World War II means many different things depending on where in the world one finds itself. Where I grew up and in my family, it was a war that both of my grandfathers fought in, one as a pilot over Normandy and the other as a gunner on Okinawa. It was something that shaped the rest of their lives and that forever influenced their world perspective.
In America, we like to say that we “won” World War II. There’s a whole bevy of satirical merchandise for sale that says “USA: Back To Back World War Champs,” obviously joking. But in the former Soviet Union, World War II is thought of quite differently. A year ago, I wrote about Victory Day, the 9 May holiday that marks the end of the War, because it was the 70th anniversary, and I watched the spectacular military parade in Moscow on television. I later learned that it was the largest and most lavish parade held in Russian history, and even included a group of Kyrgyz soldiers (as did the Chinese Victory Day parade held in September).
This year, I wanted to explore a bit deeper into the significance of this holiday of remembrance and its history, and why it is such an important holiday.