Disgusting behavior from the US President and the UK PM.

No further comments:

http://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/forgotten-wwii-anniversary-bigger-d-day.html

 

According to this link, Obama and Putin talked for around 15 minutes at lunch, and the French, British and German PMs all had scheduled meetings with Putin on the day. It also mentions Bagration, in direct contradiction of Voice of Russia's claim-
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2651245/At-setting-sun-remember-Solemn-D-Day-commemorations-conclude-spectacular-fireworks-display-Obama-European-heads-state-Britains-royal-family-pay-tribute-heroic-troops.html

British people tend not to celebrate Bagration for the same reasons we don't celebrate the Pacific theatre; it's not generally viewed as "our war", in the same way as North Africa/Italy and NW Europe. There's no politics involved.

 

This article is far more to do with the behaviour of Putin and his "annexation" of Crimea and on-going campaign of interference in Ukraine than WWII.

 

While I have no time at all for David Cameron, one has to acknowledg that the linked article does seem - shall we say? - somewhat biased. I actually wondered if the website is an offshoot of Tass or Novosti..............

( PS: I wonder if Putin celebrates or acknowledges the Battle of Britain ? )

 

Should we really celebrate the USSR enslaving eastern Europe?

 

Jack & Joris (two decent blokes) at WHOL like to hoover up slightly shouty WW2-linked stories to stir up clicks from the easily outraged.
Bless 'em, as it seems to work.
Original article: http://voiceofrussia.com/2014_07_04/Forgotten-WWII-anniversary-bigger-than-D-Day-5074/
Anyone who thinks Russia isn't using WW2 history for modern propaganda purposes really should follow RT's WW2 Twatter feed. It's often a hoot.

The Wehrmacht was indeed 'bled white' via Bagration etc., but there's a long cultural, propagandic & political road to travel before anyone can be accused so easily of deliberately/lazily ignoring that in 'official' ceremonies.

 

At the time the BoB went on, the Soviets weren't yet involved in WWII, so it's none of their business so to speak.

 

Not to mention this is Propaganda (and here goes the "generally admitted" figures of pumped up casualties while we're at it) . President Hollande did mention the Soviet contribution in his speech . This is about the only time Putin applauded heartily by the way. The Russians have no reasons to be offended. They were invited despite the Crimea invasion, and I don't believe Obama treated Putin with contempt.
I was more shocked by the fact that Obama was eating chewing gum during the commemoration , but that's another matter.
The Russians have done a great deal during the war we all know this (even us ignorant westerners) . They don't need to get on the headlines before anyone else about D-Day, simply because they have their own battles. The west doesn't moan they are forgotten when Putin celebrates Stalingrad.
The roots are in my opinion deeper than Bagratron and stem from WW1, because this isn't the first time our Russian allies "feel" forgotten. During the massive 1919 Victory Parade , all allied nations were invited , except the Russians because of the Soviet Revolution. As a result , many Russians, and not only Tsarist refugees in the west, felt abandoned and betrayed.
When economies crumble, patriotism and past glory are a good way to keep people away from complaining about their taxes....

 

Except that before that the soviets had started the WW2 in Europe with their friends the Nazies by planning and executing a mutual invasion on Poland.

In addition to that, the soviets also had attacked Finland without any declaration of war and against several mutual agreements by using a typical soviet/Russian hoax as a casus belli.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelling_of_Mainila

Also the soviets had invaded and annexed Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and East Romania (Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina).

Naturally the soviets had been helping their good pals the Nazies to wage war on Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Great Britain by supplying them with generous amounts of fuels, raw materials and grain.

But yes, apart of those "minor incidents", the soviets were "not at all involved" with the war...

 

I was all ready to start typing, and Karjala beat me to it............. :S!

 

Well, there was this...

 

Ooooo Presidential Gay Before Bed....The amateurs aren't even doing tongues! Where do I sign up?

<2003 Iraq War Gay Before Bed Champion>

 

.......but still they had nothing to do with the BoB or any other war activity on the western front!

 

See my earlier post:

"Naturally the soviets had been helping their good pals the Nazies to wage war on Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Great Britain by supplying them with generous amounts of fuels, raw materials and grain."

All of that was very valuable for the German war machine.

 

It was difficult for Obama and Cameron who I am sure would not want their next electoral opponents to campaign with images of either shaking hands with Putin. There was a far greater breach of protocol by the British pub lic attending the event who booed Putin when he appeared. Putin was there as the representative of a wartime ally. Under different circumstances WW3 could have started.....

2014 is the 70th anniversary of a number of unsavoury aspects of the Western Allied complicity in handing Eastern Europe to the Russians. It is difficult to see what alternative there might have been, and easy to apply double standards.

 

So what if Putin didn't get great treatment. Happens to all nations at one point or another due to current political climates. That said one of them could have punched putin and I would have shouted them the first round down at the Pub, Putin is a greedy land grabber constantly turning internal problems of another nation souly for the good of Russia rather then the people of said nation (ie: Georgia).

He doesnt supply the rebels with weapons, He just parks them at the border and ignores them crossing to 'steal' the stuff..... That has to be one of the top 10 global worst political excuses of 2014.

 

I'm betting the Argentinians start whingeing about about the Falklands again even louder...

 

Give it to them, not saying that they have 100% right to it or anything but no idea why people care about a little cold island of little value... Better off fighting over Antarctica, Just dont take our Aussie claim even if our Government is too incompetent to invest in to it to justify our claim. =]

 

Steady old boy, that's fighting talk!