Lukashenko describes efforts to prevent Great Patriotic War as poor

MINSK, 1 September – Not everything was done to prevent the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko made the statement during the open lesson “Historical memory - the road to the future” on 1 September, has learned.

Aleksandr Lukashenko remarked: “There are plenty of faults in the history of any nation. Someone started wars after all.”

He cited Germany as an example. “The most dreadful thing. So many people were killed.” Some say that about 50 million people died during World War Two. But Aleksandr Lukashenko believes that the figure can be much larger. According to the latest data, about 30 million people died in the Soviet Union alone. China and other countries lost millions of people, too.

“I think we lost about 70 [million] or more back then,” the president said.

He stated that the authorities may have been disinclined to reveal the large losses right after the war. “Because it displeases a government to lose people. War is not only bad for those who attacked. War is not only a shortcoming for the attackers such as Nazi Germany led by Hitler. It is our great shortcoming, too. We have to agree that we didn't do everything to prevent the Great Patriotic War,” Aleksandr Lukashenko believes.

Yet he pointed out it is now difficult to judge what exactly happened back then. There is always a political angle behind specific events. “This is why it is sometimes difficult to dive into distant history and evaluate events,” he said.