So yes. But also it’s a little more nuanced than that. Out of necessity the red army was divided into units of language groups because it wasn’t wholly homogenized in 1944/45. The units in the northern portion of the eastern front were primarily Russian, and the units in the southern portion of the eastern front were primarily Ukrainian. The treatment of the Jews released from the death camps by Russian and Ukrainian units were different. Being released by a Russian group was a short path to other forms of political imprisonment because a major aspect of the Soviet project was the elimination of religion, where as the Ukrainian units fought tooth and nail to liberate us, largely because Jewish-Poles and Ukrainians are deeply interconnected people beyond the newly established Soviet state. It would be like if Buffalo, NY and Toronto, ON were both under threat of invasion by Michigan, and Michigan was planning to kill every man, woman, and child in Toronto with curly hair. Buffalo and Toronto might not always get along, but when push comes to shove, they share history and culture through food and music. Meanwhile, Manhattan might have some things in common and will work toward a common goal, but it’s not as important an investment for them
Aha! Thank you for clarifying. I get why Russia would like to do away with religion by and large, even if I no longer agree with those reasons. The methodology was always troublesome to me but Jesus, not even re-education (yes, that was poorly done too, unsure how much was deliberate and how much was lack of resources) and straight to execution? I need to read more from a variety of sources.
Edit: apologies, I misremembered your original wording. I’ve read too much of political madness, recently.
So yes. But also it’s a little more nuanced than that. Out of necessity the red army was divided into units of language groups because it wasn’t wholly homogenized in 1944/45. The units in the northern portion of the eastern front were primarily Russian, and the units in the southern portion of the eastern front were primarily Ukrainian. The treatment of the Jews released from the death camps by Russian and Ukrainian units were different. Being released by a Russian group was a short path to other forms of political imprisonment because a major aspect of the Soviet project was the elimination of religion, where as the Ukrainian units fought tooth and nail to liberate us, largely because Jewish-Poles and Ukrainians are deeply interconnected people beyond the newly established Soviet state. It would be like if Buffalo, NY and Toronto, ON were both under threat of invasion by Michigan, and Michigan was planning to kill every man, woman, and child in Toronto with curly hair. Buffalo and Toronto might not always get along, but when push comes to shove, they share history and culture through food and music. Meanwhile, Manhattan might have some things in common and will work toward a common goal, but it’s not as important an investment for them
Aha! Thank you for clarifying. I get why Russia would like to do away with religion by and large, even if I no longer agree with those reasons. The methodology was always troublesome to me but Jesus, not even re-education (yes, that was poorly done too, unsure how much was deliberate and how much was lack of resources) and
straight to execution? I need to read more from a variety of sources.Edit: apologies, I misremembered your original wording. I’ve read too much of political madness, recently.
That was something the Communists tried to do. Putin has promoted the regressive, misogynistic, right-wing authoritarian Russian Orthodox Church.