Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
#Victory78
🗓 On July 14, 1941, the legendary BM-13 Katyusha rocket artillery combat vehicle was first used in battle near the railway station in Orsha. Back then, a battery under the command of Captain Ivan Flerov destroyed a concentration of German military equipment with salvo fire.
On July 24, a report from the frontline was delivered to the German command: “The Russians used a battery with an unusual number of guns. The troops fired upon by the Russians said that the fire assault is like a hurricane. The loss of life is significant.”
The new weapon did not only yield a strong practical result, but also came as a moral shock to the German soldiers. There were many cases when Wehrmacht soldiers went mad after shelling by our rocket launchers.
The BM-13 became one of the first and most effective multiple launch rocket systems in the world, successfully hitting concentrations of manpower, equipment and fortified enemy defence lines.
⚔️The rocket artillery was used in the most important areas of the Soviet-German front, becoming the Red Army’s most powerful weapon. It had a significant impact on the course of the war and the defeat of Nazi Germany and its satellites.
By the end of the Great Patriotic War Soviet industry produced over 10,000 Katyusha combat vehicles and over 12 million rockets for them.
After the victory over the Nazis in 1945, Katyushas played a prominent role in the Soviet army. The BM-13 was used as a foundation to develop new salvo fire systems. Today, the BM-13 is rightfully considered one of the main symbols of the Victory and regularly takes part in the Victory parades in Moscow and other cities of Russia.
☝️ #InterestingFact: There are several versions of how the BM-13 got the name Katyusha. According to one of them, the name comes from the popular song of the same name by Matvey Blanter with lyrics by Mikhail Isakovsky. According to another, the name reflects their marking with the letter K (for the Komintern plant).
📖 Find out more about Katyusha in our material
🗓 On July 14, 1941, the legendary BM-13 Katyusha rocket artillery combat vehicle was first used in battle near the railway station in Orsha. Back then, a battery under the command of Captain Ivan Flerov destroyed a concentration of German military equipment with salvo fire.
On July 24, a report from the frontline was delivered to the German command: “The Russians used a battery with an unusual number of guns. The troops fired upon by the Russians said that the fire assault is like a hurricane. The loss of life is significant.”
The new weapon did not only yield a strong practical result, but also came as a moral shock to the German soldiers. There were many cases when Wehrmacht soldiers went mad after shelling by our rocket launchers.
The BM-13 became one of the first and most effective multiple launch rocket systems in the world, successfully hitting concentrations of manpower, equipment and fortified enemy defence lines.
⚔️The rocket artillery was used in the most important areas of the Soviet-German front, becoming the Red Army’s most powerful weapon. It had a significant impact on the course of the war and the defeat of Nazi Germany and its satellites.
By the end of the Great Patriotic War Soviet industry produced over 10,000 Katyusha combat vehicles and over 12 million rockets for them.
After the victory over the Nazis in 1945, Katyushas played a prominent role in the Soviet army. The BM-13 was used as a foundation to develop new salvo fire systems. Today, the BM-13 is rightfully considered one of the main symbols of the Victory and regularly takes part in the Victory parades in Moscow and other cities of Russia.
☝️ #InterestingFact: There are several versions of how the BM-13 got the name Katyusha. According to one of them, the name comes from the popular song of the same name by Matvey Blanter with lyrics by Mikhail Isakovsky. According to another, the name reflects their marking with the letter K (for the Komintern plant).
📖 Find out more about Katyusha in our material
July 15, 2023
Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
🗓 On July 18, 1909, a great statesman and outstanding Soviet diplomat, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR Andrey Gromyko was born.
In 1936, he defended his PhD thesis on US agriculture and soon became a senior research associate at the Institute of Economics of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
💼 Gromyko began his diplomatic career in 1939, he was selected by a party Central Committee commission to work in the People’s Commissariat of Foreign Affairs and was appointed to head the department of American countries.
In late 1939, he became an advisor to the USSR Embassy in the United States. In 1943, he headed the Soviet Embassy in the US. In this position, Gromyko was deeply involved in preparations for the Tehran, Potsdam and Yalta conferences of the allied heads of state. It was Gromyko who signed the UN Charter on behalf of the USSR on June 26, 1945. In 1946, he became the first Soviet diplomat to be appointed USSR Permanent Representative to the UN.
In 1957, Andrey Gromyko took over the Foreign Ministry – a position he went on to hold without interruption for 28 years.
Gromyko was involved in drafting many key agreements on security and strategic stability, which reduced global tensions.
☝️#InterestingFact: In the West, Gromyko was nicknamed “Mr Nyet” for his unyielding position on important issues involving national interests. Gromyko commented on his nickname: They heard my ‘nyet’ much less often than I heard their ‘no’ because we made many more proposals.
🕯️ He died on July 2, 1989, and was buried in Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow.
Andrey Gromyko was one of the most widely respected world diplomats and a symbol of Soviet foreign policy. Owing to his talent, his incredible flexibility coupled with his steeliness in upholding the interests of the Fatherland, our country occupied one of the strongest positions in its entire history.
👉 Read more
In 1936, he defended his PhD thesis on US agriculture and soon became a senior research associate at the Institute of Economics of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
💼 Gromyko began his diplomatic career in 1939, he was selected by a party Central Committee commission to work in the People’s Commissariat of Foreign Affairs and was appointed to head the department of American countries.
In late 1939, he became an advisor to the USSR Embassy in the United States. In 1943, he headed the Soviet Embassy in the US. In this position, Gromyko was deeply involved in preparations for the Tehran, Potsdam and Yalta conferences of the allied heads of state. It was Gromyko who signed the UN Charter on behalf of the USSR on June 26, 1945. In 1946, he became the first Soviet diplomat to be appointed USSR Permanent Representative to the UN.
In 1957, Andrey Gromyko took over the Foreign Ministry – a position he went on to hold without interruption for 28 years.
Gromyko was involved in drafting many key agreements on security and strategic stability, which reduced global tensions.
☝️#InterestingFact: In the West, Gromyko was nicknamed “Mr Nyet” for his unyielding position on important issues involving national interests. Gromyko commented on his nickname: They heard my ‘nyet’ much less often than I heard their ‘no’ because we made many more proposals.
🕯️ He died on July 2, 1989, and was buried in Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow.
Andrey Gromyko was one of the most widely respected world diplomats and a symbol of Soviet foreign policy. Owing to his talent, his incredible flexibility coupled with his steeliness in upholding the interests of the Fatherland, our country occupied one of the strongest positions in its entire history.
👉 Read more
July 19, 2023
Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
🗓 On August 1, Russia marks the Day of Remembrance for Russian Soldiers who fell in World War I. On this day in 1914, Germany declared war on the Russian Empire.
Thus, our country joined the then largest and bloodiest armed conflict in history launched to redivide colonies, spheres of influence & markets.
⚔️ The war was waged by two coalitions: the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire & Bulgaria) and the Entente powers (Russia, France, Britain).
Russia was an active participant in military action which unfolded during WWI. Russian forces fought courageously and heroically on all parts of the Eastern Front.
☝️ #InterestingFact: One of the symbols of the Russian soldiers’ selflessness was the Battle of Osowiec Fortress. The advancing German forces used chemical weapons to eliminate a major part of the Russian garrison. Despite severe gas poisoning & heavy losses, the remaining defenders of the fortress rose in a bayonet attack & forced the enemy to flee. This episode went down in history as the Attack of the Dead Men.
Many Russian historians believe that the tide of the war was turned by the famous Brusilov Offensive on the Southwestern Front, which pushed Austria-Hungary to the brink of collapse & forced Germany to redeploy considerable forces from Verdun in France to the “Russian theatre of war.” The Second Reich lost the strategic initiative, and the course of the war was changed in favour of the Allies.
🕯 The heroism of Russian soldiers & officers can hardly be overstated. In that war, Russia lost over 2 million lives on the frontlines.
People in Russia have not forgotten their heroic compatriots who perished in the conflict. A memorial park complex to the heroes of the the World War I opened in 2004 at the former Bratsky (Fraternal) Cemetery in Moscow & a monument to the heroes of the World War I was unveiled in the city’s Victory Park on Poklonnaya Gora in 2014. Overall, there are 20 monuments and memorials to WWI heroes in Russia & other countries.
👉 Read more
#WeRemember
Thus, our country joined the then largest and bloodiest armed conflict in history launched to redivide colonies, spheres of influence & markets.
⚔️ The war was waged by two coalitions: the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire & Bulgaria) and the Entente powers (Russia, France, Britain).
Russia was an active participant in military action which unfolded during WWI. Russian forces fought courageously and heroically on all parts of the Eastern Front.
☝️ #InterestingFact: One of the symbols of the Russian soldiers’ selflessness was the Battle of Osowiec Fortress. The advancing German forces used chemical weapons to eliminate a major part of the Russian garrison. Despite severe gas poisoning & heavy losses, the remaining defenders of the fortress rose in a bayonet attack & forced the enemy to flee. This episode went down in history as the Attack of the Dead Men.
Many Russian historians believe that the tide of the war was turned by the famous Brusilov Offensive on the Southwestern Front, which pushed Austria-Hungary to the brink of collapse & forced Germany to redeploy considerable forces from Verdun in France to the “Russian theatre of war.” The Second Reich lost the strategic initiative, and the course of the war was changed in favour of the Allies.
🕯 The heroism of Russian soldiers & officers can hardly be overstated. In that war, Russia lost over 2 million lives on the frontlines.
People in Russia have not forgotten their heroic compatriots who perished in the conflict. A memorial park complex to the heroes of the the World War I opened in 2004 at the former Bratsky (Fraternal) Cemetery in Moscow & a monument to the heroes of the World War I was unveiled in the city’s Victory Park on Poklonnaya Gora in 2014. Overall, there are 20 monuments and memorials to WWI heroes in Russia & other countries.
👉 Read more
#WeRemember
August 1, 2023
Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
🗓 On August 9, Russia celebrates one of its Days of Military Glory, marking the victory of the Russian fleet over Sweden in the Battle of Gangut 309 years ago. It was Russia’s first military success at sea.
Free access to the Baltic Sea was one of the main goals of Russia in the Northern War (1700–1721). By 1714, Russian forces already controlled large parts of Finland and key ports in Estonia and Livonia, but Sweden still dominated the Baltic Sea.
⚓️ In the summer of 1714, the Russian fleet, consisting of almost 100 galleys and scampavias, was sailing to the Aland skerries to strengthen the Abo garrison. It was blocked by the Swedish battle fleet at the southern edge of the Gangut Peninsula.
Peter I arrived at the site of the battle to personally assume command of the Russian fleet. To distract the enemy’s attention, he ordered his troops to build a ground crossing to feign the impression that they were going to get around enemy ships by land. This military trick worked and the enemy’s forces were divided in half.
⚔️ The Russian command quickly reacted to the change in the situation and exploited Sweden’s mistake. Having waited for calm, the vanguard of the Russian rowing fleet made a rapid maneuver bypassing the enemy from the sea out of the range of ship artillery. Later, the main forces broke through to their vanguard along coastal shipway.
With the lack of wind and the skillful use of the advantages of the rowing fleet over the sailing fleet in the shallow coastal waters, as well as the rational distribution of forces, Peter I managed to achieve a great military success.
☝️ #InterestingFact: During boarding battles, Peter I fought himself, shoulder to shoulder with the sailors, encouraging them by his personal example.
The victory of Russia off Cape Gangut weakened the position of the Swedish fleet, gave our country free access to the Baltic Sea and superiority in the Gulf of Finland and the Gulf of Bothnia, as well as created conditions for pushing the hostilities to Swedish territory.
Free access to the Baltic Sea was one of the main goals of Russia in the Northern War (1700–1721). By 1714, Russian forces already controlled large parts of Finland and key ports in Estonia and Livonia, but Sweden still dominated the Baltic Sea.
⚓️ In the summer of 1714, the Russian fleet, consisting of almost 100 galleys and scampavias, was sailing to the Aland skerries to strengthen the Abo garrison. It was blocked by the Swedish battle fleet at the southern edge of the Gangut Peninsula.
Peter I arrived at the site of the battle to personally assume command of the Russian fleet. To distract the enemy’s attention, he ordered his troops to build a ground crossing to feign the impression that they were going to get around enemy ships by land. This military trick worked and the enemy’s forces were divided in half.
⚔️ The Russian command quickly reacted to the change in the situation and exploited Sweden’s mistake. Having waited for calm, the vanguard of the Russian rowing fleet made a rapid maneuver bypassing the enemy from the sea out of the range of ship artillery. Later, the main forces broke through to their vanguard along coastal shipway.
With the lack of wind and the skillful use of the advantages of the rowing fleet over the sailing fleet in the shallow coastal waters, as well as the rational distribution of forces, Peter I managed to achieve a great military success.
☝️ #InterestingFact: During boarding battles, Peter I fought himself, shoulder to shoulder with the sailors, encouraging them by his personal example.
The victory of Russia off Cape Gangut weakened the position of the Swedish fleet, gave our country free access to the Baltic Sea and superiority in the Gulf of Finland and the Gulf of Bothnia, as well as created conditions for pushing the hostilities to Swedish territory.
August 9, 2023