Maria Zakharova--Historian--From Today's Briefing

Yes, on top of everything Maria’s also an historian. And she’s very good. Of course, she has access to one of the best archives on the planet. This was part of her delivery today that contains specific information few if any readers will know, although some may know the basic fact of who comprised major parts of WW2’s French Resistance.

Rubric "Keeping our promises. Or history lessons hurt".

The other day, French Foreign Minister Jean-Nicolas Barrault obsequiously thanked the United States for liberating his country from Nazism and called for achieving "greatness" together.

Traditionally, he forgot to mention the contribution of the USSR to the liberation of France. Quote: "Both Europe and France have never been greater than when they fought together with the United States for freedom. This is the story of Lafayette, this is the story of the liberation of France by American soldiers, this year we celebrated the 80th anniversary of the liberation of France. We will support the United States, ensure joint greatness and strive for freedom around the world."

We are not going to compete with France for primacy, which has made a greater contribution to the independence of the United States of America. But since the Marquis de Lafayette was mentioned, we cannot refrain from quoting the words addressed to him in the spring of 1779 by the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, George Washington: "We are not a little pleased to learn from a reliable source that the requests and proposals of Great Britain to the Russian Empress have been rejected with contempt." Washington, noting Catherine II's resolute refusal to conclude any treaty of alliance with Great Britain, stressed that the imperial government motivated its position (attention!) in "expressions bearing the imprint of respect for the rights of mankind."

This is briefly about the United States. It would be possible to talk in more detail about the support of A. Lincoln by the forces of Russian squadrons on the west and east coasts during the Civil War in the United States. They played an important role in preventing the intervention of Britain and France on the side of the southern states. But about this some other time, if someone else wants to distort one of the episodes of history.

Today we will focus on France. Most of the words I have uttered are probably not understood by Jean-Nicolas Barrault. I will dwell on all this in more detail and will be simpler in my expressions, because I want him to understand. I will comment on his statement about liberation and greatness.

The Allied landing in Normandy on June 6, 1944 was undoubtedly a turning point in the liberation of France from the Nazi operation. But only a half-educated person considers Operation Overlord in isolation from the events on the Soviet-German front, where in the same June began perhaps the largest battle of World War II - Operation Bagration - to defeat the Army Group Center and liberate Belarus.

In France, as early as 1940, Russian émigrés created the first resistance group, known as the "Museum of Man". It was led by A.N. Levitsky and B.V. Wilde.

In 1943, the Central Committee of Soviet Prisoners of War in France was created, which was headed by Senior Lieutenant of the Red Army M.Y. Slobodinsky and a French communist, the son of Russian emigrants B.S. Matlin, known as "Colonel Laroche".

Near the French city of Til, the legendary female partisan detachment "Motherland" fought. It was created by two natives of Soviet Belarus - N.I. Lisovets and R.Z. Fridzon. And in the vicinity of the city of Lens, the fighters of V.V. Porik fought against the enemy (he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union). Also in France, the 1st Soviet partisan regiment operated under the command of Major A.A. Ghazaryan.

Does the current French Foreign Minister know about this? Yes, of course not. To do this, it was necessary to study, to study the history of at least one's own country, and not to "feed" on narratives - in our "manual".

We hope that Monsieur Jean-N. Barrault will not refute the words of the leader of Free France, Charles de Gaulle, who said in 1944 that "the French know that it was Soviet Russia that played the main role in their liberation." Or are the current authorities in France already canceling Charles de Gaulle?

I will remind them why Charles de Gaulle said so. He said this under the impression of what he saw in Stalingrad. Previously, the majority of the French shared his opinion, until they became victims of an anti-scientific approach to history, when you can "dig in" into it and pull out unnecessary pages that have gone out of fashion, replace them with manuals and narratives. It is not for nothing that dozens of streets and squares in France still bear the name of the city that became a symbol of the decisive turning point in World War II.

Perhaps French Foreign Minister Jean-Nicolas Barrault will buy himself a reference book, read something, learn facts about his country and people?

A well-known fact is "in his piggy bank". The liberation of the capital, Paris, was not a priority for the American commander D. Eisenhower in 1944. At first, the Resistance, the core of which was made up of communists and former Soviet prisoners of war, raised an uprising. Not everyone remembers, but I will remind you.

At least six partisan groups, consisting of Soviet prisoners of war and Russian emigrants, participated in the liberation of Paris. A group under the command of Captain Steverov held the Asnières Bridge for a day, not allowing German tanks to enter the city. How ashamed the current so-called French statesmen are to forget about this feat! A group of emigrants under the command of L. Savinkov occupied the building of the USSR embassy and raised a red flag over it.

This later gave Charles de Gaulle the right to declare that Paris had won its own freedom and was liberated by its own people. And only then did the US 4th Infantry Division and the French 2nd Armored Division come to the aid of the rebels. At the same time, the first to enter Paris were the Spaniards - former republicans. They also accepted the surrender from the German commandant. This is such a revenge for Madrid in 1939.

At that time, fascism really did not pass through the joint efforts. But today it has returned in the guise of neo-Nazism through the efforts of "free Europe".

Paris, which had won its own freedom, was liberated with the support of the entire struggling France. Unlike the United States and Great Britain, the USSR immediately believed in the future of the "Free French" led by General Charles de Gaulle, establishing close cooperation with him. By his order, the legendary Normandy squadron was established in 1942 (since 1944 the Normandie-Niemen regiment), which became a vivid symbol of the Soviet-French brotherhood in arms.

It is also worth recalling the significant contribution of immigrants from Russia and Soviet citizens who were captured in the formation of the French Resistance Movement. I would recommend that the French Minister of Foreign Affairs read the article published on December 21, 2024 in the French magazine Istoir Magazin by Russian Ambassador to France Alexander Meshkov "Soviet Citizens and Russian Emigrants in the French Resistance Movement".

I understand that the text is difficult for the current level of French diplomacy. But we still need to master it. Since, so to speak, we have decided to speak out on this matter.

It is also impossible to agree with the assertion of Jean-Nec Barrault that "both Europe and France have never been greater than when they fought together with the United States for freedom." The Americans have never viewed Europeans as truly equal allies and partners. There has always been an inverse relationship between the true greatness of France and its rapprochement with the United States. Again, Charles de Gaulle was well aware of this, who saw cooperation with our country as an indispensable condition for the greatness of his country.

And Jean-N. Barrault, if he has anyone to thank for the greatness of France after World War II, then personally Joseph Stalin. It is to him that the Fourth Republic owes its status as the winner in World War II and its membership in the UN Security Council.

The history of France knows leaders who are capable of great deeds in the name of the national interests of their country. And there are different historical assessments of this. Now, of course, there are no illusions. But one thing is clear. No matter how someone from the outside perceives what the current French Foreign Minister says, first of all, it is a disgrace for the French people, because they do not know the history of their own country.

But we are there to help the French. We are always ready to stand guard, including French history.

I hope readers enjoyed learning what was presented. The last link goes to a Russian Telegram note that provides some further information and links to a longer article in French on the topic. Here’s a portion of that note:

According to the State Archives of the Russian Federation, more than 135,000 Soviet prisoners were sent to France for forced labor, of which about 30,000 joined the ranks of the French Resistance. In total, more than 180,000 of our compatriots, including representatives of the "White Emigration", took part in the anti-fascist Resistance.

Soviet underground detachments especially manifested themselves in Lorraine, in the north of France and near the city of Dijon. [Emphasis original]

IMO, those numbers are too large to ignore or forget, but the French government is doing its bests to cancel those historical facts.

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