Forgotten Veterans
The ninth of May, Victory Day has always been special for everyone in
our country. I am pleased to think that the political regime had not changed anything:
pride for the Victory and the memory of the price we had to pay (though according to FOM
research May 9 is just a holiday). According to records 31.000.000 Russian people were
killed during WWII. During the Leningrad Blockade more than 6 000 0000 people died, 3% of
them from bombing and the rest died of starvation.
Coming back to the history of the war, let me point out some facts.
Germany attacked our country on June 22, 1941, despite the non-aggression pact between
Germany and USSR, signed on September 1, 1939. It is usually considered that the war had 3
stages. A defensive one (22 June 1941–18 November 1942), when our army retreated and
defended, while the German army took initiative and occupied Lithuania, Byelorussia,
Moldova, and Ukraine. The second stage (October 19, 1942 – end of 1943) is the turning
point in the War, when the Red Army attacked and the German army had to leave the occupied
areas. The most significant victories are Stalingrad (July 17, 1942 – February 2, 1943 )
and Kursk (July 5, 1943) battles. The third stage (1944 – May 9, 1945) - is a War
completion and Germany capitulation. The duration of the war was 1418 days and over this
long period the theatre of war operations took place mostly in the territory of the USSR.
Our soldiers are the heroes, they gave us the blue sky above our heads and peaceful life.
However, I would like to draw attention to the other aspect: what was
left after 5 years of desperate struggle? Not mentioning the post-war years and the pain
of lost friends and relatives, let us take a look at today's situation.
The veterans of the Patriotic War are old and forgotten people. Though
I reckon some people remember them… especially before the election or when the
anniversary takes place. The average pension is 5000 rubles (according to Moscow, April 1,
2006 ИТАР-ТАСС), while the average rent in Moscow region is 1006 rubles and its
yearly 17% increase rate is defined by the federal government. Benefits monetization was
another step aimed at conditions improvement (hopefully), but the result was pitiful.
"Federal" benefit-holders got 350 rubles as the benefit compensation, taking
into account that the price of medicines will rise (prices decrease was achieved by
prohibited grey schemes; the result could be a better quality necessarily with the price
increase). The reform lead to mass meetings and strikes. The Deputy of Moscow Region Duma,
B. Gromov admits that many of pensioners, including veterans, do not have phones…
The list of troubles and problems is endless. Let us hope that there
will be organizations to defend the veterans’ rights and that social programs will be
more effective. Though let me make a little remark: if veterans do not die out before the
paradise promised by every deputy comes.
By Natalie Mokhnacheva
Source: Public opinion foundation database – http://bd.english.fom.ru
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