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Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
🌐 Yevgeny Primakov, a prominent Soviet and Russian statesman, Foreign Minister of Russia in 1996-1998, was born #OTD in 1929.
Primakov’s arrival at Smolenskaya Square became a turning point in the foreign policy of our state, the start of the restoration of Russia’s positions on the international arena.
He foresaw the appearance of new centres of economic growth and political influence in the world and, in this sense, predicted the realities of multipolarity. He established the Russia-India-China format, which became the prototype of BRICS, the true embodiment of multipolar diplomacy.
❗️ On March 24, 1999, during his flight to the United States, Yevgeny Primakov found out that NATO countries launched air strikes on Yugoslavia. He immediately turned his plane around and returned to Moscow. That legendary U-turn over the Atlantic became a symbol of revision of relations with the West towards pragmatism and realism, and Russia’s transition to a multi-vector foreign policy.
#InMemoryOfDiplomats
Primakov’s arrival at Smolenskaya Square became a turning point in the foreign policy of our state, the start of the restoration of Russia’s positions on the international arena.
He foresaw the appearance of new centres of economic growth and political influence in the world and, in this sense, predicted the realities of multipolarity. He established the Russia-India-China format, which became the prototype of BRICS, the true embodiment of multipolar diplomacy.
❗️ On March 24, 1999, during his flight to the United States, Yevgeny Primakov found out that NATO countries launched air strikes on Yugoslavia. He immediately turned his plane around and returned to Moscow. That legendary U-turn over the Atlantic became a symbol of revision of relations with the West towards pragmatism and realism, and Russia’s transition to a multi-vector foreign policy.
#InMemoryOfDiplomats
Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
✈️ #OTD in 1937, three Soviet aviators set off on the legendary non-stop flight from Moscow to Vancouver via the North Pole. The crew – commander Valery Chkalov, co-pilot Georgy Baidukov and navigator Alexander Belyakov – pursued an ambitious goal: to connect the continents along the shortest route, across the Arctic Ocean, for the first time in history.
🧊 Soviet aircraft designer Andrei Tupolev developed the ANT-25, a single-engine aircraft with an especially wide wingspan, specifically for this endeavour and for other long-haul flights. Due to this design, the plane could take more fuel, and had a better capability to glide.
🧊 The flight took a total of 63 hours and 16 minutes. The Arctic weather with its low temperatures gave the crew the greatest trouble. The ice from the cockpit windows had to be cut off by hand with a sheath knife. Because of the clouds, the crew had to either pilot the plane blindly or change course, and overspent about 300 litres of fuel.
🧊 Initially, the crew planned to land in San Francisco, but due to excessive fuel consumption, it was decided to land in Vancouver. They failed to break the world flight range record, but in less than a month this was achieved by another Soviet crew under the command of Mikhail Gromov.
🧊 Despite this, Valery Chkalov and his crew's flight became a major event in the history of world aviation. It showcased Soviet achievement in advanced aircraft construction, and proved to the whole world the exceptional professionalism and courage of Soviet aviators.
🤝 The feat of the three pilots was widely covered by the press, both in the Soviet Union and in America. US President Franklin D. Roosevelt personally received the crew in the Oval Office of the White House. The transpolar flight contributed to the establishment of friendly relations between the two countries, and paved the way for fruitful cooperation between the USSR and the United States during World War II.
🧊 Soviet aircraft designer Andrei Tupolev developed the ANT-25, a single-engine aircraft with an especially wide wingspan, specifically for this endeavour and for other long-haul flights. Due to this design, the plane could take more fuel, and had a better capability to glide.
🧊 The flight took a total of 63 hours and 16 minutes. The Arctic weather with its low temperatures gave the crew the greatest trouble. The ice from the cockpit windows had to be cut off by hand with a sheath knife. Because of the clouds, the crew had to either pilot the plane blindly or change course, and overspent about 300 litres of fuel.
🧊 Initially, the crew planned to land in San Francisco, but due to excessive fuel consumption, it was decided to land in Vancouver. They failed to break the world flight range record, but in less than a month this was achieved by another Soviet crew under the command of Mikhail Gromov.
🧊 Despite this, Valery Chkalov and his crew's flight became a major event in the history of world aviation. It showcased Soviet achievement in advanced aircraft construction, and proved to the whole world the exceptional professionalism and courage of Soviet aviators.
🤝 The feat of the three pilots was widely covered by the press, both in the Soviet Union and in America. US President Franklin D. Roosevelt personally received the crew in the Oval Office of the White House. The transpolar flight contributed to the establishment of friendly relations between the two countries, and paved the way for fruitful cooperation between the USSR and the United States during World War II.
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📅 #OTD in 1944, Soviet forces launched Operation Bagration, one of the largest and most successful military operations in history. In two months, they liberated the Belarusian SSR, part of the Lithuanian and Latvian SSRs and eastern Poland.
🔻 By the summer of 1944, the Red Army had succeeded in pushing German forces back from Leningrad, liberating Crimea and Ukraine and reaching the border with Romania. However, enemy forces continued to occupy the territory of Belarus. A salient controlled by the Wehrmacht’s Army Group Centre was established there. During the three-year occupation, Nazi troops had burned hundreds of local communities and killed over 2 million prisoners of war and civilians.
🔻 The Soviet forces simultaneously breached the defensive positions of the Wehrmacht’s Army Group Centre in six sectors, encircled and defeated the Vitebsk and Bobruisk formations, as well as the Orsha and Mogilyov formations. They launched several powerful strikes towards Minsk, entered Poland and approached the borders of East Prussia.
🔻 As a result of this operation, Soviet forces routed the Army Group Centre, one of the most powerful enemy formations. They crossed three large rivers, the Berezina, the Niemen and the Vistula, and seized vital bridgeheads on their western banks. They liberated Belarus, part of the Baltic republics, eastern Poland and opened the road to Berlin. The front was pushed back 550 to 600 km to the west.
🎖 Soviet soldiers displayed mass heroism and impressive fighting prowess, while liberating Belarus. Over 1,500 members of various Soviet ethnicities were made Heroes of the Soviet Union.
#Victory78 #WeRemember
🔻 By the summer of 1944, the Red Army had succeeded in pushing German forces back from Leningrad, liberating Crimea and Ukraine and reaching the border with Romania. However, enemy forces continued to occupy the territory of Belarus. A salient controlled by the Wehrmacht’s Army Group Centre was established there. During the three-year occupation, Nazi troops had burned hundreds of local communities and killed over 2 million prisoners of war and civilians.
🔻 The Soviet forces simultaneously breached the defensive positions of the Wehrmacht’s Army Group Centre in six sectors, encircled and defeated the Vitebsk and Bobruisk formations, as well as the Orsha and Mogilyov formations. They launched several powerful strikes towards Minsk, entered Poland and approached the borders of East Prussia.
🔻 As a result of this operation, Soviet forces routed the Army Group Centre, one of the most powerful enemy formations. They crossed three large rivers, the Berezina, the Niemen and the Vistula, and seized vital bridgeheads on their western banks. They liberated Belarus, part of the Baltic republics, eastern Poland and opened the road to Berlin. The front was pushed back 550 to 600 km to the west.
🎖 Soviet soldiers displayed mass heroism and impressive fighting prowess, while liberating Belarus. Over 1,500 members of various Soviet ethnicities were made Heroes of the Soviet Union.
#Victory78 #WeRemember
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⭐️ #OTD in 1921, legendary Soviet fighter pilot Lidiya Litvyak was born. She went down in history under the call sign «White Lily». According to legend, this flower was painted on her aircraft.
Since childhood, Lidiya had dreamed of conquering the sky. Already at the age of 14, she enrolled in an aeroclub, and at 15, she made her first solo flight. After graduating from the aviation school, the 19-year-old herself prepared cadets for flights.
⚔️ After the start of the Great Patriotic War, Litvyak enrolled in the women’s 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment, where she piloted the Yakovlev Yak-1 fighter.
In September, Lidiya participated in the fierce battles over Stalingrad. Due to her successes in the sky, Litvyak was transferred to the 9th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, the «regiment of aces». After the successful counter-offensive at Stalingrad in 1943, Lydiya Litvyak was sent to fight in the skies over Donbass.
🕯 On August 1, 1943, during the defence of Donbass, Litvyak engaged in an air battle with several Messerschmitts, which were superior to the Yak-1 in speed and manoeuvrability. The radio operators intercepted alarming reports from the pilots in the sky: «Lily has been shot down!». The crash site of the Litvyak fighter could not be found for decades. At the time of her last combat mission, she was only 21 years old.
The «White Lily» carried out 168 combat sorties and destroyed 16 enemy aircraft (12 solo and four shared victories). She became the most effective female pilot of World War II.
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#FacesOfVictory
Since childhood, Lidiya had dreamed of conquering the sky. Already at the age of 14, she enrolled in an aeroclub, and at 15, she made her first solo flight. After graduating from the aviation school, the 19-year-old herself prepared cadets for flights.
⚔️ After the start of the Great Patriotic War, Litvyak enrolled in the women’s 586th Fighter Aviation Regiment, where she piloted the Yakovlev Yak-1 fighter.
In September, Lidiya participated in the fierce battles over Stalingrad. Due to her successes in the sky, Litvyak was transferred to the 9th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, the «regiment of aces». After the successful counter-offensive at Stalingrad in 1943, Lydiya Litvyak was sent to fight in the skies over Donbass.
🕯 On August 1, 1943, during the defence of Donbass, Litvyak engaged in an air battle with several Messerschmitts, which were superior to the Yak-1 in speed and manoeuvrability. The radio operators intercepted alarming reports from the pilots in the sky: «Lily has been shot down!». The crash site of the Litvyak fighter could not be found for decades. At the time of her last combat mission, she was only 21 years old.
The «White Lily» carried out 168 combat sorties and destroyed 16 enemy aircraft (12 solo and four shared victories). She became the most effective female pilot of World War II.
Read in full
#FacesOfVictory
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🗓 #OTD in 1941, the Battle of Moscow commenced – one of the biggest battles in the history of the Great Patriotic War. Ordinary Muscovites and students of military schools stood up to defend the city along with Red Army soldiers. No other capital in the world resisted Hitler so fiercely.
By the end of September 1941, the Nazi forces invaded the Baltics, Byelorussia, Moldavia and a substantial part of Ukraine, besieged Leningrad and approached Moscow. Given the strategic and political importance of the Soviet capital, Hitler threw major forces to assault it: 1.8 million people, 1,700 tanks and around 1,000 aircraft.
👉 Under those circumstances, the State Defence Committee declared a state of siege in Moscow and adjacent areas that had not been captured by the enemy. Intense preparations for street fighting began, and the most important government and industrial facilities were mined.
Hitler’s plan envisaged the capture of Moscow within the first three to four months and the complete destruction of its population. The selfless resistance of the Red Army units, militia and cadets prevented these plans from coming to life. The Soviet forces held back around twenty German divisions in fierce battles that raged for two weeks, which made it possible to reinforce the defence line and move the reserves to Moscow.
In early December, when the Wehrmacht forces were largely depleted, the Red Army was able to launch a counteroffensive, rout the assault units of the Army Group Centre and remove the threat hanging over the capital.
☝️ The success of the Soviet forces in the Battle of Moscow dispelled the myth of the Third Reich’s invincibility, thwarted the Nazi blitzkrieg plans, and stopped the Japanese government from joining the war on Germany’s side. This was Hitler’s first major defeat in World War II.
#BattleOfMoscow #WeRemember
By the end of September 1941, the Nazi forces invaded the Baltics, Byelorussia, Moldavia and a substantial part of Ukraine, besieged Leningrad and approached Moscow. Given the strategic and political importance of the Soviet capital, Hitler threw major forces to assault it: 1.8 million people, 1,700 tanks and around 1,000 aircraft.
👉 Under those circumstances, the State Defence Committee declared a state of siege in Moscow and adjacent areas that had not been captured by the enemy. Intense preparations for street fighting began, and the most important government and industrial facilities were mined.
Hitler’s plan envisaged the capture of Moscow within the first three to four months and the complete destruction of its population. The selfless resistance of the Red Army units, militia and cadets prevented these plans from coming to life. The Soviet forces held back around twenty German divisions in fierce battles that raged for two weeks, which made it possible to reinforce the defence line and move the reserves to Moscow.
In early December, when the Wehrmacht forces were largely depleted, the Red Army was able to launch a counteroffensive, rout the assault units of the Army Group Centre and remove the threat hanging over the capital.
☝️ The success of the Soviet forces in the Battle of Moscow dispelled the myth of the Third Reich’s invincibility, thwarted the Nazi blitzkrieg plans, and stopped the Japanese government from joining the war on Germany’s side. This was Hitler’s first major defeat in World War II.
#BattleOfMoscow #WeRemember
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Operation Ring was part of a large-scale Soviet counteroffensive near Stalingrad, which followed 125 days of the heroic defence of the city. The Red Army launched an attack on November 19, and by the end of the year the 6th Army, commanded led by Friedrich Paulus, was trapped between the Don and Volga rivers.
The encircled enemy force retained its combat strength with 250,000 troops, 4,130 artillery guns and mortars, 300 tanks and 100 planes, but the troops’ morale, psychological and physical condition were in a desperate state. Nevertheless, Berlin ordered Paulus to stand to the end.
On January 8, the command of the Don Front issued an ultimatum to the occupying army, proposing that it put an end to the futile resistance and accept the capitulation terms. But Paulus rejected the offer of the Soviet command.
On January 31, Field Marshal Paulus and the generals and officers of his headquarters capitulated. The last remnants of German resistance were liquidated on February 2.
The Operation Koltso resulted in the defeat of 22 German divisions and 149 separate units, lead to the capture of over 91,000 troops, including 24 generals.
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🎖 #OTD in 1943, the Siege of Leningrad was broken as the result of Operation Iskra (Spark). After 16 months of heroically battling the Nazi invaders, the Soviet Union’s second most important city regained its land connection to the rest of the country.
▪️ The siege of Leningrad lasted 872 days. For most of that time, the only way to get to the city was by air or via the sole transport route across the ice of Lake Ladoga – the Road of Life.
Soviet troops tried to break the siege several times. They succeeded on January 18, 1943, following Operation Iskra conducted by the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts with air support from the Baltic Fleet.
To lift the siege, the Soviet command decided to focus its strikes on the narrowest part of the bulge in the German defence adjoining Lake Ladoga near Shlisselburg. This area was the best option for mounting two swift counterstrikes – from the west (from within the ring) and from the east.
On January 18, the Red Army broke the encirclement after heavy fighting. A narrow 11 km-wide corridor was formed on the southern shore of Lake Ladoga for supplies and evacuation.
✍️ From Marshal Georgy Zhukov’s memoirs: “I saw the joy with which the fighters of the fronts that broke the siege rushed toward each other. Heedless of the enemy shelling from Sinyavino Heights, they met each other in warm, brotherly embrace. This was truly a hard-won joy!”
☝️ Lifting the blockade primarily meant restoring the besieged city’s connection to the mainland. The railway was repaired three weeks after the breakthrough and the first trains with food and ammunition headed for Leningrad. Power supply improved as well.
On January 18, 2018, the Proryv (Breakthrough) panoramic museum was opened on the site where the troops of the Leningrad Front crossed the Neva River. It depicts the dramatic events of January 13, 1943, the second day of Operation Iskra.
▪️ The siege of Leningrad lasted 872 days. For most of that time, the only way to get to the city was by air or via the sole transport route across the ice of Lake Ladoga – the Road of Life.
Soviet troops tried to break the siege several times. They succeeded on January 18, 1943, following Operation Iskra conducted by the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts with air support from the Baltic Fleet.
To lift the siege, the Soviet command decided to focus its strikes on the narrowest part of the bulge in the German defence adjoining Lake Ladoga near Shlisselburg. This area was the best option for mounting two swift counterstrikes – from the west (from within the ring) and from the east.
On January 18, the Red Army broke the encirclement after heavy fighting. A narrow 11 km-wide corridor was formed on the southern shore of Lake Ladoga for supplies and evacuation.
✍️ From Marshal Georgy Zhukov’s memoirs: “I saw the joy with which the fighters of the fronts that broke the siege rushed toward each other. Heedless of the enemy shelling from Sinyavino Heights, they met each other in warm, brotherly embrace. This was truly a hard-won joy!”
☝️ Lifting the blockade primarily meant restoring the besieged city’s connection to the mainland. The railway was repaired three weeks after the breakthrough and the first trains with food and ammunition headed for Leningrad. Power supply improved as well.
On January 18, 2018, the Proryv (Breakthrough) panoramic museum was opened on the site where the troops of the Leningrad Front crossed the Neva River. It depicts the dramatic events of January 13, 1943, the second day of Operation Iskra.
Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
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🕯 January 27 is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. #OTD in 1945, soldiers of the Red Army of the First Ukrainian Front liberated prisoners of one of the most horrible concentration camps – Auschwitz (Oswiecim) – in the course of the Vistula-Oder Offensive.
The infamous death factory was established in 1940 near the city of Oswiecim, Poland, which was renamed Auschwitz after the Nazi occupation. It was one of the Third Reich’s biggest concentration camps.
Initially, Polish political prisoners were kept in the camp. Later, European Jews, Roma and Soviet POWs were sent there as well. According to various estimates, 75 to 90 percent of its inmates were instantly killed or were subjected to inhuman experiments by camp doctors.
Auschwitz II with crematoriums and gas chambers was built in 1941 in the village of Brzezinka (Birkenau in German) just three kilometres from the first camp. In 1942, after the “final solution to the Jewish question” adopted at the Wannsee Conference, this camp was turned into the centre for the annihilation of the European Jews.
In 1944, when the Red Army started the liberation of Europe, the leadership of the death camp rushed to destroy its infrastructure and send inmates westward. About 7,500 people remained in Auschwitz. The Nazis had planned to murder them in a few days.
The Red Army approached Oswiecim after three days of fighting on its outskirts, on the night of January 27, 1945. The prisoners wept with joy on seeing the Soviet liberators. Part of the camp was turned into a recovery hospital.
▪️In total, at least 1.3 million people passed through Auschwitz during its existence, about 1.1 million of them were exterminated.
In the past few years, the memory of this great deed of the Soviet soldiers that liberated the camp’s inmates has been systematically destroyed in a number of European countries.
❕ The accomplishment of the Soviet soldiers that liberated Europe from the Nazi scourge can never be erased.
❕ The tragedy of the Holocaust must never be repeated.
The infamous death factory was established in 1940 near the city of Oswiecim, Poland, which was renamed Auschwitz after the Nazi occupation. It was one of the Third Reich’s biggest concentration camps.
Initially, Polish political prisoners were kept in the camp. Later, European Jews, Roma and Soviet POWs were sent there as well. According to various estimates, 75 to 90 percent of its inmates were instantly killed or were subjected to inhuman experiments by camp doctors.
Auschwitz II with crematoriums and gas chambers was built in 1941 in the village of Brzezinka (Birkenau in German) just three kilometres from the first camp. In 1942, after the “final solution to the Jewish question” adopted at the Wannsee Conference, this camp was turned into the centre for the annihilation of the European Jews.
In 1944, when the Red Army started the liberation of Europe, the leadership of the death camp rushed to destroy its infrastructure and send inmates westward. About 7,500 people remained in Auschwitz. The Nazis had planned to murder them in a few days.
The Red Army approached Oswiecim after three days of fighting on its outskirts, on the night of January 27, 1945. The prisoners wept with joy on seeing the Soviet liberators. Part of the camp was turned into a recovery hospital.
▪️In total, at least 1.3 million people passed through Auschwitz during its existence, about 1.1 million of them were exterminated.
In the past few years, the memory of this great deed of the Soviet soldiers that liberated the camp’s inmates has been systematically destroyed in a number of European countries.
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