Cities of Earth, Cities of Rubble

2019 ◽  
pp. 107-146
Author(s):  
Brandon M. Schechter
Keyword(s):  
Urban Space ◽  
World History ◽  
Civilian Life ◽  
Hand Tool ◽  
Great Patriotic War ◽  
Red Army ◽  
Army Soldiers ◽  
Primitive Object

This chapter assesses the destroyed landscape of war and the cities of earth that soldiers built to survive, crafting a semi-urban space using standard issue spades and attempting to recreate aspects of civilian life. During the Great Patriotic War, survival at the front was virtually impossible without the help of an ancient hand tool: the spade. Indeed, the idea of the spade as a loyal friend became a major trope of military propaganda. That such a humble object received so much attention is telling. The spade was the key to soldiers' reading, shaping, and using the landscape. The soldier's small spade was an anonymous object, standard to everyone, and manuals taught soldiers to dig trenches according to a regular plan, yet Red Army soldiers excavated highly personalized spaces. Ultimately, the small, relatively primitive object and the labor it facilitated were central to the experience of millions of people in one of the most technologically advanced conflicts in world history.

scholarly journals THREAT OF TYPHUS EPIDEMICS IN THE VORONEZH REGION DURING THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR (1942-1944)

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 220-222
Author(s):  
I. E Esaulenko ◽  
Svetlana V. Markova
Keyword(s):  
Civilian Population ◽  
Great Patriotic War ◽  
Voronezh Region ◽  
Military Healthcare ◽  
Red Army ◽  
Army Soldiers

The article describes the threat of typhus epidemics in the area due to the fascist occupation in the Voronezh Region during the Great Patriotic War. The authors present the facts concerning attempts of civil and military healthcare to eliminate the threat of the epidemics among the civilian population and the Red Army soldiers.

Embodied Violence

2018 ◽  
pp. 139-163
Author(s):  
Brandon Schechter
Keyword(s):  
Material Objects ◽  
Great Patriotic War ◽  
Red Army ◽  
Army Soldiers

This chapter shows how objects constitute the story of Red Army soldiers' dramatic movement and participation in violence during the Great Patriotic War and hints at how these experiences impacted what it meant to be Soviet, detailing how one soldier from the hinterland attained status through successful mastery of violence. It focuses on Bato Damcheev, a sniper and later scout who killed nearly ninety German soldiers, took ten more as prisoners captured for interrogation, and destroyed three tanks and several enemy bunkers. The chapter examines several things that Damcheev would have used or acquired during the war in order to show how a particular violent subjectivity was made possible by key material objects such as identity booklets and weapons, and embodied in the form of others such as medals and trophies.

scholarly journals PERPETUATING THE MEMORY OF SOVIET SOLDIERS WHO PERISHED DURING THE LIBERATION OF EUROPEAN COUNTRIES FROM NAZISM DURING THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR (1944–1991): THE RESULTS OF THE STUDY

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 69-77
Author(s):  
Evgeny A. Obernikhin
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Central And Eastern Europe ◽  
Historical Memory ◽  
European Countries ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Great Patriotic War ◽  
Red Army ◽  
Army Soldiers

Comprehensive studying the experience of state and military structures in preserving and care of military cemeteries and places of memory about the heroic actions of the Red Army outside Russia, is gaining more and more theoretical significance and practical value. The purpose of this article is to summarize the results of the study dedicated to perpetuating the memory of Soviet soldiers who perished when liberating European countries from Nazism during the Great Patriotic War (chronology of events in 1944-1991). There are no special scientific works devoted to this topic that comprehensively consider the activities of the official structures of the Soviet Union abroad. The methodological basis of the research is the modern theory of society cognition, based on the concept of universal connections in its socio-economic, political and cultural life, and the dialectical approach to the analysis of social phenomena. The author analyses various aspects of the problem taking into account the immediate historical situation, reveals objective patterns that determined the goals and content of the process of preserving the memory of fallen Soviet soldiers, he studies the activities of the official structures of the Soviet Union abroad to perpetuate the memory of the Red Army soldiers who perished during the Great Patriotic War when liberating European countries from Nazism. In the course of the study, the author solved a number of tasks: transformation in the order of personal casualty records in the Red Army was investigated; the features of organizing the process of burial of the deceased and creation of military cemeteries in the territory of European states were established, as well as the existing classification of military graves was confirmed; the reasons for the large-scale loss of names of Red Army soldiers who died when liberating European countries from Nazism were determined; the main stages of the process of consolidation and preservation of Soviet military cemeteries in the territory of European countries were determined; the process of creating memorial structures and objects in Central and Eastern Europe was analyzed and its features were established; implementation of commemorative practices which formed in the Soviet times the historical memory about Red Army’s liberation mission in European countries; the author defines the peculiarities of inter-state cooperation on the issues of restoration and preservation of Soviet military graves and monuments in European countries; he defines the classification of the process of perpetuating the memory of Soviet soldiers in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The study performed suggests that it was during the enlargement of the Soviet military cemeteries after the war that a large-scale loss of the names of the fallen Red Army soldiers occurred. The process of creating memorials and arranging military necropolis in the European countries had a systematic character. The Soviet Union used various commemorative practices, with the help of which the historical memory of the Red Army’s liberation mission in Europe was formed.

scholarly journals Analysis of losses of German troops during the assault on the Brest Fortress in June 1941

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.A. Savchenko
Keyword(s):  
Nazi Germany ◽  
Great Patriotic War ◽  
Red Army ◽  
Army Soldiers

The article examines conditions of the garrison and heavy weapons placement in the Brest fortress just before the Nazi Germany attack the USSR. Much attention is drawn to the level of the 45th German Infantry Division's human and material losses during the fortress capture at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. The author analyzes the Red Army soldiers’ surrender reasons during the battle. The heroism and courage of the Brest Fortress’ defenders who fought with the superior enemy forces is underlined.

CULTURE OF THE RUSSIAN WORLD - A SPIRITUAL SLOGAN FACTOR OF VICTORY IN THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-173
Author(s):  
VLADIMIR KSENOFONTOV ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Expression ◽  
Front Line ◽  
Soviet People ◽  
The People ◽  
Great Patriotic War ◽  
Red Army ◽  
Art Activities ◽  
Artistic Images ◽  
Great Victory

The article reveals the essence and specificity of culture as an important component of the spiritual factor of victory. Special attention is paid to the characteristics of fiction. The article substantiates the moral and aesthetic impact on the consciousness of defenders of the Motherland, such works of art as“They fought for the Motherland”,“Leningrad poem”,“Russian character”,“Invasion”, etc. The article describes the significant role of theatrical art, which reveals the moral values of the people and Soviet soldiers. This is reflected in such plays as: “the Front”; “the Guy from our city”; “Once upon a time”, etc. The article substantiates the important role of the spiritual influence of cinema on Soviet people. This influence was realized through artistic images of selfless service to the Motherland, loyalty to military duty. Among these films: “Two fighters”, “Wait for me”, “Front-line friends”. During the war, as the article emphasizes, an important component of the spiritual factor of victory was the musical art. Activities in this area of culture famous musicians:B. Astafiev, S. Prokofiev, D. Shostakovich, A. Alexandrov, V. Soloviev-Sedoy, and others, was implemented in operas, symphonies, cantatas and songs, which by their nature emotional expression differed Patriotic and epic strength. The purpose of the research : to reveal the axiological components, culture of the Russian world, as important components, spiritual factor during the great Patriotic war. Conclusions : the culture of the Russian world at various stages of the great Patriotic War, through a variety of means and forms, actively mobilized all Soviet people to defend the Motherland and defeat Nazi Germany. The spiritual culture of our country and its types, in the course of functioning, during the war, clearly and expressively revealed the idea of patriotism, courage, bravery and heroism, and encouraged the Soviet people, the soldiers of the red Army, to achieve a great Victory.

The beginning of the great Patriotic war in the memoirs of military surveyors

2020 ◽  
Vol 955 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-58
Author(s):  
A.V. Nikonov ◽  
T.V. Vashchalova ◽  
E.I. Dolgov ◽  
S.V. Sergeev
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Border Zone ◽  
75Th Anniversary ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Great Patriotic War ◽  
Red Army ◽  
In The Beginning ◽  
Military Units

On the eve of the 75th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union in the Great Patriotic war, the events of it continue to live in people’s memory, and its veterans are still the best examples of patriotism and true serving the Motherland. It seems relevant to take a look at the events of the first days of the war with the eyes of their witnesses. The authors describe the events of June and July 1941, presented in the memoirs of the militaries who served in the Red Army Military topographic service, and performed topographic works in the border zone in a significant separation from their military units and staffs. On the basis of the collected material the authors show the participation of topographic units in the fighting of the first days of the war, provide the data on the losses of the Red Army Military topographic service in the starting period of the war. The article is devoted to the memory of the officers and soldiers, who selflessly did their duty in the beginning of the Great Patriotic war.

Wars

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jörg Baberowski
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Cycle Of Violence ◽  
Ethnic Cleansing ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Nikita Khrushchev ◽  
World Power ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Great Patriotic War ◽  
Red Army ◽  
The Town

This chapter looks at Stalinism during the Great Patriotic War. It first discusses Joseph Stalin's changing approaches to terror following the end of his policy of exterminatory violence. This shift is well illustrated by two incidents, one in September 1939 when Nikita Khrushchev traveled with Marshal Timoshenko to the town of Vynnyky. This episode shows that the Stalinist terror was also an instrument of ethnic cleansing with which the Stalinist regime did its best. The other incident was in 1941, when Germany invaded the Soviet Union. The front-line soldiers of the Red Army were trapped in a cycle of violence from which there was no escape. This chapter considers how the Great Patriotic War allowed Stalinism to develop to its full potential. The Soviet Union had become a world power, and yet it could offer its subjects nothing but misery and slavery. Only the death of Stalin on March 5, 1953 put an end to Stalinism and with it, despotism.

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