The photo was taken on June 22, 1941 by the editor-in-chief of the newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda. Stalin ordered him to destroy it but the ...
The photo was taken on June 22, 1941 by the editor-in-chief of the newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda. Stalin ordered him to destroy it but the journalist decided to disobey him
On the occasion of yesterday’s Victory Day in Russia, a rare “unofficial” photo of Stalin is circulating on Twitter, at the moment when he is informed in the Kremlin that the invasion of the German, Nazi troops in the Soviet Union has begun.
The photo was taken on June 22, 1941 by the editor-in-chief of the newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda. THE Stalin ordered him to destroy it but the journalist decided to disobey him and kept the today historic photo.
It shows the leader of Soviet Russia, sitting with his head bowed at his desk in Kremlin, holding a cigarette in his hand. He has just been informed that Operation Barbarossa – Germany’s plan to attack and invade the Soviet Union – has begun.
The operation opened the Eastern Front, on which more forces were committed than in any other theater of war in history. The region saw some of the world’s greatest battles, most horrific atrocities, and greatest casualties (for Soviet and Axis forces), all of which influenced the course of World War II and 20th century history.
Operationally, German forces achieved significant victories and captured some of the most important economic regions of the Soviet Union (mainly Ukraine). Despite these early successes, the German advance was halted by the Battle of Moscow in late 1941, and the subsequent winter Soviet counter-offensive pushed the Germans back some 250 km.
The Germans confidently expected a quick collapse of Soviet resistance as in Poland, but the Red Army absorbed the strongest blows of the German Wehrmacht and pushed it into a war of attrition for which the Germans were unprepared. The reduced Wehrmacht forces could no longer attack along the entire Eastern Front which resulted in the Wehrmacht retreating and collapsing.
