On the Question of the Leadership of the Armed Struggle in the Great Patriotic War

The Great Patriotic War (World War II) occupies a special place in the history of the Soviet state and of its Armed Forces. That war was the greatest military conflict between socialism and the shock forces of international imperialism, as well as the most difficult and cruel of all the wars our native land has ever experienced. It was an unprecedentedly severe test of all the material and spiritual forces of our country, the grimmest test of the fighting qualities of the Soviet Army and Navy during their entire existence. The awesome events of the Great Patriotic War are retreating more and more into history. But time holds no power over the human heart; the glory of the heroic deeds of the Soviet people and its Armed Forces, the memory of the feats and courage of those who defended the socialist motherland, saved the world from fascist enslavement, and upheld a bright future for mankind lives and will live in human hearts forever.