1945: Our common victory

Russian, American and British soldiers cheer together after learning that Japan had offered peace offers to America, Britain and Russia,
in Berlin, Aug. 22, 1945

This year the world marks the 65th anniversary of victory over Nazism in Europe. On May 8, 1945, in the presence of representatives of the U.S.S.R., the United States, Great Britain and France, the German Instrument of Surrender was signed in the Berlin suburb of Karlshorst.

Russia and other former Soviet states traditionally celebrate this memorable date on May 9, as the Soviet capital Moscow already saw the morning of the following day at the moment when the military surrender was signed. Although  the  Second  World  War   lasted   for  another  long  four  months

up to the surrender of the Japanese armed forces, the defeat of Nazism in Europe meant the triumph of the forces of humanism, freedom and democracy.

The joy of victory and the end of the bloody war was equally shared by all nations that contributed to the defeat of the common enemy. The soldiers of the anti-Hitler coalition, united with the triumph of victory and belief in a peaceful future, felt part of a united humankind, a united civilization based on bright ideals of good and justice.