Victor Demin, Consul General of the Russian Federation 65 years after the end of the Second World War

65-year anniversary of the end of World War II is a great social and political event, whose importance for all countries is difficult to assess.

Anti-Hitler coalition forces have succeeded following an intense combat to cause a crushing defeat to the Nazi Germany and its acolytes. A decisive contribution to the defeat of fascism had the United Soviet peoples. Three quarters of the German armed forces were destroyed on the Eastern Front. Russia has fulfilled its historic mission to save Europe from forced union and as well from its own folly.

The consequences of this grand historical drama had a direct influence over the development of world history, including the development of international relations. Creating anti-Hitler coalition is considered to be the greatest diplomatic achievement of that period. This was an unprecedented example of alliance of states with different ideologies and different political systems facing the deadly danger that threatened humanity. Its members were able to rise above their differences in order to destroy the common enemy and to win victory for all of them.

Elements of the postwar order maintained crucial importance to the present. First of all, is about the United Nations Organization, whose Charter is recognized as a key code of modern international law, without alternatives, for establishing world order in the twenty-first century.

Unfortunately, nowadays attempts to use the theme of the Second World War and questions about the causes of this global catastrophe are frequent made in the interests of various political forces.
Russian Federation, noting the importance of remembering the lessons from this terrible war and venerating the memory of its victims, as wall as helping to preserve the historical memory of peoples, presented to the 64^th session of UN General Assembly, as co-author along with other 58 states from all regions of the world, a draft resolution entitled "Sixty-five years after the end of World War II". This document was adopted on March 2, 2010, in New York. Resolution contains the call that 8^th and 9^th of May to be days of commemoration and reconciliation on behalf of victims of the Second World War.

The importance of the achieved victory is especially great under current circumstances, when the states, due to objective circumstances, simply just have to join forces to counteract the present challenges and threats. Anti-Hitler coalition members have demonstrated, by their example, the possibility of such an alliance, irrespective of ideological and political systems in order to jointly fight against common evil.

The Second World War revealed the inadequacy of all European policies, regardless of the government, most countries having authoritarian and semi authoritarian regimes. The fact that it was not a random phenomenon is confirmed by the extreme right tendencies of contemporary politics of some countries and by the attempts to rehabilitate fascist regimes and to glorify Nazis and their accomplices.

Fascism - in varying degrees - was the most common response to the contradictions of our society, which could not be solved by the First World War. Way out of crisis has been found by the militarization of the economy and of the international relations, making them a key factor in the outbreak of World War II. Historians and many politicians of that time unanimously admitted that the vicious system of Versailles led inevitably to a new war in Europe.

All the tragedies of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including colonialism, extremist products of European political thinking, First and Second World War, Nazism and Fascism, and "Cold War" as well, took place during the period which can be characterized as a crisis for the European society. Its traditional bases were destroyed as a result of the many revolutions in Europe.

Creating a sustainable model for socially oriented economic development, based on universal suffrage, and building on a strong middle class, was possible only after the Second World War and with a new technology.

Victory over fascism and the events preceding the war, which seem to have no connection with it, gave the current borders of all countries in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, against which the vast majority of Euro-Atlantic family members have no objections.

The fall of the Berlin Wall marked the end of the Cold War. Only then it was possible to take measures to overcome ideological, military, political and others differences on the European continent. However, the ending of the Cold War was not concluded in terms of international law and failed overcoming the block approaches in confrontation on security issues.

Crisis in the Caucasus, from August 2008, showed that irresponsible regimes are capable of using force and irresponsible military gamble, which makes the whole Europe hostage to its own ambitions.
The initiative of President Dmitri Medvedev to conclude a treaty regarding European security finally managed to end the policy of confrontation, at least in political-military field. By restoring confidence in this area, which fills most of the old European policy agenda, it will be possible to focus on its positive variant, which is dictated by requirements of the time being.
The project of this Agreement was passed by President Medvedev to the states leaders in the Euro-Atlantic area and to the executive leaders of the organizations operating here - NATO, European Union, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, CIS and the OSCE. In our opinion, the conclusion of the Treaty gives a serious impulse for the implementation of this initiative and allows immediate analysis. In the 1930's, the possibility of establishing a system of collective security in Europe was lost. It is the duty of current world leaders and ours all, to prevent recurrence of such errors in the current circumstances and to finally achieve the Great Europe project.

Victor Demin, Consul General of the Russian Federation