May 8, the World War II Victory Day in Europe, is a reminder to all of mankind of a remarkable chapter in the world’s history, when peace-seeking nations united against evil.

One of the decisive factors leading to the victory of the world’s peace-seeking nations in the Second World War was the effective cooperation of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition.

Today, after the passage of 76 years, it is vital once again to recall this unique episode, when the Allied countries, despite sharply divergent governing structures and ideologies, managed to reach agreement on a shared global imperative―to present a unified front against the powers that promulgated fascism and militarism.

In the “worst of times” between 1939 and 1945, some 55 million people died violent deaths―the majority of them not as soldiers-in-arms but as defenseless civilians, including the millions of victims of the Holocaust. Yet, in one way, this period was also the “best of times,” when many countries of the world rallied against the ultimate rogue states of Germany and Japan to achieve the total defeat of German Nazism and Japanese militarism.

History of Victory Day

The second world war was the deadliest conflict in human history, which saw 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the USSR and China. The Soviet Union alone lost up to 27 million people in the war, nearly 13% of the population at the time.

Victory day is about remembering those who gave their lives to achieve the victory.

Most countries in Western Europe and around the world mark the victory in Europe on May 8th.

On May 9th Russia and a handful of former Soviet Union republics celebrate Victory Day, which marks the day after Nazi Germany surrendered and Soviet forces took control of Berlin, bringing the second world war (also referred to as 'The Great Patriotic War' in Russia) in Europe to an end.