Agony of Sorrow

今年的5月9日，是第二次世界大戰歐洲戰場勝利的第80週年。對許多西方國家而言，這是紀念自由與反法西斯勝利的重要日子；但對俄羅斯與許多前蘇聯人民來說，這一天背後蘊含的，不只是勝利，更是無法抹滅的犧牲、血淚與誤解。

對許多成長於冷戰餘波與國共對立背景中的華人來說，「反共抗俄」是一種從小內化的意識形態教育。這種教育讓我們習慣將俄羅斯與共產主義、專制、落後畫上等號。學校教材、新聞媒體，乃至流行文化中，俄羅斯經常被描繪為冷酷無情、侵略成性、與西方文明對立的他者。

這樣的敘事，不僅忽略了俄國人民曾為世界反法西斯戰爭付出的巨大代價，也掩蓋了俄羅斯文化、政治與歷史的多元性與複雜性。我們對俄羅斯的不理解，不是因為俄國沒有故事，而是我們從未被允許去認真理解。

在這樣的背景下，我們對當前俄羅斯的評價，往往淪為二元思考與刻板印象的產物。是時候反思：這種冷戰遺留下來的偏見，是否妨礙我們用更宏觀與平衡的視角去理解今日的國際局勢？

自俄烏戰爭爆發以來，俄羅斯在國際輿論中的形象備受爭議。然而，正因當前國際局勢撕裂了對歷史的認知，我們更應回頭正視一段被西方主流敘事刻意淡化的歷史事實：俄羅斯（當時的蘇聯）是戰勝納粹德國的關鍵力量之一，付出了舉世罕見的代價與貢獻。

一場以2400萬人命換來的勝利

根據史學家估算，蘇聯在二戰中約有 2,400萬人死亡，其中過半為平民。這不僅遠超美英等國的傷亡總數，更說明了東線戰場的殘酷與決定性。從1941年納粹德國發動巴巴羅薩行動開始，到1945年蘇聯紅軍攻克柏林，蘇聯幾乎獨自承受了納粹主力的壓力。

斯大林格勒戰役正是這段歷史的象徵。1942年至1943年，蘇德雙方在伏爾加河畔激戰數月，最終德國第六集團軍被殲，成為納粹首次重大潰敗。西方將「D-Day」諾曼第登陸視為轉折點，但事實上，斯大林格勒才是納粹由攻轉守的真正開始。

被西方冷落的「東線記憶」

在好萊塢電影與西方課本中，我們經常看到英美軍隊在法國海灘浴血奮戰的畫面，但卻鮮少看見紅軍在零下30度的東線戰壕中與德軍肉搏的身影。這不只是影像選擇的問題，而是一種集體記憶的操控。

過去數十年，冷戰思維主導下的歷史敘事讓蘇聯的貢獻被貶低甚至抹去。反共的政治需要，使「反法西斯聯盟」的角色分化為光明與陰影兩極。然而歷史不應如此選擇性記憶——沒有東線的牽制與血戰，西線的成功幾乎無從談起。

普丁與俄羅斯：從歷史中尋求定位

今日的俄羅斯在普丁領導下再度成為國際焦點。許多人只看見強人政治與軍事對抗，但忽略了俄羅斯從90年代破碎不堪的局勢中重新站起的背景。普丁的崛起與對車臣、喬治亞、能源寡頭的整肅，本質上是對國家主權與秩序的重建。

如果說今日俄羅斯對「多極世界」格局的堅持與抗爭是一種戰略選擇，那麼這背後的歷史記憶與民族集體經驗，便不可忽視。當一個國家在歷史中曾經用千萬條人命對抗過絕對邪惡，它會更加堅持對未來命運的自主與尊嚴。

勝利日，不只是勝利

5月9日不應只是俄羅斯的勝利日，更應是全人類記得二戰真實面貌的日子。那不是一場由某幾個西方將軍獨自贏得的戰爭，而是一場包含俄羅斯在內，億萬人共同抵抗暴政與種族滅絕的艱苦戰役。

當我們回顧歷史、爭辯國際正義與道德時，若忽視了俄羅斯人民在反法西斯戰爭中做出的巨大犧牲，那麼我們對「和平」這個詞的理解，將永遠是不完整的。

May 9, 2025, marks the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day—the day when Nazi Germany capitulated and World War II ended in Europe. While this date is honored across the West as a celebration of freedom and triumph over fascism, in Russia and many former Soviet states, it is also a solemn remembrance of the unimaginable sacrifice that made that victory possible.

Many in the Chinese-speaking world, especially those educated in Taiwan or in Cold War-aligned societies, grew up under a powerful ideological framework of “anti-communist and anti-Russian” (反共抗俄) rhetoric. School curricula, media narratives, and political discourse painted Russia not as a nation of nuance and historical complexity, but as a cold, oppressive, and culturally backward monolith—synonymous with totalitarianism and opposition to the "free world."

This black-and-white worldview left little room for understanding Russia's immense wartime suffering, its resilience, or its internal diversity. The result wasn’t simply ignorance, but a learned bias—a kind of Cold War lens that still shapes how many perceive Russia today.

Reevaluating these ingrained perspectives is essential—not to justify contemporary Russian policy, but to ensure that our judgments are grounded in historical understanding rather than ideological inheritance. If we wish to engage with global affairs maturely, we must recognize how past propaganda continues to distort our grasp of present realities.

In recent years, especially since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, Russia has been at the center of global controversy. But precisely because current politics have so deeply colored historical narratives, it’s essential now—on this 80th Victory Day—to restore historical balance and recognize a truth that has often been downplayed in the West: Russia (then the Soviet Union) was instrumental in defeating Nazi Germany, at a staggering human cost.

24 Million Lives for Victory

Historians estimate that the Soviet Union lost around 24 million people during World War II—more than all other Allied powers combined. Over half of them were civilians. In contrast, U.S. and British fatalities combined totaled fewer than one million. These figures alone reveal that the war's deadliest battles and greatest human costs were borne on the Eastern Front.

The Battle of Stalingrad (1942–43) stands as a historic turning point. The Soviet victory there decimated the German Sixth Army and marked the beginning of the Nazi retreat. While the D-Day invasion in 1944 is often celebrated in Western media as the pivotal moment in the war, many military historians agree that it was in Stalingrad where Hitler's ambitions began to unravel.

Forgotten by Hollywood, Erased from Textbooks

Western narratives—shaped by Cold War politics and postwar dominance—have largely erased the Soviet contribution from collective memory. Hollywood films like Saving Private Ryan and Dunkirk paint a picture of an Allied victory led exclusively by the U.S. and U.K. armies, often omitting the fact that over 75% of German military casualties occurred on the Eastern Front, against Soviet forces.

This is not merely a storytelling issue—it’s a moral one. Erasing the Red Army’s role distorts history and diminishes the collective suffering of a people who fought Nazi tyranny house by house, trench by trench, in Leningrad, Kursk, and Berlin.

Putin’s Russia and the Weight of History

Today’s Russia, under President Vladimir Putin, is embroiled in global disputes. Critics focus on his strongman politics, territorial ambitions, and repression. But few understand the deep historical psyche behind modern Russian policymaking—a legacy shaped by the trauma of the 1990s and the memory of WWII.

When Putin came to power in 1999, Russia was economically broken and politically unstable. He fought oligarchic influence, quelled separatist movements in Chechnya, and rebuilt state institutions. His emphasis on sovereignty, multipolarity, and resistance to Western domination is rooted in the collective memory of having once stood alone against one of history’s greatest evils—Nazi Germany.

Victory Day Is More Than Victory

May 9 is not just a Russian holiday. It’s a human one. It commemorates the global defeat of fascism, paid for not only by Western democracies but by millions of Soviet citizens who fought and died in silence, with no Hollywood soundtrack to immortalize them.

To acknowledge Russia’s role in World War II is not to justify its current policies—but to recognize that history is too important to be selectively remembered. If peace is ever to mean more than just the absence of war, then the full story of how it was once won must be honestly told.

 

根據史學家估算，蘇聯在二戰中約有 2,400萬人死亡，其中超過一半為平民。這是所有參戰國中死亡人數最多的。

相比之下，美國的死亡人數約為40萬人，英國約為45萬人，數據上的懸殊本身就反映了戰場壓力的重心。

1942–1943年的斯大林格勒戰役是整場戰爭的轉捩點，被譽為「歐洲戰場的轉折點」。這場戰役導致德軍第六集團軍全軍覆沒，徹底粉碎納粹東進的野心。

蘇聯在這場戰役中傷亡超過百萬人，但也迫使納粹首次全面轉為戰略防守。

整個東線的壓力由蘇聯承擔- 從1941年納粹入侵（代號巴巴羅薩行動）開始到1944年諾曼第登陸，幾乎所有的德軍主力都集中在東線對抗蘇聯。

有研究指出，超過 75%以上的德國傷亡發生在東線，這代表蘇聯實質上拖住了納粹的主力，使西方盟軍得以在西線逐步反攻。

1945年春，蘇聯紅軍從東方突入德國，並最終於5月2日攻下柏林。

納粹德國的首都淪陷，是二戰歐洲戰場的結束點，這項軍事成就主要由蘇聯完成。

然而西方歷史與文化敘事卻故意淡化俄國(蘇聯)的貢獻。

好萊塢電影（例如《搶救雷恩大兵》《敦克爾克》等）往往強調西方盟軍的貢獻，幾乎看不到蘇聯的身影。

歷史課本與公共敘事常把焦點放在D-Day（諾曼第登陸）與解放巴黎，但忽略了長期血腥的東線戰事。

事實上，如果沒有蘇聯的巨大犧牲與壓制納粹主力，盟軍在西線的任何進展都可能無法實現。這種在文化與歷史記憶中的「選擇性遺忘」，反映了冷戰之後美國主導的全球敘事結構。