Defenders of the Fatherland Day

Today is a Russian holiday, which remembers all those who died or fought for Russia, or more specifically the old USSR (since most all Russia's military action occurred when they were the USSR), or simply served in the Russian military. This holiday was originally a Soviet-era holiday commemorating a day in 1918 when rallies in support of the Bolshevik-led Red Army took place across Russia, and when a large number of volunteers joined its ranks . In 1995, five years after the breakup of the Soviet Union, the State Duma renamed it Defenders of the Fatherland Day. Since 2002, the day has been a federal holiday. It has come to be seen as “men’s day” similar to International Women’s Day on March 8, probably since almost all Russian men have served in the military--it is compulsory here.

The odd thing about this holiday in my mind is its honoring of those who protected Russia/USSR because if you know anything about WWII, the USSR didn't even honor its own. Officially, 20 million died during the war, known here as the "Great War." But, almost all historians agree that that number is well short of the actual number who died-- and many of those who died, did so by the hands of their own side.

Last night we watched the movie "Enemy at the Gates" which tells the story of the seige of Stalingrad by the Nazis. Well, one scene shows how the Soviet soldiers were sent to face the Nazis, 2 men for every gun. The one who didn't have a gun was told to pick up one from a fallen comrade. Then, they just basically charged towards the Germans, who gunned them down. If they retreated, they were gunned down BY THEIR OWN SOVIET SOLDIERS, evidently for their "cowardice." While Hollywood is known for its embellishments, unfortunately, as much as I have read on this subject (which is about 5 books and some articles), this seems to be an acurate protrayal of how things really went. It is widely acknowledged by historians that the Soviet Army's main concern was for winning, regardless of the costs in terms of human lives. Thus, there is a sense of irony to me about honoring those whose lives were not honored by military leaders of the country that sent them off to their death (or ordered them killed ). In actuality, little value (at the time, that is) was placed on the lives of the defenders of the Fatherland by the Red Army itself.