#8 - JRL 9145 - JRL Home
Date: Mon, 09 May 2005
From: Cyrille ARNOULD <ARNOULD@EIB.ORG>
Subject: Victory Day

While the focus today is on Red Square, its well guarded officials, Putin's intentions for his country that President Bush can no longer clearly see in his eyes and the geo-politic underpinning of the "who came and why" and "who did not come and why", I wish to remember the several Victory Days that I experienced while living in Russia. It is the day when those who fought and survived and those who simply survived through shear human resistance against all odds are celebrated, toasted and shown respect for at least 24 hours. Most of them, when you see them on the streets, sitting on a bench and basking in glory, are the ones left behind by the New Russia and New Russians. The medals on their jackets can barely hide their deep poverty, the sour fact that their country has turned its back on them and that tomorrow, they will be again too old and too poor to matter.

But at least for one day today, strangers will walk up to them, give them flowers and thanks.

But at least today for one day they are getting respect.

But today at least for one day , even the most BMWized oligarch is nothing next to an old kopeckless babushka who sixty years ago gave her youth away to repel and bleed to death the Reich, even the most pampered devouchka knows she is nothing compared to the old man in frayed clothing who defied and prevailed against logic, armored steel and the fury of Nazism and also the criminal follies of Stalin.

As a Frenchman, I know that, 6O years ago, fortunately for us, the beach and skies of Normandy had been depleted of many German troops for they had been fallen or immobilized thousands of miles eastward by the Soviet human might. It still took many lives of young soldiers of Allied Forces to free Europe, but at the end History will certainly remember that the moujiks are the one who bore the brunt for all. But on the 10th of May, we were free, they were not.