Photo credit: rs.gov.ru
The day of the end of World War II is celebrated on Thursday, September 3, the Izvestia newspaper writes. It ended 75 years when Japan surrendered. The last decisive battles took place in the Far East. Within a few weeks, Soviet troops defeated the largest Japanese grouping and liberated South Sakhalin and the Kuriles.
The bloodiest and most brutal war in human history lasted six years. More than 60 countries around the world were involved in it, 80% of the world's population lived in them. The number of servicemen in the active armies has exceeded 110 million people.
Historians are still arguing about the amount of casualties during the war. According to various sources, from 60 to 65 million people died among civilians and the military. More than 40% of them were the citizens in the Soviet Union.
The leaders of fascist Germany were convicted at the Nuremberg Tribunal. One of the main results of the war was the establishment by the victorious countries of the United Nations as the guarantor of a new world order.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin approved the draft law on postponing the Day of the end of World War II from September 2 to 3. The initiative was introduced by deputies and senators. They noted that the Soviet Union played a decisive role in the end of World War II; over 300,000 Soviet citizens were awarded following the results of the battles with Japan. The initiators of the bill recalled that it was on September 3 that the USSR celebrated the victory over Japan. The accompanying documents say that the new regulation is aimed at "strengthening the historical foundations and patriotic traditions."
The head of the State Duma Committee on Education and Science, chairman of the board of the Russkiy Mir Foundation, Vyacheslav Nikonov, noted that parliamentarians had been discussing this issue for several years. In his opinion, September 3 was chosen for two reasons. Firstly, already in 1945, there was a decree of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on the celebration of the day of the end of World War II, in which September 3 was determined by this date, the historian explained. But the decisive factor was that the million soldiers who received the medal "For Victory over Japan" had the date September 3, 1945 stamped on the back. “We have our own honor, our own memory, our respect for veterans, and we are not obliged to follow the chronology that is accepted elsewhere. If the soldiers have September 3, 1945 written on their medals, then so be it, ”concluded Vyacheslav Nikonov.
Russkiy Mir
