Contributions and Costs.

This is not my headline, it is the title of the major concluding chapter in classic Glantz and House's Great Patriotic War history work: When Titans Clashed: How The Red Army Stopped Hitler. This book by two honorable US Army officers and scholars is of such power, that it continues (since its first edition in 1995) to serve as a holy water poured in buckets over the devil of Western "revisionism" and rewriting the history of the WW II.  Here is Larry Johnson's very much similar take on Victory Day. 

Russia is still celebrating their victory over Nazi Germany. 9 May is the day the Germans surrendered to the allies with the Russians at the table. Why do you suppose that this is still a hallowed event in Russia while the vast majority of Americans ignore the end of Nazi Germany as something worth commemorating? The answer lies in history. If you ask an educated American who has some grasp of history about the bloodiest battles U.S. troops have fought, the top three are the Battle of Gettysburg (i.e., the American Civil War), the Battle of the Bulge and Iwo Jima. But I believe that 99% of that lot do not know how many actually died in battle. I think you will be surprised by the number of fatalities:

• Battle of Gettysburg–3,155 Union and 3,903 Confederates killed in action.
• Battle of the Bulge–19,276 killed.
• Battle of Iwo Jima–6,821 killed.

The bloodiest campaign in any war for the United States was Normandy, which started on 6 June 1944 and terminated on 25 August 1944 with a total of 29,204 killed in action. Raise your hand if you are surprised by the relative paucity of fatalities. Count me as one of the dumbfounded. I am not suggesting that these are meaningless numbers. If one of those who died in these battles was a member of your family the cost cannot be measured. But the reality is that the number of United States military personnel killed in action in the Civil War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War combined pales in comparison with the losses the Soviet Union (i.e., Russia) suffered in World War II.

Larry then justifiably goes into comparisons. And yet, Vladimir Putin who, as we all know is about to succumb to cancer, Parkinson's, dementia, HIV, COVID-19 and whatever other illnesses are out there, in accordance to human trash aka Western MSM journos, in his speech to Parade and the nation at the Red Square yesterday said:

Meanwhile, the West seems to be set to cancel these millennia-old values. Such moral degradation underlies the cynical falsifications of World War II history, escalating Russophobia, praising traitors, mocking their victims’ memory and crossing out the courage of those who won the Victory through suffering. We are aware that US veterans who wanted to come to the parade in Moscow were actually forbidden to do so. But I want them to know: We are proud of your deeds and your contribution to our common Victory. We honor all soldiers of the allied armies – the Americans, the English, the French, Resistance fighters, brave soldiers and partisans in China – all those who defeated Nazism and militarism.

Well, too bad Western elites have no concept of class and honor. But then again, sore losers who know price of everything and value of nothing are all like that.  

This is Russian ambassador to Poland Sergei Andreev during laying the wreath at the Red Army cemetery in Warsaw. 

He was doused with red paint by the protesters. Here is how Fox reported on that. Read the comments under that. That gives explanation to why Russia is not talking to the West anymore. But that is not what is remarkable about this whole thing. No. It is the fact that Poland's Minister of Internal Affairs (Interior Minister)--in Europe these are ministers of police and internal security--Mariusz Kaminski actually justified this attack. 

“The gathering of opponents of Russian aggression against Ukraine, where the crime of genocide takes place every day, was legal,” Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski added. “The emotions of Ukrainian women taking part in the demonstration, whose husbands are fighting bravely in defense of their homeland, are understandable.”

Well,  what can I say. Just repeat what I said above--they don't know what class is. 

In related news, Dmitri Rogozin put this boy Elon Musk in his place when responded to his bragging about Space X satellites being used against Russia and Musk's "ideas" about Nazism. As Rogozin wrote in his TG:

«Выходец-миллиардер из ЮАР, чья семья сделала свой капитал в годы апартеида, хочет объяснить мне, сыну фронтовика, гражданину страны, потерявшей 27 миллионов только убитыми во время войны с фашистами, смысл слова НАЦИЗМ»

Translation: The native of South Africa, whose family accumulated its capital during Apartheid years, wants to explain to me, the son of a veteran of the front, the citizen of the country which lost 27 million people just killed alone during the war with fascism, the meaning of the word Nazism.   

As I said: you cannot buy class and honor, they don't sell it in Ivy League schools or at the Wall Street. You either have it or you don't, Western elites don't. 

In other news, however, as always, Western MSM got a huge shit-cake on their faces, again, since, as was expected, no "mobilization" was announced by Putin (it is absolutely not necessary), everybody seem to be in good spirit and healthy and, of course, apart from completely losing Popasnaya, VSU ran away from and abandoned Lisichansk and Russia organized a bloodbath for VSU at Zmeinnyi Island. To demonstrate what a sewer US MSM are, here is a snippet from May 8:

The usual contingent of Rosvgardia forces will be absent, Forbes reported, as many are fighting in Ukraine. The number of Russian infantry fighting vehicles, or Kurganets-25, participating in the parade has been cut by 50%, the media outlet said. Fewer tanks will be on display, according to The Moscow Times, likely because Ukrainian has destroyed hundreds of them.

Well, evidently cretins from Forbes missed Rosgvardia marching at the parade. But then again, what do you expect from lower forms of life.  

They will never understand.