Original Name-Tsaritsyn
Volgograd is a very historic city, originally called Tsaritsyn, or ‘Yellow Sand’. It is built along the massive Mother Volga River.
Renamed Stalingrad during the Soviet period, named after the famous Soviet leader, Joseph Stalin. Stalin is said to have claimed that after his death, he would be criticized but years later, come to be appreciated. This has proven to be true.
Meeting my friend Dr. Andre Bobrov.
Dinner at a Georgian (the country of Georgia) with two American English teachers, Ryan and Richard, two Russian English teachers, my friends Andre and Sergei, and discussion with Nelli, a Russian Englsih teacher and Richard, an American.
The curator a a small private museum explaining an artifact of the battle.
Mother cradling her dead son, a soldier killed at Stalingrad. Several million mothers lost their sons in WWII.
Soviet era medals sold at the Volgograd Saturday flea market
Talking with my friend and Host, Andre, with the museum curator. At top is a piece of a US made airplane, issued to the Soviets. Shot down by the Germans. Russia didn’t pay of its debt under Lend Lease, which supplied Russia during the war, until 2006!
Next day, Sergei took me to a Russian flea market, then “Motherland Calls” statue.
The small but significant Stalin Museum.Bas Relief
Bas relief of battle of Stalingrad at Mamayev Kurgan. There are mass graves of thousands of soldiers on both sides. It’s said that life span of a soldier was 24 hours. A combat nurse, 2 days.
American people have NO IDEA what war on their own soil would be like, which explains why they are so casual about endless wars abroad. “It’s not me or my family and war is good for the economy”. Who cares about the other people?
Almost every one of these people who visit the iconic Mother Russia Calls statue lost at least one or more family members in The Great Patriotic War. So when the descendants of Nazi collaborators take over the government in the neighbor Ukraine, and knowing that Russia has been invaded several time throughout history through Ukraine, they are upset! Wouldn’t you be?
This is a simulated photo of Stalin at his desk. Stalin made the mistake of hoping not to provoke Germany, which was preparing a massive attack on Russia in June 1941. He misjudged Germany’s intent, with the result that the Soviet Union in the first months following the invasion, lost several MILLION soldiers captured or killed and several MILLION civilians deliberately killed by ‘Einsatz Gruppen’ ruthless soldiers.
Likewise, people in the Donbass saw Ukrainian soldiers massing and ready to attack in February, 2022. Putin was not willing to give the Ukrainians ‘the benefit of the doubt’ the way Stalin, mistakenly did.
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