Last surviving Soviet soldier who participated in Auschwitz liberation dies at 98

David Dushman, the last surviving Soviet soldier involved in the liberation of the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz, has died at the age of 98.

In January 1945, Red Army tank driver David Dushman saw Auschwitz survivors stagger out of the concentration camp, amidst the dead victims of Nazi terror. "They staggered out of the barracks, sat and lay among the dead," Dushman told the Munich-based Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) newspaper six years ago.

The memory of the Antifascist Victory does not fade away — Socialism is the future!

Statement by the Secretariat of the European Communist Initiative for the 76th anniversary of the Great Antifascist Victory of the Peoples and the defeat of Nazism. The statement reads:

76 years ago, the Red Army raised the Red Flag in the Reichstag, marking the Great Antifascist Victory of the Peoples and the defeat of Nazism. That was a fierce and bloody struggle, led by the Soviet Union with the decisive contribution of many anti-fascist, partisan movements, with the Communist Parties at the forefront.

Russian communists honored the Red Army anniversary

Despite the freezing temperatures and the restrictions due to the pandemic, hundreds of workers, young men and women, members and supporters of Russian Communist Parties and Communist Youth organizations honored the Day of the heroic Red Army on February 23rd.

In Moscow, people with red banners gathered at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier near the Kremlin Wall where they laid flowers in memory and honor of the Soviet Red Army's legendary fighters. The event was attended by a delegation of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) headed by the its Chairman Gennady Zyuganov. 

Pablo Neruda — Song of Love to Stalingrad (1942)

Pablo Neruda, the emblematic communist Chilean poet and diplomat — one of the 20th century's most influential Latin American cultural figures — was significantly inspired by the heroism of the Soviet people in the Second World War. He was particularly impressed by the brave struggle of the defenders of Stalingrad in a battle that played a decisive role in the outcome of the war. 

In 1942, Pablo Neruda wrote the "Song of Love to Stalingrad" (Canto de Amor a Stalingrado), praising the bravery of the Red Army and the Soviet people. What follows is a English translation of this extroardinary poem:

Russian athletes propose Soviet song 'Katyusha' to replace the national anthem

Despite the decades of anti-communist propaganda, the memories of the Soviet Union and the immense contribution of the Red Army to the victory against fascism in WWII are still alive in capitalist Russia. 

A recent example of this is the proposal by the Russian Athletes Commission to play the famous Soviet song 'Katyusha' at international sporting events for the next two years, while Russia's national anthem is banned over doping violations. 

State vandalism in Ukraine: Lviv authorities plan to dismantle monument dedicated to the Red Army

Another disturbing episode of anti-communist frenzy comes from Ukraine as the local authorities of Lviv are planning to dismantle the city's Monument of Glory – a memorial dedicated to the heroic Red Army soldiers - by the end of February 2021.

The decision was strongly condemned by the country's communists. Petro Symonenko, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Ukraine, said that the dismantling of the monument is “an act of state vandalism and moral terrorism” and added: “This is a crime against the memory of the soldiers of the Red Army, a crime against the memory of compatriots who died in the fight against the fascist infection, it is a slap in the face of the international community and all members of the anti-Hitler coalition”. 

Who saved Europe from the Nazis? The Soviet Union's triumph and the falsification of history

By Nikos Mottas.

“Anyone who loves freedom, owes such a debt to the Red Army that it can never be repaid”. This phrase of Ernest Hemingway encompasses the whole symbolism of the 9th May 1945; the day of the Great Antifascist Victory of the people. 

The day when the red flag with the sickle and hammer raised over Reichstag, in Berlin, thus marking the triumph of the Red Army and the Soviet Union over the monster of Nazism.

75th Anniversary of the Victory over Nazis: Joint Statement of Communist and Workers' Parties

On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the historic Victory of May 9, 1945, Communist and Workers' Parties from all over the world issued a joint statement, pointing out the following:

In the name of freedom, peace and truth — Against fascism and war.

The victory over Nazi-fascism in the Second World War is a major event in History, the memory of which must be preserved and defended in the face of repeated attempts at historical falsification aimed at making us forget the decisive role played by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, by the communists and by anti-fascists from around the world. 

9 May 2020: The European Communist Initiative for the People's Great Antifascist Victory

Statement by the European Communist Initiative on the 75th anniversary of the Great Antifascist Victory of 9th May 1945:

75 years ago, the Red Army raised the Red Flag in the heart of Berlin,signaling the great anti-fascist victory of the peoples and the defeat of Nazism, after a hard and bloody struggle, led by the Soviet Union, to which decisively contributed many anti-fascist partisans and movements, led by the CPs, from many countries who responded to the call, committed to crush the reactionary forces headed by Italy and Germany.

75 years since the liberation of Vienna by the Red Army — 75 Jahre Befreiung Wiens

On the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Vienna by the Red Army, the Central Committee of the Party of Labour of Austria (PdA) issued the following declaration:

75 years since the liberation of Vienna

75 years ago, on 13 April 1945, the Red Army of the USSR won the Battle of Vienna. This ended the "Vienna Offensive", which cost the lives of almost 170,000 Soviet soldiers. 

Communists, Anti-Fascists denounce Czech authorities over the removal of Konev's statue

Members of the Communist Party (KSCM) protest the
removal of the statue in Prague.

As we wrote on April 3, the local authorities of Prague 6 municipality proceeded to the removal of the statue of Soviet Army commander and WW2 hero Ivan Konev. In a statement, the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSČM) strongly protested the decision, pointing out that the "ruling elites of Prague" have no respect for the city's history and those who liberated the country from the nazis. 

The Party calls the removal of Konev's statue a "brutal and amoral act" and urges the people of the country to express their disagreement with this decision. KSČM demands from the Czech government to restore the statue immediately, while members of the Party organized a protest in the square where the statue of Konev was located.

Prague authorities show ingratitude towards Ivan Konev: Soviet hero's statue removed

Showing complete disrespect towards the city’s history, the municipal authorities of Prague 6 district proceeded today to the removal of the statue of Second World War hero and Red Army commander Ivan Spepanovic Konev. 

For a long time, under the tolerance of local authorities, the statue had been a target of vandalisms. Last August, unknown thugs had desecrated the monument with spray paint writing anti-soviet slogans. The attack took place on the eve of the 51st anniversary of the Soviet intervention against the counterrevolutionary uprising of 1968. 

Klostermarienberg 1945 — 75 years since the liberation of Austria by the Red Army

Joint declaration of the Party of Labour of Austria (PdA) and the Communist Youth Eisenstadt/Burgenland, 29 March 2020:

Exactly 75 years ago, on 29 March 1945 at 11.05 a.m., the first units of the Red Army of the USSR entered Austrian soil. This date therefore represents an important step in the liberation of Austria from fascist dictatorship and German foreign rule. 

Mobile motorized units of the Soviet 6th Guard Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front (led by Colonel General Andrei Kravchenko) crossed the border between Hungary and the province of Burgenland near Klostermarienberg (municipality of Mannersdorf an der Rabnitz), which at that time marked the German Reich border. 

Dmitry Yazov, last Soviet Marshal who opposed the USSR dissolution, died at 95

Dmitry Yazov, the last appointed Marshal of the Soviet Union, died on Tuesday in Moscow after a long illness. He was 95 years old.

His career extends from the Siege of Leningrad to the formation of the State Committee on the State of Emergency (SCSE, GKChP) which tried to prevent the domination of the counterrevolutionary forces in 1991.

Born in 1924 in the Omsk oblast, Yazov enlisted in the Red Army in 1941 at age 17. During World War II he would be honored for his service on the Volkhov and Leningrad fronts, thus laying the groundwork for his ascension through the ranks of the Soviet military. He participated in the battles of the Siege of Leningrad, in the offensive operations of Soviet troops in the Baltic states, in the blockade of the Courland Pocket. 

KKE campaign to honor the 75th anniversary of the Anti-Fascist Victory of the People

On the occasion of the 75 years since the Anti-Fascist People’s Victory, the Party Organisations Abroad of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) organize a series of events that include visits in 75 anti-fascist memorials across Europe. The campaign is titled “1945-2020, 75 years of the Anti-Fascist Victory, 75 Anti-Fascist Memorials, Tribute to the People”.

As 902 portal reports “these events will give us the opportunity to honor the male and female fighters who sacrificed their lives throughout Europe, who were tortured, imprisoned and went into exile. To honor the decisive contribution of the USSR in the Anti-Fascist Victory as well as the undisputed superiority of socialism against capitalism”. 

Party of Labour of Austria (PdA): Statement for the 75th anniversary of Auschwitz liberation

Declaration of the Central Committee of the Party of Labour of Austria (PdA) for the 75 years since the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp by the Red Army:

On 27 January 1945, Soviet Red Army soldiers from several infantry divisions of the 1st Ukrainian Front reached the concentration camps and the extermination camp of Auschwitz and liberated the remaining inmates. 

The German fascists had left behind only minimal military forces, but in battles in and around Oświęcim at least 230 Red Army soldiers died that day.

Kyrgyzstan's Parliament attempts to restore the Nazi collaborationist "Turkestan Legion"

Turkestan Legion's fighters under the Nazi Wehrmacht flag.

In a statement issued by the International Relations Section of the CC of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), the Party strongly denounces the attempt by Kyrgyzstan's Parliament to restore a Nazi collaborationist legion. 

The so-called "Turkestan SS Legion" was the name for military units which fought in the Wehrmacht during World War II. 

The statement of the KKE is the following:

"The KKE condemns the attempt to restore a legion of the SS which fought against ELAS with the bill that was tabled in the Kyrgyzstan Parliament. 

Czech authorities disrespect history - Hands Off Marshal Ivan Konev's statue!

Ivan Stepanovich Konev; the vandalized statue in Prague.

In a decision of disrespect towards the city's liberator, the Prague 6 authorities have ordered that the statue of Marshal Ivan Konev, a Soviet hero of WW2, be covered up and hidden behind scaffolding. 

According to the local authorities this is the cheapest way to protect the statue from vandalism!

Just a few days ago unknown thugs desecrated the monument with spray paint, writing the slogan "No to the bloody marshal, we will not forget" and the date "1968". The attack took place on the eve of the 51th anniversary of the Soviet intervention against the counterrevolutionary forces in Czechoslovakia. 

The imperialist intervention against Soviet Russia in 1919 and Greece's participation

By Nikos Mottas.

The First World War had not yet ended when the imperialists turned militarily against the then-young Soviet power which had been dominated in Russia through the Great October Socialist Revolution on November 7th (October 25th according to the Old Calendar) 1917. 

The first British, French and U.S. troops disembarked in the country in Spring 1918. After the defeat of Germany in November 1918, the intervention was intensified: 14 capitalist states participated in the imperialist campaign with a total force of approximately 300,000 men [1].

Vasily Zaytsev - The legendary Soviet sniper who made the Nazis tremble in fear

It was on December 15, 1991, when a hero of the Soviet Union passed away at the age of 76. He was Vasily Grigoryevich Zaytsev, the legendary sniper of the Red Army whose name became inextricably linked to the Battle of Stalingrad. 

 

He was the man that made the Nazi soldiers tremble in fear. 

Born in March 1915 in Yeleninskoye, Orenburg Governorate, a member of a peasant family, Vasily learned hunting at a very early age. He became acquainted with marksmanship by his granfather who taught him how to hunt deers, wolves and other animals. At the age of 12, Vasily got his first rifle as a gift.