Vladimir Putin, at Leningrad Memorial, Sends a Message to the West: Is Anyone Listening?
Vladimir Putin, at Leningrad Memorial
Jan. 28—More alarming even than the blithe and ongoing non-response of the Anglo-American financial elite, and their trans-Atlantic “captive nations,” to the international revolt against their policies on both Gaza and Ukraine, is the physical and mental disconnect from, and disdain for Russia’s 80th anniversary commemoration of the defeat of the Nazi forces in the siege of Leningrad this past weekend. The siege of Leningrad, lasting 872 days, from September 8, 1941, to January 27, 1944, was a depopulation war in which nearly 1 million of the city’s 2.5 million residents were killed, as much by cold and hunger as by fire, lead, and steel. President Putin’s older brother was killed in the siege. Only 600,000 people were there to be liberated on that day, 80 years ago. Vladimir Putin and Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko took part in a ceremony, unveiling a memorial to the Soviet civilians who fell victim of the Nazi genocide during the Great Patriotic War, timed on the 80th anniversary of breaking the siege of Leningrad.
President Putin’s remarks were of particular note and should be of deep concern to those with ears to hear. We excerpt his remarks on Jan. 27 here: “January 27 is one of the most important dates in our shared national history. On this day in 1944, Red Army soldiers completely lifted the siege of Leningrad. One year after that, in 1945, they liberated Auschwitz. “These two events are not only connected by the same historical era. The tragedy and martyrdom of the people of Leningrad and the prisoners of death camps will forever serve as evidence of the monstrous nature of Nazism and the unimaginable suffering of millions of innocent civilians….
“These crimes were not committed on the battlefield. The massacres of unarmed and defenseless elderly people, women, children, and disabled were deliberate, systemic punitive acts.
“Civilians accounted for over half of the Soviet Union’s total losses during the Great Patriotic War. This is compelling evidence that the Nazis and their satellites were not merely fighting a political regime or an ideology. Their goal was to seize Russia’s rich natural resources and territories, as well as to exterminate the majority of its citizens. For the rest, they envisaged the role of slaves, stripped of their native culture, traditions, and language…..
“The Siege of Leningrad stands out for its unprecedented cruelty and cynicism. The Nazis decided to exterminate an entire city. Over a million civilians, let me stress this, peaceful civilians living in Leningrad became victims of hunger, cold, constant shelling, and bombings….
“It is to them, all the peaceful people of the U.S.S.R. who lost their lives in the Nazi genocide, who the memorial we are unveiling today is dedicated to. It is a symbol of our memory and our sacred duty to investigate all crimes and bring those responsible to account.
“It is important for us today and for the future. We are witnessing a disturbing trend where the outcomes of the Nuremberg trials, which unequivocally condemned Nazism, are being revised. Some countries not only rewrite history and exonerate the executioners: revanchists and neo-Nazis have embraced the Nazi ideology and methods.
“Tens of thousands of people in the Baltic states are labeled ‘subhuman,’ stripped of basic rights and persecuted. The Kiev regime glorifies Hitler’s followers and members of the SS and uses terror against dissenters. Barbaric shelling of peaceful cities and towns persists, and the killing of the elderly, women, and children continues. Some European countries endorse Russophobia as a state policy.
“We will do all we can to halt and eradicate Nazism. The followers of Nazi executioners, no matter what they call themselves today, are doomed. Nothing can deter the desire of millions of people in Russia and across the planet for true freedom, justice, peace, and security...."
