Soviet Union (USSR)

The Russian people demanded change in their government for several reasons:

A. There was unemployment in Russia causing a variety of social problems;

B. The war against Germany was a costly one and resulting in many lost lives;

C. There were food shortages;

D. Many Russians believed that their czar was a cruel and ruthless leader;

Here is more information and opinions from FAQ Farmers on the role of the USSR in World War II:

• They were invaded in the Summer of 1941, were pretty hard hit during the Summer and Autum seaons, but then in Dec of '41 they came back and hit HARD driving the Germans back and inflicting ENORMOUS casulaties. In later 42, the Germans tried to push for Stalingrad with something like a million men. These were wiped out. And entire ARMY WIPED out. The US can NEVER say they actually surrounded and wiped out and ARMY. Even at the Falaise pocket (in the Falaise Pocket there was mabye a couple of Korps but no real army) the US couldn't get Germans as fast as the Russians did. Russia had more industrial capacity (at least for war) and its homes were much more affected than the US was. When Americans say "OH we SAVED England"... i say if Hitler hadn't invaded Russia, England would be under Hitlers Jackboot as we speak. And Nazi Germany would still exist today, bringing with it the Death Camps, the Crimes against Humanity, and all other evils one can think of. In Conclusion, Russia sacficed more in WW2 than all other allied countries combined. THEY were the ones to take Berlin after having spent so many lives getting there. THEY were the ones whose homes burned while the US wondered wether it should respond to Germanys acts of horror.

• I was reading the previous answers, and had to add a comment. Indeed Russia suffered most casualties during WWII, as in turn caused most casualties to the German armies. However, (and don't think I am trying to defend America's current world status), America did CHOOSE to join the war, as opposed to Russia who was forced into it by defense. Let's not forget that Russia had no intensions of standing up for Europe. In fact they had a treaty with Germany established August 23, 1939, that was referred to as a NON-Agressive Pact of Friendship. I believe Germany lost because they could not fight a war on both sides, they still could have lost without the help of America. Just remember, Russia had one thing in mind: RUSSIA.

• I'm British and after researching Russians in WW2 and Stalingrad, etc, I know how much debt the world owes to Russia. In Stalingrad, however, the Russians got supplies from America and air support from Britain. No country can say we won the war more or less by ourselves. Americans say they saved our skins against Hitler. I say the Aussies saved the Yanks agains the Japanese empire.

• First things first. Before its heroic support of the Allies, Russia had a darker stint in the war as one of its instigators, by attacking Poland on Sept. 17 as part of an agreement drawn up by Ribbentrop and Molotov. The agreement stipulated that Poland would be partitioned between Germany and Russia (actually the Soviet Union). The non-aggression pact between the two countries was one of the main reasons wy Stalin was so shocked when Hitler attacked in 1941.

• After Hitler realized he could not invade England without control of the air (which he could not obtain), he turned his attention towards the East. He invaded Russia in June of 1941. By December of that same year, he was on the outskirts of Moscow; tough Russian defense (combined with one of the coldest winters in history) allowed Russia to hold German forces, and counterattack in some places. In 1942, Hitler decided to turn his army south, towards Stalingrad. The German army was almost successful, but could not quite capture city; indeed, the Russian army turned the tables and trapped nearly 250,000 German's in the city. Unable to supply the troops by air, eventually the surrounded troops were killed or surrended (the last of them in February, 1943). In the Summer of 1943, the largest tank battle in history took place at Kursk; Germany was defeated by a numerically superior force. From then on, Germany was on the defense, and Russian continually pushed them back until the final capture of Berlin in 1945. Despite what you might read in the history books, at the cost of million of lives, Russian was the country that stopped the German jaugernaut and turned the tables on Germany. I'm not saying they did it alone, or were doing it for the Allies, but there is no disputing that Russian blood was spilled taking Berlin.

• While your mentioning all the suffering that Poor Mother Russia endured lets talk about the MILLIONS of Russians that Stalin himself killed. Hitler almost pails in comparison to Stalin. Stalin is one of the sickest men the world has ever known. They were of the same mold. Stalin liquadated more of his own than the Germans did during his whole tyrantical reign. The Russians not only helped with the envasion of Poland but attacked Finland as well for nothing more than a strip of land. Stalin in the end did in no way regret the war. Not only did he get rid of the man he feared the most (Hitler) but he got to be like him and annex half of Europe and bring them a suffering all their own after the war. You talk about battles that the US participated in as if they were cakewalks and of little consequence. The Russians had to do more since the fight was on their own soil. If it were on American soil the same would have happened to the Germans. They would have gotten their asses kicked. I guess you want the US to say their sorry for not being invaded. Nobody in this forum has said the Russians couldn't fight. But nobody had more bodies to throw into a fight than they. They were on their knees and tactically stupid. Numbers will even the odds. Hitler squandered his advantages in taking personal command of the offensive. His commanders were twice that of the Russians but ended up puppets thus saving the Soviet union.

• Don't understate the Soviet Union's contribution to victory over the Nazis, something that I have definitely been guilty of. Americans and Russians often tend to think of themselves as having won the war independently of one another or the other countries involved. This is most likely the result of the Cold War and the Iron Curtain keeping knowledge and interpretation of the events of the war split. Perceptually, many in the West are also troubled by the Soviet Union remaining in effective occupation of Eastern Europe after the war. Enforced Russian dominance over the region and brutal measures taken against the populations of countries like Czechoslovakia and Hungary during the Cold War have made it hard for later generations of Westerners to view the Soviets as fellow former liberators; particularly as the collapse of the Iron Curtain has revealed just how far behind economically these nations have been kept. These factors have helped keep Westerners in the dark about how important the Soviet Union was in defeating the Nazis.

• Russia aggressively defended herself against a German attack. Russia had help from the United States in the form of war material shipped to Russia's northern ports. If D-Day had not occurred, and the US continued to supply Russia, the Russians most likely would have defeated Germany on their own. Even with D-day, Russia still lost 20 million people - more than any other country. Keep in mind, the war in Europe ended 11 months after D-day. Largely due to to the German armies already being deicmated by the fignting in Russia. If Russia would have stayed out of the war, the fighting would have lasted until '47 or '48, but the US had the more resources, more manufacturing capabilty, and more men. The war would have been won by the Allies as well.

• To look at the numbers, yes, a majority of Germans died on Russian soil. Many key battles were fought in Russia; Kursk, Stalingrad etc, but a lot of damage was suffered by the Wermachts march on Moscow by British and American airpower over Germany. Also Allied victory over Italy and Germany in Africaprevented Germany acquiring more oil. When Napolean marched on Moscow only a quarter of his million made it to battle. Of the Germans killed in Russia a large percentage also died due to crises of management. However by the time Russia got going, by the time its industry developed into a war machine in 1943 it made her the most awesome fighting force of the whole war. This doesnt detract from the fact that Russia owes some of its early success to British and America assistance, its own willingness to ignore the Nazi threat initially.