This conflict between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany lasted almost four years, from June 22, 1941, to May 9, 1945. It brought unspeakable suffering and immense sacrifices to our people, with 27 million Soviet lives lost; their memory remains sacred to us. Yet it concluded with a triumphant victory, the capture of Berlin, and the signing of the Act of Unconditional Surrender by Germany.

The Great Patriotic War was part of World War II, a global conflict where the Axis Powers - Germany, Japan, and Italy - faced off against the Allies led by the Soviet Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

This "war within a war" stood out for its unprecedented scale (the Soviet-German front was the most significant and concentrated in terms of forces, determining the outcome of the global conflict), unparalleled ferocity (the Nazis literally considered our ancestors subhuman and committed monstrous atrocities against them), irreconcilability of goals (for both sides, the fate of their state hung in the balance, and for the Soviet people, it was also about physical survival).

Therefore, for RussiaVictory Day is not just an anniversary of a significant historical event but essentially a "second birthday." Many Russians believe that without it, there would be no us today, passing on the veneration of the heroism of their grandfathers and great-grandfathers from generation to generation..

This holiday is truly national and will remain so for a long time, which explains the special attention it receives from the leadership of our country and most former Soviet states, even 80 years after the victory.

“However, what relevance does a war, so important to you but very distant from the African continent, have to do with us”? – Africans might ask. Surprisingly, the connection is direct, as the Soviet Union’s triumph in the Great Patriotic War and the subsequent formation of the global socialist bloc paved the way for Africa decolonization.

Without the presence of a powerful alternative force that unconditionally supported national liberation movements, former colonial powers might not have so quickly acquiesced to the independence of their colonies. Moreover, the support provided by socialist states, led by the USSR, to African countries in achieving real independence and fighting apartheid was crucial.

There is another aspect of the Soviet people’s victory over Nazism that is particularly relevant for Africans today. Contrary to the narrative presented by the West that portrays the Soviet-German conflict as a "clash of two totalitarian regimes," the Great Patriotic War was fundamentally a confrontation between two diametrically opposed ideologies.

While communism evolved from European humanist ideals, Nazism was based on a man-hating theory of racial superiority, not just of the "white" race over "colored" peoples but of the "Aryan race" (to which Hitler and his followers added Germanic peoples, including Anglo-Saxons) over all others.

The fact that the Soviet system categorically rejected the notion of racial inequality, despite its harshness in some other aspects, while such ideas often found influential supporters in the West, including the US and the UK, cannot be refuted by our opponents.

When the General Assembly of the United Nations passes resolutions calling for action against Nazism and racism, regularly proposed by Russia and its allies, the voting results are quite predictable. Western countries and their close allies vote against adopting these documents, whereas African states, including Rwanda, consistently support them.

The narrative that "that war was a white people’s quirk," occasionally heard from African intellectuals, is also unfounded. Especially given the ongoing "battle for historical truth" between Russia and the West, which includes the recognition of the mass extermination of Soviet people by Nazi Germany, its allies, and collaborators during the Great Patriotic War as genocide.

Before dismissing the lack of an internationally recognized definition of genocide at the time, it’s worth noting that the actions of the Ottoman Empire against Armenians in 1915 are widely recognized as genocide and so about massacres of Herero and Nama people by the Germans in the beginning of the XX Century.

The number of victims among our compatriots is unprecedented in world history, and the entire Russian people were destined for extinction by the Nazis had they succeeded in their aggression.

What lesson from that Great Victory is most relevant today? Perhaps the one that Russia’s adversaries have failed to learn over centuries (Hitler was far from the first to try to subdue Russia): it is futile to attempt to subject our country to your will, to impose foreign orders and values on its people, or expect to strengthen its own security at Russia’s expense.

The outcome is always tragic - Polish King Sigismund of the 17th century, Swedish King Charles XII of the 18th century, French Emperor Napoleon of the 19th century, and the ill repute Fuhrer of the "Thousand-Year Reich" of the 20th century could all attest to this. Those who today aim to "inflict a strategic defeat on Russia" should remember this.

But another lesson is maybe equally important. The victory over Nazi Germany was achieved largely through the unity of all forces rejecting the absolute evil it represented.

Russia remains grateful to our former allies for their solidarity and assistance, proud of our contribution to saving humanity from Fascism. We consider the United Nations, established as an aftermath of the war, to be an enduring common asset, despite its shortcomings, serving as a cornerstone of international relations.

In our country it is believed that reforming the UN to ensure adequate representation of the "Global South" in its key mechanisms is achievable if confrontational trends in global politics can be overcome. We are ready to collaborate with those who recognize the inevitability of change and are willing to meet halfway towards finding reasonable compromises.

Sixteen years after the Great Victory, a song emerged in the Soviet Union and the title speaks for itself: "Do Russians Want War?" Its lyrics, providing a clear answer to this question, have been etched into the memories of entire generations of Russians.

A nation that lost every seventh citizen in less than four years cannot want war; they will wage it only when there is no other choice left. But if it comes to that point, they will fight until victory, fervently desiring peace but prepared to wait for it and pay dearly for their security and the triumph of justice as they understand it. One can love, be indifferent to or hate Russia, but the "genetic code" of the country, shaped by more than a thousand years of history, remains unchanged.

The author of this article, Alexander Polyakov is the Ambassador of Russia to Rwanda.