Armenians - One of the Creators of the Victory of Great Patriotic War

• 05.09.2016, 16:00
•  World,  Armenia

On May 9, the Armenian people celebrate not only their newly independent state's first victories, the liberation of Shushi and the anniversary of Artsakh Defense Army, but also the victory of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet peoples, including Armenians in 1945.

The history is sometimes distorted, an attempt is being made to present the Great Patriotic War as a fight of Russian people against Hitler Germany. Yet it was also the war of the Armenian people not only as a part of the Soviet Union, but also as a nation, which passed through the genocide only a few decades ago and now once again faced a real threat of extermination.

The contribution of the Armenian people in the vocitory of the Great Patriotic War is perhaps the best proof of it. Since the very first days of the war the Armenians had active participation in the defense of the Soviet Union. As the President of Armenia said on the eve of 70th anniversary of the Great Patriotic War, the Armenian people gave 117 Heroes of the Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War, 27 Knights and 5 Marshals of the Soviet Union of the Order of Glory of all degrees. 600 thousand out of about 2.8 million Armenians living in the territory of the Soviet Union took part in the Great Patriotic War. 314 thousand of them never returned, were killed  - each nine of the Armenians. About 12 percent of all Armenians living in the Soviet Union died during the Great Patriotic War.

In the Soviet history, there is a special page telling about the heroism of the Artsakh Chardakhlou village. Chardakhlu was the homeland of two great Armenian marshals, Baghramyan and Babajanyan. From 1,250 residents of the village, who left for the battlefield, 853 received varying degrees of medals and awards. Throughout the history of the world it is difficult to find a similar case.

They served in different units of the Red Army, from infantry to armored troops, from artillery to aviation. Tens of thousands of Armenians took part in Poland’s, Czechoslovakia’s, Romania’s, Bulgaria’s, Hungary’s, Yugoslavia’s and Austria's liberation.

The Soviet Army's six divisions were formed of the ethnic Armenian soldiers. Dozens of new institutions were created in Armenia to provide with ammunition to the frontline. During the most tense period of war, in 1943, the Academy of Sciences was opened, the scientific activity of which was entirely devoted to the military theme. The Armenian Diaspora didn’t remain indifferent either. The various Armenian institutions in the United States, France, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt and many other countries provided aid to the Soviet troops. More than 30 thousand Armenians fought in the armies of the Allies.

These figures and data are not a coincidence. In resistig the attacks of Hitler's Germany, Armenians realized that in case of victory of Germany Turkey would enter its troops to Armenia. Since the beginning of the war, Turkey's main armed forces (26 Military Divisions) were concentrated along the borders of Soviet Armenia and were waiting for an opportunity to invadthe the South Caucasuse.

The Armenian people's full potential has become one of the creators of the Great Victory. We should not underestimate the significance of this victory. Without this very victory, our next victories, like the liberation of Shushi, would not exist.