Kremlin Chief of Staff Concerned About Western Attempts to Rewrite WWII

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Kremlin Chief of Staff Sergei Ivanov said he was concerned about the Soviet Union's former World War II allies trying to rewrite history and downplay the Soviet Union's role in defeating Nazi Germany, in an interview with RT International.

Speaking ahead of the 70th anniversary of Nazi Germany's defeat, Ivanov lamented that politicians in Western Europe and the United States "purposely try to rewrite history, to twist history, to put, for example, Communism and Nazism on one level."

"There are a huge number of documents, historical proof that the Soviet Union played a crucial role in winning this most dreadful war in world history."

A recent survey conducted by ICM Research for Sputnik News Agency showed that 24 percent of EU citizens polled were unable to say who had played a key role in changing the course of World War II. Only 13 percent of respondents said they believed the USSR shaped the outcome of the war.

Ivanov said the Soviet Union's role in the war was portrayed differently by Western countries that, he said, wanted to isolate Russia by "putting to oblivion" millions of Russians, as well as Britons and Americans "who gave their lives to defeat Hitler."

The Kremlin official suggested that the younger generation "is not interested in history, partly because society as a whole doesn't pay much attention to those facts and events."

World War II involved 61 countries and over 80 percent of the world's population. Some 70 million people are believed to have perished in the conflict.

The Soviet Union lost over 27 million people, both military and civilians. The number of its military dead topped 8.7 million, more than half of the 14 million total allied casualties.

May 9 Parade Domestic Occasion, but Foreign Guests Welcome

The Russian government will be happy to see foreign dignitaries at the May 9 Victory Day Parade in Moscow, but their visit will only add significance to what is mainly an "internal day of remembrance," Sergei Ivanov said.

Ivanov commented on the conspicuous absence of some heads-of-state of the Soviet Union's former World War II allied powers – most notably France, Britain and the United States – from the list of attendees for the May 9 parade. German Chancellor Angela Merkel will not be in Moscow for the parade but will visit Russia the following day.

"First of all, it's Russian celebrations… It's an internal holiday, internal day of remembrance," Ivanov said. "The number of foreign leaders will be smaller than it was, for example, ten years ago. I remember ten years ago [US President George W.] Bush attended, many other leaders, including the British prime minister. But it's not very important for us."

This year's event – the biggest Russian military parade ever held – will be attended by about 25 foreign leaders, including presidents of the BRICS group of emerging economies, former Soviet republics-turned-CIS states, as well as some Asian and European countries. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is also expected to attend.