Communists across Europe mark 78th anniversary of Soviet victory over Nazi Germany

Soviet red flags were raised in Victory Day celebrations across Europe, despite a ban on the display of Soviet and Russian flags in several countries including Germany

May 10, 2023 by Peoples Dispatch
9-05 Victory Day - Europe
Victory Day flag raised in the Union Anti-Fascist Patriotic Rally. (Photo: via KPRF.ru)

On May 8 and 9, communist parties and other anti-fascist sections across Europe organized various events to mark the 78th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Red Army over Nazi Germany that marked the end of World War II. The official Victory Day Parade was held in Moscow’s Red Square and several major events were organized across Russia by the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF). 

In the wake of the ongoing war in Ukraine, many countries in Europe, including Germany, had banned the display of Russian and Soviet flags on Victory Day celebrations. However, people across cities defied the ban and paid tributes to the fallen heroes of the Soviet Red Army and the partisans who liberated Europe from the clutches of Nazis and fascists during World War II.

Victory Day has been celebrated as a holiday in many post-Soviet Republics and other parts of Europe to mark the signing of the German Instrument of Surrender to the Soviet Red Army and Allied forces on the evening of May 8, 1945, in Berlin (May 9, Moscow time). However, over the last few decades due to rising Russophobia, there has been an attempt to undermine the role of the Red Army and the sacrifices of the Soviet Union in the official Victory Day events in several European states. The Soviet Union lost 26.6 million lives as casualties of the War. Now, in the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, Russophobia is at an all-time high and a rampant process of decommunization is underway across Europe.

Meanwhile, on Monday, the Union Anti-Fascist Patriotic Rally—dedicated to the 78th anniversary of the Soviet victory—reached Moscow after traveling 21,000 kilometers, touching various cities in Donbass, Abkhazia, Belarus, and Russia. The rally was started two months ago, on March 17, in Mariupol. 

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) stated on Monday, “on the eve of Victory Day, we appeal to everyone to unite their efforts as much as possible in the fight against the greatest evil that exists—against fascism. It was generated by big capital in order to save their loot, in order to pacify the workers who demanded justice, in order to strangle Soviet power, and continue their domination. And the Soviet soldier, raising the Red Banner of October, the Banner of Lenin over the Reichstag, accomplished a great feat. We are the heirs of the winners, the people of Victory, and are simply obliged to defeat today, as almost 80 years ago, the brown plague of fascism, which in any of its guises is a vile and bloody product of capitalism!”