The USSR's fatalities in WWII by nationality? Did Russia and Russians get off comparitively lightly?

Discussions on all aspects of the USSR, from the Russian Civil War till the end of the Great Patriotic War and the war against Japan. Hosted by Art.
Sid Guttridge
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Posts: 10158
Joined: 12 Jun 2008, 12:19

Re: The USSR's fatalities in WWII by nationality? Did Russia and Russians get off comparitively lightly?

#16

Post by Sid Guttridge » 05 Sep 2022, 20:16

Hi Yuri,

Firstly, Russophobia ("fear of Russia") is declining. This is because of Russia's military failure in Ukraine. People used to worry about Russia because they thought that it was a competitive military power comparable with the West. The Ukrainians, with a barely a quarter of Russia's population and one tenth of its military budget, have shown that Russia is clearly not a competitive conventional military power of the first rank.

So, let's have no more talk of "Russophobia".

On the other hand, dislike of Russia has grown significantly in every single country surveyed. You might say this is because Russia is losing the propaganda war. I would suggest that it is really an accurate reflection of international public disgust against what Russia is trying to do to Ukraine.

It is ridiculous of you to suggest that anyone "is required to prove that the Great Russian nation did not suffer any significant casualties during the European occupation of the territory of the USSR and that the contribution of the Great Russian nation to the defeat of European Nazism is scanty, since the Great Russian nation suffered significantly less victims than other peoples of the USSR, in particular, fewer Great Russians died than Ukrainians." It is absolutely clear to all concerned that all 15 SSRs, including Russia, suffered extremely heavy losses by Western European standards in the war against Nazi Germany. However, it would appear that, at 12.7%, Russia suffered significantly fewer fatalities proportionally than did Ukraine with 16.3%. Belarus lost an astonishing 25.3% of its population (with the reservations expressed by gebhk above).

However, by accusing the Ukrainians of being Nazis today, Russia itself opens up the question as to who really suffered most at German hands in WWII. It turns out that it was Byelorussia and Ukraine that suffered most heavily at German hands, not Russia. What is more, if the Nazis had had their way and been able to put their "Lebensraum" plans into action, the Belarusians and Ukrainians would have largely been annihilated to make way for German settlers.

If Russia today wants to brand the Ukrainians, who have a Jewish President, as "Nazis" (which is impossible anyway, as you would have to be ethnically German to be one) then it opens itself up to investigation as to its own past. As you can see, it can reveal a few surprises.

By its actions today, Russia is disgracing the memory of the immense sacrifice made by the Red Army in the war against Nazism 80 years ago. The war against Nazi Germany was a good cause. Russia's war to annihilate Ukrainian national identity today is the very opposite. Today the nearest equivalent to Nazism resides in Moscow, not Kiev.

Cheers,

Sid.

Art
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Re: The USSR's fatalities in WWII by nationality? Did Russia and Russians get off comparitively lightly?

#17

Post by Art » 05 Sep 2022, 20:38

More than 50% of the last post deals with current politics rather than WW2 questions. I don't want to wait until it reaches 100%, so the topic is locked.


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