pleads for a silent commemoration.
Historian and activist Vyacheslav Yashchenko explains that the celebrations have been much more elaborate in recent years than in Soviet times. Although the victories of the Second World War were enormously important for his country, the political leadership used historical events “to improve the country’s image and manipulate people’s consciousness”.
Meanwhile, at the Rossoshka war cemetery, Andrei Oreshkin shows insignia of soldiers that he found in the loamy earth outside of Volgograd. His organization recovered the remains of more than 1,200 Red Army soldiers in the fields surrounding the city in the past year alone. “Future generations may have to do what we’re doing here,” he sighs. “I only hope that the dead are not simply left lying in fields. And that those responsible learn from our experience.”
