MOSCOW — In a lengthy article in a U.S. journal, Russian President Vladimir Putin insists on recognition of the Soviet Union as the prime defeater of Nazi Germany, criticizes Poland’s actions before the war and defends the annexation of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. The article, titled “The Real Lessons of the 75th Anniversary of World War II,” appeared in the National Interest journal on Thursday, six days before a huge military parade in Red Square to commemorate the end of World War II in Europe. The timing underlines how the war, in which the Soviet Union lost an estimated 27 million people, is a linchpin of Russia’s national identity and how officials bristle at any questioning of the USSR’s role. “It is essential to pass on to future generations the memory of the fact that the Nazis were defeated first and foremost by the Soviet people,” Putin wrote. He bemoaned that “certain politicians rushed to claim that Russia was trying to rewrite history.”

Source: International New York Times June 18, 2020 21:11 UTC