Russian under Putin will no doubt resurge and achieve prominence like the days of former CCCP.

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same soviet union that invaded eastern poland and finland during non agression pack with hitler.

He first has to develop economic might to pay for military might.

Critical times hard to deal with, will be here.

Putin is indeed a dictator, but he is not Stalin or even Brejnev.

He is not going to revert Russia back to socialism, nor is he going to restart Cold War, and he is most certainly not going to start an actual shooting war against US.

This mascarade only shows that as most of the veterans grow old and die, their grandchildren start looking at WWII the way they look at Middle Ages, nothing more.

There is way to much noise here about nothing.

Has someone interviewed Sarah Palin to get her views on this?

Could she also see the Soviets from her house? Hello Soviets, what are you doing here next to Alaska, shoo shoo. :-)

Actually, it was decided at one of the first conferences between Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin, how the war would be fought. The United States would carry most of the burden in the Pacific. As for the European and Mediterranean Theatres, Churchill would be on the sidelines, effectively ending the British Empire. The U.S. would provide the tools of war, and the Soviet Union would provide the manpower.

Hitler, effectively sealed Germany's doom by invading the Soviet Union in late June, 1941, and six months later, in December, 1941, when he declared war on the United States. Europe then became a two front war. It took some time for the U.S. war effort to get rolling, but once it did, The U.S. and the Soviet Union became a vise, with Germany in the middle. Hitler had some early success, but he simply did not have the manpower and resources to fight a two front war. The U.S. and England, began their air campaigns, which seriously damaged both German heavy industry, and their fuel resources, at the Ploesti fields in Romania. Meanwhile the Soviets were bleeding Germany dry on the German, Eastern Front. In July, 1943, on the plains outside Kiev, the battle for Kursk began. It was the largest tank battle in history. As the Germans became exhausted, Marshal Zhukov, of the Russian Army, started using fresh reserves, and from that point on, Germany fought a defensive war. Less than two years later, Marshal Zhukov led the Red Army into Berlin.

I'm well aware of the fact it was a group effort in Europe. I also know if the Soviets had been defeated earlier in the war, the outcome in Europe would have been different. But I also know we defeated Japan on our own. I know there was resistance from Britain, France, and the Dutch, but it was sporadic, as they had very little manpower and resources to fight an enemy that was firmly in charge. After the Japanese defeat at Midway, however, the Japanese had reached their zenith, and from that point on, they fought a defensive war.

A truly 'noble spread' RIGA, LATVIA! Virtually American, indeed. So many, many thanks for all of your invaluable contributions to WWII, we really could not have done it without you. You all paid such an ENORMOUS dear price !!! May it NEVER be forgotten, this ETERNAL ONGOING BATTLE against all forms of FASCISM !!! May we FOREVER be dear allies in this Godly vision of SUPREME RIGHTEOUSNESS !!! - RC

one needs to understand that the us army and the soviet army had two different ideas of fighting a war. The us army always believed that you overwhelm your enemy with sheer fire power and less troops , the us could always afford to do because they manufactured arms in a country that was't bombed or the workers displaced. The russians at the beginning of the war had to move all there factories east of the ural mountains because they were overun by the axis powers.The russian army would keep feeding there troops in battle to force the win by sheer numbers and that cost was extremly high.It was tough to retreat as they would shoot there own soldiers by the political kommisars.There was also a much larger hatred between the germans and the soviets. Unfortuneatly millions died over different idiologys.

Al718 - I think you mean Russian men are 'uninterested' - NOT 'disinterested' - in Russian women. These words do not mean the same thing!

Sorry to burst some of your bubbles but the Russians defeated Germany and would have anyways without the west. Infact, around June when we landed on Normandy the Russians were already rampaging through Poland. Any capable historian can tell you that the largest and most even operations between 1941 and 1944 took place in the East.

My take on WWII in Europe and what went wrong for Germany and right for the Allies(not in any particular order):

1. The SS not being given any tanks until 2 years after WWII began leading to almost 90% casualties among their elite infantry during those first 2 years.

2. Hitler refusing Rommel's request for another Panzer division to finish off the British and drive thru Egypt to secure the Russian oil fields from the south.

3. British and Polish fighter pilots winning the Battle of Britain.

4. U.S. air power pummeling German factories, oil refineries, and the Panzer divisions.

5. Germany delaying until June of 1941 the invasion of Russia(due to Yugoslavia whipping up on the German Muslim SS) causing the winter to devastate the German spearheads before Moscow could be taken.

6. The Panzer III and Pz IV not being armed with high velocity guns until 2 1/2 years after WWII began.

7. Emphasis put on Pz VI Tiger development/production in 1942 instead of dropping it and putting all resources into Pz V Panther development/production which was much easier to mass produce.

8. Ultra code breakers in Britain being able to know exactly what German plans were from 1942 onwards and the Germans being so cocky as to believe nobody could break their code.

9. German emphasis on the tactically useless V2 missile instead of putting everything into the Messerschmidt 262 jet fighter.

10. Hitler insisting on being the "decider in chief" over his generals.

Stalin made a deal with Hitler and their forces actually trained together before the war. They both wanted more of Europe and the world, and were trying to figure out how to divy it up between the two of them. Unfortunately for Stalin and millions of Soviets, Hilter was obviously not trustworthy and figured to screw Stalin all along, and vise versa mind you, but that's how business goes sometimes and the people get the beatings.

Russians don't have much to celebrate other than the victory in Europe during World War II ... So let them have the moment of celebration... Many losses for everyone who lived and fought in the Big War ! Everyone played a part ... Many suffered in more ways then one .... The scars and the memories just don't fade away, they linger on .... War isn't good ask any Veteran or person who suffered from it ... By the way my father served with The Big Red One/ 26th Infantry Regiment from 1941 and 1945 , 8 major battles.... Not once would he talk about it ... Nor did he ask for anything from Uncle Sam..... He was at D-Day , Bloody Omaha where they were sitting ducks.... When your country Calls on you then you must go.... Other than that War isn't good at all..... I thank any country that served and were and Allie to the USA ... God Bless the Soldiers of all Nationalities !!!

Stalin was from Georgia and his real name was Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili. He was a brute and won the power struggle when Lenin died suddenly. But fact is that Hitler and his white supremacist racist Aryan Germans considered all Slavic people sub human. They had quite a few appeasers in Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia who sided with the Germans like the Hungarians did and even the Bulgarians and Romania. Romanian soldiers fought with Germans side by side. They all deserve to get their territory seized by the USSR. For those with no clue, Russia was part of USSR and many Ethnic groups inhabit Russia as well as other territories. During WW2, A lot of them fought for the USSR not Russia. Stalin was a brutal dictator who destroyed the military with his purges but finally the Russians fought back. If not for them France and Britain will be manufacturing Bratwurst for Adolf Hitler even today. Reality is that.. Most German troops fought on the Eastern front. IF you want to really understand Russia's tremendous capability to withstand assaults, abuse and also sacrifice far more men than western armies study the battles of Stalingrad and Leningrad(now St. Petersburg) and also the battles of Kursk and Sebastaspol. We did assist them not out of altruism but via the Lend-Lease program and we got paid and we also desperately needed most of the Germans to be tied on the Eastern front. if the USSR did not fight, I will be typing this message in German today.

The Soviets stopped Germany at Leningrad and Mosko before much aid had come from the West.

By the time the Western powers landed at Normandy, the Germans had been driven out of almost all of the USSR.

The US sent the USSR all the equipment and material it could, for good reason.

Stalin said that within three months of its victory in europe, the USSR would join the war against Japan. That is what happened.

America owes the Russian people HUGE gratitude and respect.

Just like Israel grabbed land from Jordan and Syria(Golan Heights) and will never let go, there is no need for Russia(USSR then) to give up land they got from Fins as compensation for what the Finns did by siding with the Germans. . That shameless General CArl Gustaf Mannerheim was a Nazi supporter. Finland was tough and defeated the Soviets in their first war and then lost. USSR got a part of their land including their copper and zinc deposits.

Estonian German collaborators like Romanians and Latvians were barbaric as well. Please do not try to white wash their crimes.

Here is a quote

As part of the Paris Peace Treaty, Finland was classified as a belligerent and fascist power. The Soviet Union imposed heavy war reparations on Finland and took the Porkkala area near the Finnish capital Helsinki as a military base. The reparations were initially thought to be crippling for the economy, but a determined effort was made to pay them. They were actually paid off years in advance, in 1952. Porkkala was returned to Finnish control in 1956.

In subsequent years the position of Finland was unique in the Cold War. The country was heavily influenced by the Soviet Union, but retained democracy and a market economy. Finland entered into the Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance (YYA Treaty) with the Soviet Union, which in theory guaranteed mutual assistance, but the Soviet Union largely respected Finland's wishes to remain uninvolved in the Cold War. Arms purchases were balanced between East and West until the fall of the Soviet Union.