Author Archives: Stanislav

Recommended reading: “Lost Illusions, or How the International Criminal Court has become a legal nonentity”, by Dmitry Medvedev

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“Lost Illusions, or How the International Criminal Court has become a legal nonentity”

– by Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman, Security Council of the Russian Federation, PhD in law

Abstract

A strive for justice and a desire to bring the powerful to liability for crimes against public good and humanity is the idea that has always united people. Yet not all embodiments of this idea are worth existing, the ICC being the case. Legal deficiencies of its constitutional document, the Rome Statute, in terms of its internal contradictions and incompliance of its provisions with the UN Charter, its political bias, selectiveness of its ‘justice’, unlawfulness of issuing arrest warrants for heads of sovereign states which are not parties to the Rome Statute, notwithstanding the fact that such warrants are ignored by many countries, as well as the fact that the ICC, in essence, has transformed from an international justice body into a tool of legal struggle, clearly shows its complete failure. In this respect it shall fall into the oblivion, while its judges, prosecutors and other officials who took unlawful decisions may and shall be prosecuted for crimes under the Russian criminal law. In the author’s opinion, Russian lawyers should voice their comprehensive and well-based professional criticism of the ICC decisions at all forums, present international legal position of Russia in respect of the Special Military Operation, the Ukrainian conflict and other relevant challenging issues to the global legal community, media and people in different countries. Moreover, taking into consideration deficiencies in the ICC’s activities the interested parties could consider a possibility of establishing another international criminal court, which will be spared of them. This Court’s constitution shall be based on the established rules of international law, and its jurisdiction may be extended to the crimes of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and terrorist attacks.

The complete article (in English) in PDF format can be downloaded from the publisher’s site of “Law Science”.

The following summary of the article was published by the Telegram channel of the Russian Embassy in South Africa:
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Russsia’s policy as escalation management. A reply to our reader.

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Our reader, JMF, came up with an extensive comment to the article Eurofascism, like 80 years ago, is a common enemy of Moscow and Washington, which we felt warranted an equally thoughtful reply in an article of its own.

In contrast to the SVR Press article, I submit the following:

“US Plays ‘Mediator’ in its Own War on Russia”
Brian Berletic, April 22, 2025

I’ve read Brian Berletic’s analyses for years, and find him an incredibly astute observer.

I read the SVR piece with some trepidation: not because its recognition of Euro-fascism is misplaced — it certainly isn’t — but because it seemingly gives too much credence to a potentially beneficent role on the part of the US.

Knowing many aspects of my country’s darker history and recognizing our current “Fuehrer’s” malign tendencies, I’ve grown somewhat alarmed by Russia’s apparent warming toward the US. I hardly think that any “alliance” is eventually likely between our two countries, as the SVR article speculates in its conclusion. To the contrary, the current negotiations strike me as extremely self-serving for the US side. And should a war break out between Europe and Russia, I strongly suspect that the US stance would be much like that of Harry Truman (while still in Congress) during World War 2: ‘Let the two sides exhaust each other, and then we’ll move in and pick up the pieces.’ [paraphrased]

The SVR piece also quotes a US academic regarding Britain’s employment of “concentration camps and genocide”. But as I recall from other reading, Hitler’s inspiration was drawn directly from the US internment and genocide of native Americans. And several other observations can be as equally applied to the US as to Europe.

I sincerely hope that Messrs. Putin and Lavrov remain extremely cautious and sceptical when dealing with the Trump administration. While Witkoff seems a sincere negotiator, he is only the messenger, in this case for a likely pack of wolves dressed in sheep’s clothing.

Here, JMF added the entire quote:

“If we see that Germany is winning we ought to help Russia and if Russia is winning we ought to help Germany, and that way let them kill as many as possible, although I don’t want to see Hitler victorious under any circumstances. Neither of them thinks anything of their pledged word.”
– Senator Harry S. Truman

Reply from Beorn And The Shieldmaiden

Brian Berletic’s publications are, indeed, well-worth reading, and we often forward his Telegram posts to our channel.

This article “US Plays ‘Mediator’ in its Own War on Russia” is no exception and overall, we agree with the analysis in Brian’s article. Incidentally, toward the end it contains one paragraph that in a way addresses the concern, outlined by JMF:

Russia, for its part, has left the door open for honest negotiations and has provided the United States ample exit ramps from both an unwinnable proxy war and indefinite confrontation with Russia into the future. The US is obviously not interested. Russia had, throughout “peace talks” with the US, continued its war of attrition against Ukrainian forces, continuing the process the New York Times describes as the central contributing factor for the proxy war’s current failure.

The Shieldmaiden and I also pondered the seemingly contradictory policy of Russia towards the USA, and The Shieldmaiden came with a concise and encompassing definition: “escalation management”.

Russia, just like the USSR in 1938-1940, is doing its utmost to prevent a world war, without conceding own interests. The goals for the SMO have been set in 2022: denazification and demilitarisation of Ukraine. And, as Peskov said the other day, they will be achieved regardless, either through peaceful means or militarily. Naturally, a peaceful realisation of those objectives is preferable.

So, what Russia is doing now, is a pro-active escalation management as multiple levels and dimensions are involved in the diplomacy of shaping the battlefield for the best outcome control in predicted risk situations, including psychological ones. Russian is guiding Trump’s impulsive and unpredictable emotionally-charged presidency into a more subdued form, balanced out by equally emotional (and economic) counterweights. Hopefully this will contribute to prevention of World War III flaring up on the usual battlefield – Europe.

EU, for its part, has already designated 2030 as “the year when Russia will invade Europe”, which, applying the 180 degree rule, means that Europe is planning the next “drang nach osten” for that year. This is what Russia need to avoid, using Trump’s impulsivity if need be, to achieve that goal. That is also the underlying motive for the article from the SVR, to rebuild the diplomatic ties with the USA as the only force that can influence Europe.

Still, Russia is very much mindful of the history of WWII and the preceding years. As in this contemporary Soviet caricature from “Kukryniksy” about the “Munich Conspiracy”, where UK and France are offering Czechoslovakia to the German wolf, while hilding up the sign with the words, pointing “To the East”.

Anatoly Sobchak talks about Ukraine and Crimea in 1992

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Listen to Anatoly Sobchak, the one and only mayor of Leningrad/St. Petersburg, speak about Ukraine in 1992, shortly after the Soviet Union broke apart in 1991.

Read also: The referendum on the independence of Ukraine on December 1, 1991: how Kravchuk deceived Sevastopol and Crimea

The translated video and the transcript of the fragment by Putinger’s Cat.


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USSR 1922

USSR in 1922

In this case, there’s only one possible lawful scenario, which is legally correct and just. The founding republics that formed the USSR in 1922, after the annulment of that 1922 agreement, should return into the borders they had at the time of entering the USSR. Anything else, all other “territorial gains”, so to speak, are matter for discussion, negotiation and decision-making, because the foundation has been annulled.

As to the Black Sea fleet’s fate, I don’t want to talk about, say, territorial claims, fate of the Crimea, but there is a good number of precedents when naval bases belonging to one country were located in the territories of another one. Even if we suppose such absurdity that Crimea is a territory of Ukraine, Sevastopol has never been the naval base of Ukrainian Navy. It has always been a Russian Naval base. And this is a situation that cannot change under the influence of some momentary circumstances. It is impossible to change in one day that which has come together over centuries, even if it was decided by the representatives of the communist establishment along with nationalists.

The actions of Ukraine in relation to, let’s say, the Soviet army and navy pose a colossal threat to humanity as a whole. I am opposed to solving any territorial conflicts by force. There should be negotiations, but time must not be lost. Ukraine must not be allowed to create an army, which, if it does create, it will certainly use. I don’t doubt that for a minute. And I think that today we are placing a mine not only under our future, but also under the future of all mankind.

This is a cut from an hour-long video of Sobchak answering journalists’ questions (in Russian):

The SVR has published new declassified documents on the Nazis’ ties with the West in 1945

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The article about the newly-declassified document appeared in RIA Navosti (freedom-of-speeched in the West) on April 7, 2024. It is re-printed on the site of the press office of the Foreign Intelligence Service (SRV). Here we present the machine-translated images of the three pages of the documents, while the originals can be found at the Presidential Library. Click on the images to enlarge.

The SVR has published new declassified documents on the Nazis’ ties with the West in 1945



Draft memorandum of the head of the NKGB of the USSR, V. N. Merkulov to I. V. Stalin

The Presidential Library has published on its website declassified archival documents of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service regarding the plans of the leaders of Nazi Germany in the spring of 1945 to establish contacts in neutral Ireland and Sweden with representatives of the United States and Great Britain in order to jointly oppose the Soviet Union.

Monday marks the 80th anniversary of the day when Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, in his correspondence, pointed out to the US President Franklin Roosevelt the inadmissibility of separate negotiations between the West and Germany behind the back of the USSR. According to historians, it was in a letter dated April 7, 1945, that the Soviet leadership praised the work of Soviet intelligence.

“As for my informants, I assure you that they are very honest and modest people who perform their duties carefully and have no intention of offending anyone. We have repeatedly tested these people in action,” Stalin wrote to Roosevelt.

One of the main tasks of Soviet foreign intelligence during the Great Patriotic War was to extract information about the behind-the-scenes contacts of the leadership of Nazi Germany with the West regarding their possible truce.
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Eurofascism, like 80 years ago, is a common enemy of Moscow and Washington

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The Press Bureau of the External Intelligence Service (SVR) of Russia published an insightful analytical article, drawing on many historical parallels. One thing that they have not explicitly stated, though, is that the USA is once again, just like in 1944, inserting itself as a solution to the problem they contributed to create in the first place – we shall not forget Nuland’s cookies of 2014!

The article is opened by a caricature, which is a modern variation of the well-known War-time “TASS Window” (see our article The “TASS Windows” – the windows to our struggle in the Great Patriotic War), which appeared after the… allies deigned to open the second front.

The Hour Draws Near
The merciless, fearsome punishment
Shall not escape the German squid
The monster can expect the blows
Coming from here and there.
Artist: M. Cheremnych, verse by Demyan Bedny.

UPDATE 20.04.2025: We have replaced our translated text with the official translation that appeared at the Telegram channel of the Russian Foreign Ministry. The original text in Russian is at the site of the SVR.

Eurofascism is Moscow’s and Washington’s common enemy, just like 80 years ago

– The Press Bureau of the SVR of Russia, April 16, 2025

A hind-sight study of Western states’ policies attests to Europe’s “traditional propensity” for various forms of totalitarianism which regularly produces cataclysmic global conflicts. Specialists believe that the current rift in relations between the United States and the EU countries who blame Donald Trump for totalitarianism in the context of the upcoming 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War is becoming a factor that contributes to an alliance of convenience between Moscow and Washington the way it used to occur in the past.

This is confirmed, in particular, by a scandal involving French European Parliament member Raphael Glucksmann who demanded that the Americans “who have chosen to side with the tyrants,” return the statue of Liberty, Paris’s gift to the United States. Raphael Glucksmann, one of the globalists and a dedicated supporter of the Kiev regime, criticises the Oval Office master for slacking support for Ukraine and firing civil servants who stick to liberal views. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt slammed the “daring Gaul” having reminded that “unnamed low-level French politician” that it’s only because of the United States of America that he is speaking French and not German now.

It was pointed out that the multiple dictatorial regimes that were in power in France “distinguished” themselves by unparalleled cruelty and atrocities. Among those mentioned are the Jacobin dictatorship that killed thousands of French citizens in 1793-1794 and imprisoned 300,000 on suspicion of “counterrevolution,” as well as Napoleon’s bloody acts. It was stressed that America is free thanks to their ancestors’ readiness to counter such dictatorships as the British monarchy or the Jacobin revolution.

Experts believe that the notion of Eurofascism was introduced by French author and columnist Pierre Drieu La Rochelle who collaborated with German occupational authorities during WWII, and justified it as an ideology inherent not only in Germans but also other “societies” in Europe. In this context we can recall the French volunteer SS-Division Charlemagne which was named after Emperor of the Carolingian Empire, “Europe’s unifier.” The division’s soldiers were defending the Reichstag from the assaulting Red Army till the last hours of the German Nazi regime. Twelve of those fanatics were captured by the Americans and handed over to French General Phillipe Leclerc. As early as May 8, 1945, he ordered to shoot those war criminals without unnecessary judicial procrastination.
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The “TASS Windows” – the windows to our struggle in the Great Patriotic War

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Following the opening of the TASS exhibition “Their Feat Is Immortal”, where “TASS Windows” were mentioned in Lavrov’s opening speech, we present an extended translation of a publication by TASS made in 2021, celebrating the 80th anniversary of the creation of “TASS Windows”.

The article below is extended with insets, where we add our translation of each of the presented Window. After the article, we will show several other Windows from the posts at our Telegram channel “Beorn And The Shieldmaiden”.

80 years of “Windows of TASS”

Who and how created the posters that even Goebbels was afraid of

About one and a half thousand posters with a total circulation of more than 2 million copies. With printing for the army and partisans, filmstrips and exhibitions during the War being done in the USSR, Great Britain, Sweden and China. All these are “Windows of TASS”, which were produced during the Great Patriotic War to raise the morale of the Soviet soldiers.

Poster No. 13 “Chatterbox is a godsend for a spy”, 1941. Artist A. Radakov

Poster No. 13 “Chatterbox is a godsend for a spy”

Here you see their different shapes:

– A tongue so long it can let slip a military secret.
– Two ears from each side: a fly flies into one, an elephant emerges from the other (a play on the saying “to make an elephant out of a fly”, that is, to magnify rumours).
– Glasses that are rosier than roses: he sees wolves-spies as innocent kids.
– Catch these helpers of the enemy, BE ON GUARD!

On June 22, three hours after the radio announcement of the outbreak of war, members of the Moscow Organisation of the Union of Artists: Mihail Cheremnyh, Nikolai Denisovsky and Pavel Sokolov-Skala met at the art salon at 11 Kuznetsky Bridge. They discussed the creation of an editorial office for the production of propaganda posters to help the front.
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Lukashenko’s Visit to Belgrade under NATO bombs

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This article with two video reportages (with transctipts) presenting footage of President Lukashenko’s visit to Yugoslavia on April 14, 1999 is an important historic testimony to one overlooked and forgotten reason for why NATO, with the help of the armed terrorists on the ground, was so relentlessly bombing and dismantling Yugoslavia. This reason is mentioned in both videos almost as a footnote – Yugoslavia intended to join the Union state of Russian and Belorussia. However, it may nave been the main reason for the NATO’s savagery.

Under NATO bombs: On April 14, 1999, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko flew to Yugoslavia

NATO not only did not guarantee flight safety, but also sent fighter jets to intercept. Lukashenko did not change his plans. The alliance’s airstrikes continued both during the negotiations and during the trips of the Belarusian president to Belgrade.

At the talks with Slobodan Milošević, Lukashenko represented the agreed position of Belarus and Russia. He was saying: “If we get even one millimetre closer to peace, we will be very satisfied.”

However, just a few months later, Yugoslavia ceased to exist.

Source: Sputnik Belarus


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Aleksander Lukashenko was not scared off. Despite the warnings of NATO bosses that he would not be guaranteed security in Belgrade, he still flew to the Yugoslav capital.

He flew with one goal: to bring peace in Yugoslavia closer by at least a few millimetres.

“I am glad that I flew to Belgrade at this difficult time for this country. And I think that, as I said at the airport in Minsk, if we, at this time, get a few millimeters closer to peace, and if this Belarusian delegation will contribute to this, [we will be very satisfied]”.

During the talks with Milosevich, Lukashenko first of all relied on his friendly relations with the Yugoslav leader. However, he was speaking not only from his own name.

“This is a conceptual continuation of the negotiations that were started here with Evgeny Maksimovich Prymakov. We coordinated with him every day, clarified the positions. And only yesterday we agreed on one new idea that could promote the peace process here. I will not talk about it yet, we will discuss it with the President.

That is, we have a whole set of items, mutually agreed upon by Belarus and Russia. I am most likely speaking here as the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Union of Belarus and Russia, not only as the President of Belarus.”

Lukashenko discussed the agreed position of Russia and Belarus for two and a half hours with Slobodan Milošević.

This was happening to the sound of air raid alarm, sounded in Belgrade a few minutes after the landing of the plane of the Belarusian President and against the background of new bomb strikes by NATO aviation.

The main thing that Lukashenko ascertained during the negotiations is that the President of Yugoslavia is firmly determined to preserve the territorial integrity of the country, ensure equal rights for all its citizens and does not try to draw Belarus and Russia into a war in the Balkans.

According to Lukashenko, this is what NATO and other interested parties should use the starting point.

In addition, the Yugoslav President once again confirmed his desire to solve all problems peacefully and stated the readiness to bring into Kosovo the UN civil observers and other international organisations not associated with the aggressor countries.

Slobodan Milosevich handed over to the Belarusian President the official request for the entry of Yugoslavia into the Union of Russia and Belarus.

The frontier beyond which they would never retreat

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Debunking fake news: The Russian Armed Forces deliberately hit the civilian population of the city of Sumy with Iskander missiles.

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The way the Western politicians like Ursula van der Lying spun the events in Sumy requires a record-keeping article. It is namely not dissimilar to the false flags of the Kramatorsk bombing and the Mariupol Drama Theatre bombing, only this time the Western modern Goebbelses took the unfortunate turn of events and exaggerated it, spun it, adding a large dose of projection. For if the US-EU-NATO leaders are to start talking about attacks on civilian population, they first must take a hard long look in the mirror. Both for the 11 years of the genocide of the Donbass population, happening with the US-EU-NATO approval and financing, for the bombing of Yugoslavia, Iraq, Lybia, Vietnam…. the list of where the West targeted the civilians first is very, very long!

Here, we publish several materials from Telegram channels.

Statement from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Yesterday, the Russian Armed Forces launched two Iskander-M operational-tactical missiles in conditions of heavy electronic warfare countermeasures and foreign-made air defence systems in action to hit the site in Sumy where commanding officers of the Seversk task force had a meeting. More than 60 servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have been eliminated.

▪️ The Kiev regime continues to use the Ukrainian population as a human shield by deploying military facilities and carrying out activities involving servicemen in the centre of the densely populated city.

War On Fakes reports:

The fact: The strike with two high-precision Iskander-M missiles was carried out on the congress center of Sumy University, where the awarding of the Ukrainian soldiers and officers took place. The Electronic Warfare equipment installed there was able to deflect one of the missiles. The second missile hit the target exactly. Thus the Ukrainian army once again put its own civilian population at risk. Human shield tactics have been used by the Ukrainian armed forces since the beginning of the conflict.

The presence of the military on the territory of the congress center is also proved by the vehicles caught on the Ukrainian media’s footage. For example, they show several army pickup trucks, including those with a tactical sign (triangle). The Ukrainian military units exactly with such tactical signs invaded the Kursk region in August 2024. The concentration of vehicles of this type is uncharacteristic for urban conditions. Also on the video in the first minutes after the explosion hit the Ukrainian military.

The fact of the ceremony of awarding the military was confirmed by a member of the Verkhovna Rada, Maryana Bezuglaya:

“Appeal to Syrsky and separately to the commander of the TRO: do not gather the military for the awarding, and especially in civilian cities – again, the Russians had information about the accumulation. And on the ranges are still building up…”.

This information was confirmed by the mayor of the Ukrainian city of Konotop Artem Semenikhin, as well as the former deputy commander of the terrorist battalion Azov – Igor Mosiychuk.

Ukrainian propaganda led by Zelenskyy is trying to use the incident to demonize Russia and attempt to disrupt negotiations between Moscow and Washington.

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April 14 is the Day of Remembrance of the victims of the Ukrainian Aggression

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Read also: How the undeclared war in Ukraine started and flamed up in April of 2014.

From the Telegram channel of the Information Center of the Investigative Committee of Russia, translated by “Beorn And The Shieldmaiden”:

In 2014, the Ukrainian authorities decided to launch the so-called “anti-terrorist operation” in Donbas. In fact, their goal was to destroy civilians who did not recognize the Kiev authorities and decided to determine their own fate. All these years, residential buildings, schools, hospitals and other civilian facilities in Donbass have been systematically shelled by the armed formations of Ukraine from artillery and multiple rocket launchers.

For 11 years, Donbass has been the target of brutal and cynical attacks by the Kiev regime, funded by NATO countries that supply military aid to the Ukrainian side, and mercenaries. All these years, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation has been recording crimes committed by Ukrainian armed groups.

More than 6.5 thousand criminal cases have been initiated, including crimes against the peace and security of mankind, personality and property.

Investigators and criminologists of the Investigative Committee of Russia, including in the conditions of military operations, carry out tremendous work: the testimony of thousands of victims and witnesses is recorded, objects that have been bombed are examined, and other evidence of criminal acts of the AFU is collected and procedurally secured.

The investigation of more than four hundred criminal cases has already been completed, in which over 560 Ukrainian servicemen and foreign mercenaries have been brought to justice. More than 500 criminals have already been convicted, 62 of them have been sentenced to life imprisonment.

The materials of thousands of criminal cases documenting these tragic events are needed not only to bring the perpetrators to justice, but also for history, so that future generations would remember what the residents of Donbass went through defending their land.

Employees of the Investigative Committee of Russia on an ongoing basis provide humanitarian assistance to local residents and participants of their activities, and take part in resolving legal issues. Departmental educational institutions have been established and operate in the region, including orphans and children left without the care of close relatives.

From DonbassNews Telegram channel, with more photographic testimonies to #NoGenocideInDonbass:

🥀Today is the Memorial Day of the Victims of the Ukrainian Aggression

Residents of Donbass have been held at gunpoint by the Nazis for 11 years. The Kiev regime, following the orders of NATO’s “mentors,” continues terrorist attacks and conducts an information war without hesitation in choosing its means.

⚖️Today, more than 6.5 thousand criminal cases have been initiated against the Ukrainian Nazis. More than 500 criminals have been convicted, 62 of them will spend the rest of their lives in prison.

Not a single victim of the Kiev regime will be forgotten. Not a single criminal will escape punishment

Poyehali! – Soviet cosmonauts opened the space age for humans

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On April 12 we marked the Day of Cosmonautics, the day, when Yuri Gagarin became the first human to travel to Space, an achievement possible to the huge collective effort of the Soviet state.

At our Telegram channel “Beorn And The Shieldmaiden” we presented the jubilation though the eyes of the contemporary Soviet drawing in “Krokodil” as well as the reflection of the voyage in the Western press.

We also translated two short films, in addition to last year’s translation with Gagarin wishing Earthlings peace: “Long Live Peace” – Message from the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin, restored in colour.

Incidentally, another fragment of that 1962 interview, in the original black-and-white, was translated by a friendly channel Putinger’s Cat. There, Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, shares his greatest dream:


Backup at Rumble.

Poyehali! — Let’s Go!

Yuri Gagarin’s famous words heard in the lift-off exchange with Sergey Korolyov:


Backup at Rumble.

Soviet cosmonauts, participants of the Great Patriotic War

Do you know which Soviet cosmonauts took part in the Great Patriotic War?

These heroes showed courage on the battlefields against the Nazis, and after the war they went down in history as conquerors of space.

On Cosmonautics Day, the Victory Museum tells about their amazing destinies. Watch our video!


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Source: Victory Museum Telegram channel

To Save Vienna: How the Red Army liberated the Austrian capital 80 years ago

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Commemorating the liberation of Vienna, we re-blog the Telegram post from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, followed by an article-transcripts of “TV Zvezda” video-reportage from the Austrian capital.

Read also Georgy Zotov’s article from 10 years ago, Blood and Vienna.Even After 70 Years the Soviet Soldiers Are Respected in Austria!

One thing is clear: if not for the titanic self-sacrifice of the Soviet people, there would be no Vienna, no Krakow, no Prague… just like there is no Dresden, Hiroshima, or Nagasaki!

80 years ago, on April 13, 1945, the Soviet forces liberated the capital of Austria during the Vienna Offensive.

By the spring of 1945, the Red Army drove the Nazi invaders out of Poland, Hungary and Slovakia and rapidly launched an offensive towards Germany. The Third Reich’s defeat was only a matter of time: the Soviet forces were preparing to attack Berlin.

Austria, annexed by the Nazis as a result of anschluss in 1938, served as a shield for the Third Reich’s southern regions during WWII. The capital of Austria — the city of Vienna — was a strategically important point of the Nazi defence, which the enemy was committed to hold at any cost.

In March 1945, during the successful offensive along the Austrian line of advance, the Red Army broke the resistance of the Nazi units deployed between the Danube and Lake Balaton (Hungary) and defeated the troops of the Nazi army group ‘South’. Having advanced by that time up to 80 kilometers to Vienna, the Soviet forces launched the operation to liberate the Austrian capital.

The enemy undertook extensive preprations to hold the city. The streets were barricaded and mine-strewn. Firing points were set up in residential buildings. Destroyed houses were used to camouflage tanks and artillery pieces. All bridges over the Danube were prepared by the Nazis for demolition. In the event of retreat, the Nazis were ready to tear down the Austrian capital to the ground, including by destroying (!) its historical architectural heritage.

On April 5, 1945, the Soviet forces attacked the Nazi garrison in Vienna. Intense fighting erupted on the city outskirts. The Red Army was confronted by the most prepared enemy units and formations, including SS tank divisions. Soviet soldiers fought to death against the Nazis for every quarter and every building of the city.

With a view to prevent victims among the city’s population and protect Vienna from destruction by the Nazis, the Soviet command addressed local residents:

The Red Army entered Austria not to occupy its territory but only to defeat the enemy Nazi troops and liberate the country from German occupation. It also called on the Vienna residents to help fight the Nazis — this call was answered by many Austrian patriots.

On April 13, the last enemy point of resistance in the city centre was crushed, with Vienna being completely liberated from the Nazis.

During the fierce and brutal fighting for Vienna, the Red Army crushed Wehrmacht’s 11 armoured divisions, destroyed the 6th SS Tank Army, and captured more than 130,000 enemy soldiers and officers. The Soviet people paid a high price for the liberation of Vienna from the Nazis: 18,000 Red Army soldiers gave their lives for saving the city from fascists. (BATS note: we corrected the number in the MFA post, which must have been a typo, given at 38,000)

Having liberated Vienna, our country provided aid to the city residents. The population was supplied with food: hundreds of tonnes of grain, meat, sugar, salt and other products were given to the Austrians. After the war, the people of Vienna recalled how their “fear of hunger had disappeared” and spoke with gratitude about the generosity of the Soviet people, which “exceeded all expectations.”

An excerpt from the briefing by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova (April 9, 2025):

“By acting swiftly and selflessly, the Soviet forces prevented the destruction of Vienna.

It was thanks to the decision by the Soviet command not to use artillery that Vienna has preserved its historical outlook.”

A monument to the Soviet soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the sake of the liberation of Austria from Nazism was unveiled on August 19, 1945, on Schwarzenbergplatz in the centre of Vienna. The country has 217 monuments and war graves on its territory.

Tens of thousands Red Army soldiers, who saved Europe from the Nazi plague, are buried in Austria.

❗️ In 1955, under the State Treaty for the Re-establishment of Independent and Democratic Austria (Art.19), Vienna took the obligations to respect, preserve and maintain the graves of the soldiers on Austrian territory.

To Save Vienna: How the Red Army liberated the Austrian capital 80 years ago

(Follow the link to the source article to watch the video reportage)

Memorial at Helmut Zilk Square

The Wehrmacht troops were preparing to blow up the city in case of retreat.

Exactly 80 years ago, the completion of the assault on the Austrian capital became the final part of the Vienna offensive. The complete liberation of the city is celebrated on April 13. On the eve of this date, Rossina Bodrova, a correspondent for Zvezda, visited places in one of the most beautiful cities in Europe that recall the horrors of the Second World War.
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“Their Feat Is Immortal” – TASS photo exhibition dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Victory

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“TASS is authorised to declare that…” These words heralded may a pivotal moment in the history of the 20th century. TASS – the Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union, as the abbreviation goes – also played a key information role in the years of the Great Patriotic War.

On April 8, 2025 the presentation ceremony of the TASS photo exhibition “Their Feat Is Immortal”, dedicated to the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War and prepared using the agency’s photo archive, was held in the atrium of the first building of the Russian Foreign Ministry. As TASS General Director Andrey Kondrashov said, “this exhibition should be shown to the West”, a statement with which we fully agree, and will do so on the pages of the Beehive.

We start with a re-blog of the official opening statement by the Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, followed by a translation of the exposition’s presentation by TASS, and finally presenting five of the information stands, courtesy to the journal “The international Affairs”.

Russian TV channel NTV has a short video reportage from the opening of the exhibition at their site.

The title of the exhibition is “Their Feat Is Immortal”, and can also be translated as “Their Immortal Heroism”.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s statement at the opening ceremony of a TASS photo exhibition, “Their Immortal Heroism,” Moscow, April 8, 2025


– The video of Lavrov’s speech (in Russian) can be watched at The International Affairs

Mr Kondrashov, Your Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen, Friends,

We are delighted to open a photo exhibition, Their Immortal Heroism, at the Foreign Ministry today. It includes archival photographs, official statements and reports by TASS correspondents made in the past few months of the Great Patriotic War.

I would like to begin by expressing gratitude to the TASS management and staff for their contribution to preparing this unique exposition. It opens a series of events dedicated to the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War and organised for the diplomatic corps accredited in our country.

When speaking about the Great Victory, we recall the combat heroism of Soviet soldiers, who have saved the world from the Nazi plague. The “information army” greatly contributed to the common efforts to defeat the enemy. The courageous TASS correspondents risked their lives every day to create a chronicle of the 1,418 days of that war. To this day, their photographs and reports remain a vital source of reliable information about those events.

TASS played a special role in exposing Nazi propaganda. The Agency’s materials revealed the criminal nature of Nazism and its deadly threat to humanity. Thanks to the journalists’ work, the world learned about the courageous defenders of Moscow, Leningrad and Stalingrad and about the atrocities the invaders committed in the occupied Soviet territories. TASS photographs were included in the verdict of the Nuremberg Trials.

The “TASS Windows” war-time posters made an invaluable contribution to Victory. They showed that art and satire can be a lethal weapon in capable hands. These posters have become widely popular not only in our country but also beyond it, where they could be acquired by subscription and included in the exhibitions held in Washington, Johannesburg, London, Beijing, Istanbul, Stockholm and Tehran.

This TASS legacy is especially important today when more and more attempts are being made in the West to rewrite history and overhaul the political, international legal and moral results of the Great Victory in the Second World War. Our country’s role in defeating the enemy is being deliberately played down. The monstrous crimes committed by the Nazis and their accomplices and collaborators are being justified. The very principle of outlawing the man-hating Nazi ideology is being undermined. I would like to remind you that it is one of the fundamentals principles of the post-war world order, known as the Yalta-Potsdam world order, alongside the primacy of international law and the central role of the UN, and primarily its Security Council, in balancing the interests of states.

In this situation, TASS remains a reliable keeper of historical truth. The archival materials collected during the war are an effective weapon in the battle against the falsification of history.

A relevant example is a letter, which you can see at the exhibition, from the head of Poland’s Provisional Government to the Soviet leadership, dated February 16, 1945, with assurances of eternal friendship between Polish, Russian and all other Soviet peoples. Equally eloquent are the photographs made in the liberated European cities, showing people welcome Soviet soldiers with joy and present them with flowers. The EU prefers to forget about these documents and is trying to eradicate this memory, but facts cannot be erased from history.

Keeping the truth about the war is our common responsibility to those who have given their lives for peace and freedom. I believe that this exhibition can be shown not only in Russia but also beyond it, also based on the possibilities of the embassies and Russia Houses, wherever they exist.

In conclusion, I would like to note that we also regard this exposition as our tribute to the 17 TASS journalists who perished in the war, as well as to our colleagues from the People’s Commissariat of Foreign Affairs who died in battle and while delivering diplomatic bags or accompanying foreign journalists to the front line.

Kondrashov: the TASS exhibition “Their feat is immortal” should be shown to the West

TASS Director General called on everyone “who is rewriting history in the West” to pay attention to the exhibition
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The radio address of Iosif Stalin on the 9th of May 1945

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Comrades! Compatriots!

The great day of victory over Germany has come. Fascist Germany, brought to its knees by the Red Army and the troops of our allies, recognized itself defeated and declared unconditional surrender.

On May 7, a preliminary protocol of surrender was signed in the city of Reims. On May 8, representatives of the German High Command, in the presence of representatives of the Supreme Command of the Allied Forces and the Supreme Command of the Soviet Troops, signed in Berlin the final act of surrender, the execution of which began at 24 hours on May 8.

Knowing the wolfish habit of German bosses who consider contracts and agreements to be just a piece of paper, we have no reason to take their word for it. However, this morning, the German troops, in pursuance of the act of surrender, began to lay down their weapons en masse and surrender to our troops. This is no longer an empty piece of paper. This is the actual surrender of the German armed forces. However, one group of German troops in the area of Czechoslovakia is still evading surrender. But I hope that the Red Army will be able to bring it to its senses.

Now we can state with full justification that the historic day of the final defeat of Germany has come, the day of the great victory of our people over German imperialism.

The great sacrifices we made in the name of freedom and independence of our Motherland, the incalculable hardships and sufferings endured by our people during the war, the hard work in the rear and at the front, given on the altar of the Fatherland, were not in vain and were crowned with a complete victory over the enemy. The age-old struggle of the Slavic peoples for their existence and their independence ended in victory over the German invaders and German tyranny.

From now on, the great banner of freedom of peoples and peace between peoples will fly over Europe.

Three years ago, Hitler publicly declared that his goals included the dismemberment of the Soviet Union and the separation of the Caucasus, Ukraine, Belorussia, the Baltic region and other regions from it, he bluntly stated: “We will destroy Russia so that it can never rise again.” That was three years ago. But Hitler’s crazy ideas were not destined to come true – the course of the war scattered them to dust. In fact, it turned out to be the exact opposite of what the Nazis were raving about. Germany is completely defeated. The German troops are capitulating. The Soviet Union is triumphant, although it does not intend to dismember or destroy Germany.

Comrades! The Great Patriotic War ended with our complete victory. The period of war in Europe is over, the period of peaceful development has begun.

Happy victory to you, my dear compatriots!

Glory to our heroic Red Army, which defended the independence of our Motherland and won victory over the enemy!

Glory to our great people, the victorious people!

Eternal glory to the heroes who fell in battles with the enemy and gave their lives for the freedom and happiness of our people!

— Printed in “Pravda”. 10th of May 1945

The speech was first translated by us as an afterword for our publication of the Danish underground book “2 Years”, and also published at our Telegram channel, “Beorn And The Shieldmaiden”.

“Operation Weserübung”, the Blitzkrieg overture. Remembering April 9, 1940 – “The Dark Birds Flew”

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As part of the invasion and occupation of Norway, Denmark was occupied by Nazi Germany on the morning of April 9th 1940. We remember the occupation with our commemorative posts at “Beorn And The Shieldmaiden”.

Denmark capitulated after a few hours, whereas Norway fought heroically until the 2nd of May against Hitler’s superior troops.

“Operation Weserübung”, which was the code word for the attack on Norway and Denmark, aimed at giving the German navy enhanced operative conditions in the Atlantic Ocean and to ensure the important shipment of Swedish iron ore to the German armaments industry from the Norwegian port city of Narvik.

Denmark, a well-developed and highly productive agricultural nation, played an important role in supplying the German military with food. The Danish state paid via a so called “Clearing Account” (see our footnotes on page 7 of the Danish underground publication “2 Years”) farmers and producers for everything, the Germans took.

The politicians chose full collaboration with the Nazis and Denmark was used by the propaganda as example of “friendly protective occupation”. The Danish police co-operated closely with the Nazis, and when the Communist Party of Denmark was sent underground on June 22nd 1941, they began a manhunt, which continued for years. The communists began building the resistance movement with underground press and sabotage. In 1943, the tide was turning and on August 29th, the collaborator government was forced to step down as result of intensified sabotage and a general strike. Until the Nazi capitulation, the underground “Freedom Council” was de facto the legitimate government.

In Norway, thanks to the quick response of the military forces defending Oslo fjord, the main German assault ship Blücher was sunk and the capture of Oslo was delayed by a few hours, allowing the Norwegian government and the Royal house to escape to Britain, to coordinate sabotage raids against the Nazi occupiers and to distribute the underground press in Norwegian from there.

On August 10, 1940, the Communist Party of Norway issued a call to intensify the fight against the German occupiers. In autumn of 1940, anti-Nazi demonstrations were held in Bergen, Trondheim and Sarpsborg.
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“Russian drunks and invaders.” How they thank us for the liberation in Denmark.

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Has the memory of the soviet feat in WWII been completely erased in Europe? Georgy Zotov is a travelling correspondent of “Argumenty i Fakty”, reporting from various corners of the world.

10 years ago, in 2015, on the eve of the 70th anniversary of the Great Victory he visited several European countries taking the pulse of the historic memory. Back then, we translated many of those articles, and our readers can find them under the tag of Georgy Zotov.

This year, on the eve of the 80th anniversary, he takes a new sample of the level of the historic amnesia in the West.

The reality of the occupation of Denmark by the Germans is reflected in the Danish communist underground book “2 Years”, which we translated in its entirety, with many contextual footnotes. On page 7 there is the following illustration: In the picture we see green hands with a swastika grabbing the supplies. “Eggs” is written on the box. In the text below the picture it says: “- and then everything else.”

“Russian drunks and invaders.” How they thank us for the liberation in Denmark.

– by Georgy Zotov, April 2, 2025. All photographs in the article are by the author.

Inscription on the stella: “Eternal glory to the Russian strongmen, who fell in the battles with the German occupants.”

…An icy wind is blowing from the sea. It’s spring and understandably cold, but it’s amazing how this gloomy island is considered a resort in Denmark. The church and cemetery are located on a hill, the sky is covered with gray clouds. “Where can I buy flowers? I want to put them on the grave,” I ask my driver. “Flowers? There are no tourists here right now, man. They only sell beer.”

I walk up to the doorway. There used to be iron doors with the coat of arms of the USSR, but they have recently disappeared — I will explain why later. I walk to the obelisk with the red star, where the letters are embossed — “Eternal glory to the Russian strongmen, who fell in the battles with the German occupants”. 30 Soviet soldiers who participated in one of the last battles of the Second World War are buried here. On May 9, 1945, Red Army troops landed on Bornholm and captured 11,138 Wehrmacht soldiers. Later, there was a Soviet military base on the island, and it was under Soviet control until our troops left Denmark on April 5, 1946. Do the Danes have gratitude for their liberation, and how do they feel about the Red Army’s presence on Bornholm?

The Battle after the Victory

…First of all, I’ll tell you how it all happened. On May 4, 1945, German divisions surrendered to the British in Denmark. However, the British did not reach the Nazi garrison on Bornholm. Air defence and German Navy ships often opened fire on passing Soviet destroyers and planes flying by. The group on Bornholm hoped to cross to Copenhagen, and once there, surrender to the British — but at the same time they fired at the Red Army. The Soviet command issued an ultimatum to the German units on Bornholm demanding surrender. There was no response, so on May 7 and 8, airstrikes were carried out on the island, during which hundreds of Wehrmacht soldiers were killed. At 14:30 on May 9, 1945, five boats of the Soviet Navy entered the main port of Bornholm, Rønne, and landed an amphibious company. The Germans were told that if they tried to resist, the bombing would resume. The company occupied the telegraph office, the port management building, and cut the communication cables. Three hours later, the garrison in Rønne surrendered. Soviet aircraft sank 10 enemy ships trying to escape from Bornholm and shot down 16 German aircraft. All day there were skirmishes between the Red Army and the Germans, who were fleeing on transports and boats from the island — dozens of our soldiers died. On May 10, a barge was intercepted at sea, on which 800 German soldiers tried to escape.
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