MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin has attended commemorations marking the 75th anniversary of the Soviet victory in the battle of Stalingrad, lauding the Red Army’s victory as a shining example of the nation’s perseverance in the face of adversity.
Putin on Friday visited Volgograd, the current name of the city in southern Russia that stretches along the western bank of the Volga River.
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The city was renamed in 1961 as part of the Soviet Union’s rejection of former dictator Joseph Stalin’s personality cult. But the name Stalingrad remains inextricably linked to the historic battle that perhaps turned the tide of WWII more than any other.
The five months of fighting in Stalingrad between August 1942 and February 1943 is regarded as the bloodiest battle in history. The death toll for soldiers and civilians was an astonishing 2 million or so and most of the city was reduced to rubble before Nazi forces surrendered on Feb. 2, 1943.
“The Soviet soldiers have dug into the lacerated soil and turned every house and every street into an impregnable fortress,” Putin said.
“Such degree of resistance, self-sacrifice and spiritual power were invincible, incomprehensible and terrifying for the enemy.”
Putin hailed the Stalingrad victory as a reflection of “courage of our soldiers and talent of their commanders.”
“The defenders of Stalingrad ... have left us a great heritage — love for the Motherland, the readiness to defend its interests and independence and show resistance while facing any trials,” he said.
