Victory Day Russia - Children's View
Many Questions and Many Answers from Children on Victory Day
"Grandma, was great-grandfather a soldier?"
"No, Annichka. He was a wonderful poet and writer."
"So, Grandma, why did he fight in the war?"
"Because he wanted to protect us from the Fascists"
The hundreds of thousands of children that took part in Victory Day celebrations and the march of the Immortal Regiment have many questions like this and many different ideas and understandings of what the Great Patriotic War means for them and their families. One of the common things that each one of them receives from the parades, celebrations, and events of the day is an education in the horrors of war and what the ultimate level of sacrifices are.
I'm not trying to be dramatic or sappy. I'm not even trying to really provoke a reaction, but every year I am deeply touched by the sincerity of the participants in Victory Day celebrations. Most impressive to me is the concerted effort by everyone to teach Russian children the importance. Everyone participates in this education and it is much different than the indoctrination I received as a youth in my So Cal elementary schools.
This is the last in my series on Victory Day. I've included some unedited video at the bottom of the march.
Here are some other stories of children I gathered over the last few days.
"What did great-grandmother do in the war, Papa?"
"First, she was a librarian and she helped save many of our precious books during the blockade of Leningrad, then she helped keep the library open so people could read during the 900 days, but then she became a nurse."
"So, she helped heal the wounded soldiers and people?"
"No, Slava, she helped separate the dead from the living."
"Grandmother, I want to be a pilot like my great-grandmother."
"That's a wonderful idea, but first you need to be an engineer like her, so study hard in mathematics and science."
"Ksushka, was the long walk of the march difficult? You had to carry your poster and the flag so far - 5 km."
"It wasn't hard, Mama. Great-grandmother did harder things in the war and she was here to help me."
"Uncle, why did the Fascists want to take Russia?"
"Good question. Maybe our oil, maybe fear. I don't know exactly, maybe you should ask your teacher."
"Will the Fascists ever come back?"
"Let us hope not."
The answers to their questions are filled with pride, but also very somber. Nobody celebrates the war - they celebrate its end. Here is some raw video footage of the march of the "Immortal Regiment". Take a look at the faces and you'll see people just like you and your family.
I look forward to your comments and all "thoughtful" comments will get an upvote. All the best to you and yours.
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I would dare to say that the evolution of human beings does not stop, children today have a processor clearly superior to what we had 30 or 40 years ago, where we easily fell in love with a doll or a cart that simply diverted our attention, now we see children engaged in everything, with a great awakening and fabulous questions... that sometimes we do not know how to respond, I think those children feel their grandparents as heroes and that is a blessing to them, greetings
Thanks for your thoughtful comment. I agree that each year the questions and consciousness improves with the children I meet and often work with. I remember when heroes didn't have to be perfect. All the best to you.
я видела видео мальчика 5-6 лет, который поет песню "Вставай страна огромная". Этот малыш пел ее так, чтобы встала вся страна на защиту своей Родины. Я рада, что дети знают, что такое Родина, патриотизм.
В Италии никто из молодежи не знает этих понятий. Спасибо за замечательный пост.
Спасибо, что остановились, чтобы прокомментировать. С удовольствием писать этот пост было все мое. Многие люди, с которыми я говорил, были очень вдохновляющими. Всегда хорошо слышать от вас.
спасибо вам, что пишете о России и ее народе правду.
So true! I love that your 'remembrance' included things like protecting books and the personal stories involved with war. When I taught high school, I spent a lot of time focused on our Canadian Remembrance Day and often had my students visit the Senior Home not far from our school to hear first hand accounts from vets there. It's so important for kids to remember and put a face to the stories in the hopes of it never being repeated!
That is so cool that you had your students do this. I was fortunate enough to grow up in a military city (San Diego) and many of my friends' parents and grand-parents were active duty or vets. I remember one day several of us went outside to play "guns" and one of those vets suggested that if we played this game and were to "die" that maybe we shouldn't be able to play again. This gave us a pause.
Wow, that would give a kid pause for thought!
Yes, my students used to love it, not to mention how much the seniors enjoyed the "liveliness" in their day :)
Oh, great to see the enthusiasm of children and the whole story is reflecting on the faces. Thanks for sharing these pictures with us and wishing you an great day. Stay blessed. 🙂
Wish you a great day also. Thanks for stopping by and commenting. :)
Thank you so much and welcome. 🙂
Thank you for sharing these stories from the children's conversations! I'm really impressed by the importance their parents and grandparents place on never forgetting...I really wish Americans were more like this!
Yes, if we look at American history, we have had a war about every decade since our existence except twice. Immediately following the Revolutionary War and for nearly 40 years following the Civil War. Interesting that the public was against war for extended periods of time after it took place on their soil.
It is an absolute shame that we don't spend more than "a moment of silence" to contemplate the losses of life given in places nobody knows or can pronounce for reasons we don't understand and to no general benefit of the American people.
My Grandfathers knew why they were fighting the Japanese Empire, but my cousin has no idea what the fuck he is still doing in Fallujah. Perhaps if we spent a day every year remembering the importance of what our veterans have done and why, we would be less interested or supportive of putting the lives of our men and women at risk for things that have little or no bearing on the American people.
Just a thought.
This whole comment is so well put.
That is incredibly poignant, and tragic, at the same time!
What makes me upset is that supposedly we have days to do that--and they've just been turned into sales events, like every other holiday. It's upsetting to me to see the actual meanings and points of holidays and days of remembrance obscured by consumerism :( "We watch it happen 'over there' / and then just turn it off" and go shopping...
This is one of the main reasons that I love Victory Day in Russia. Everyone participates or relaxes. They aren't out shopping (except to buy hats, ribbons and flags). Meanwhile, they have military parades with a military that is AT HOME and not off in some obscure place fighting "terrorism".
Thank you @energyaddict22 for sharing a glimpse of war through your country's eyes. I think it's important that we don't forget history and that these stories and wisdom, lessons of human struggles are shared between generations. We hope never to repeat and that we also do not allow ourselves to become complacent and disconnected from our past. Traditions and celebrations are important for this. I do wish that war didn't exist - I find it so difficult to answer those questions from children.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and stopping by. I'm actually not Russian. I am an American that lives here now for about 5 years. I agree that some of the questions are challenging when asked by children. The parents, grandparents, etc. want to give a positive answer, but sometimes there just isn't one to give. The harsh reality of the event becomes evident.
All the best to you and hope to see more of you.
I really liked this post, it is this type of post, and learning of other peoples and other cultures that make steemit so fun for me. I have gotten to see post from people all over the world, people keep saying how few there are on steemit, how there is no real content on steemit, I honestly do feel sorry for those people. I use the browser translate feature when I need to, but fortunately there are so many people that give it their all to post in English. I have learned so much about the world in the almost 9 months being here, that when I hear people complain, I just have to shake my head.
Thanks as always for stopping by and sharing. I always enjoy your comments. I agree that there are many people producing great content on Steemit. Of course, I would also like to see more of them and grow the platform. All the best to you.
It feels as if this is the “correct” way to talk about war.
Acknowledging the death and destruction.
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I appreciate it.
Wow! The questions and answers are pretty eye opening.
"So, she helped heal the wounded soldiers and people?"
"No, Slava, she helped separate the dead from the living."
Damn....
Thanks for sharing Victory Day with us. It looks like a truly beautiful day, to celebrate the end of a sad era and the beginning of a brighter future.
Thanks for the thoughtful comment.
Unfortunately, the post war years weren't so wonderful for Soviet citizens either. Afterwards, they had to persevere more of Stalin's leadership.
Hope to see more of you.