A TRAGEDY
Most Volgograd residents who spoke to AFP said they were glad of the commemorations to mark the 80th anniversary of the battle, though many did not want to make any comparisons with the Ukraine conflict.
“We should think about it, so we do not repeat mistakes and draw some conclusions,” said Yekaterina Sedova, a 21-year-old chemistry student, who said her great-grandfather fought at Stalingrad.
She has taken part in patriotic events linked to the commemoration but did not want to “mix” the events, adding that she was trying to limit her exposure to news about Ukraine so as “not to harm myself emotionally”.
Others felt uncomfortable with the pomp.
“This is a tragedy for Volgograd and for our country,” 31-year-old Maria Anshakova told AFP by the bank of the Volgograd river, saying it “should be marked quietly”.
Local historian and activist Vyacheslav Yashchenko said the celebrations had become far bigger compared to those in Soviet times.
He also said he was disturbed to see the government promoting the Ukraine offensive alongside the Stalingrad anniversary.
“It is true that the (World War II era) victories were really huge for our country,” he said.
“But the authorities now are using past victories and historical events that suit them for the image of the country and to manipulate people’s consciousness.”
Back at the Rossoshka memorial, Oreshkin, part of a group that recovered the remains of more than 1,000 Red Army soldiers last year alone, showed AFP the ID tags and other personal items he found in the clay ground outside Volgograd.
“Future generations may have to do what we do,” he sighed.
“I just hope those in charge will learn from our experience and that the dead will not be left out in the fields.”
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