Human heroism responsible for Russia’s rise after World War 2 – Envoy

The Ambassador of Russian Federation to Nigeria, Amb. Andrey Podelyshev has said that human heroism was responsible for Russia’s rise after The Great Patriotic War which claimed about 27 million lives and destroyed many cities between 1941 to 1945.

Amb. Podelyshev who made this known in Abuja Wednesday at a closed viewing session of the Photo Exhibition dedicated to the victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War marking its 80^th year anniversary narrated how Nazi Germany treacherously attacked the Soviet Union thereby violating previous signed non-aggression pact.

He said the action led to the start of Operation Barbarossa which was the largest military invasion in world history with about 5.5 million Wehrmacht troops supported by over 3,700 tanks, 5000 aircraft and 47,000 artillery pieces launched a rapid offensive along three main directions into Soviet territory.

He said though Soviet forces suffered losses at the first week of the encounter, but unprecedented courage and heroism demonstrated by Soviet soldiers and civilians made it possible for them to withstand the initial onslaught and organize resistance, setting the stage for the long and grueling struggle ahead.

Continuing, Amb. Podelyshev said the Soviet Union paid an immeasurable price for the victory over Nazism with more than 27 million lives lost, including soldiers, partisans, prisoners of war, and countless civilians — men, women, and children.

He said the country suffered colossal destruction with over 1,700 towns and 70,000 villages razed; thousands of factories, schools, hospitals, and cultural institutions lay in ruins.

Amb. Podelyshev said that out of the devastation emerged the post-war world order, founded on the ideals of peace, justice, and international cooperation.

He noted that the United Nations, established with the active participation of the USSR in 1945, became a central pillar of this new global system, aiming to prevent future wars and protect the dignity of nations.

He informed that the Victory in the Great Patriotic War became a defining moment in Russian and global history, an eternal symbol of sacrifice, resilience, and unity in the face of inhuman brutality.

He said it was a legacy that lives on not only in monuments and commemorations, but in the very foundations of modern peace.

He noted that the essence of the commemoration was that they remember — and through remembrance, they protect the truth.

Amb. Podelyshev who commended Nigeria for its position in the United Nations’ adoption of a resolution aimed at combating the glorification of Nazism said that at the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, Nigeria voted in favour of the resolution to combat practices contributing to contemporary forms of racism, discrimination, xenophobia, and intolerance.