Great Patriotic War (term)
The phrase Patriotic War first appeared in 1844 within Vissarion Belinsky's essay Russian literature in 1843. It was printed in the magazine Otechestvennye Zapiski, volume 32, on page 34 of section 5 Critics. Before that moment, the term described Russia's resistance to Napoleon I during the French invasion of 1812. In Russian, the word means fatherland and originally referred to a war fought on one's own territory rather than abroad. A book published shortly after the 1812 conflict bore the title Letters of a Russian Officer on Poland, the Austrian Domains, Prussia and France with a detailed description of the Russian campaign against the French in 1805 and 1806, and also the Fatherland and foreign war from 1812 to 1815. The phrase Great Patriotic War became popular on the eve of the centenary of the Patriotic War of 1812. Several books had the phrase in their titles as the era approached its hundredth anniversary.
The newspaper Pravda published an article titled The Great Patriotic War of the Soviet People on the 23rd of June 1941. Yemelyan Yaroslavsky wrote this long piece while serving as a member of the Pravda editors' collegium. Germany invaded the Soviet Union just one day before this publication appeared. The government intended the phrase to motivate the population to defend the Soviet fatherland and expel the invader. Historians during the Soviet period transformed Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov and General Pyotr Bagration into peasant generals. Alexander I was either ignored or vilified by state historians. They framed the conflict as a massive People's War fought by ordinary people with almost no involvement from the government. The invasion by Germany received the name Great Patriotic War to evoke comparisons with Tsar Alexander I's victory over Napoleon's army. The Order of the Patriotic War was officially recognized on the 20th of May 1942 for heroic deeds.
Federal Law No 5-FZ dated the 12th of January 1995 established legal parameters for veteran status regarding the war. The standard period runs from the 22nd of June 1941 through the 9th of May 1945. For some legal purposes, authorities extended the end date to the 11th of May 1945 to include the conclusion of the Prague offensive. This specific extension acknowledges military operations that continued after the main surrender ceremony in Berlin. The term does not cover other conflicts involving the Soviet Union during World War II phases. These excluded events included the occupation of eastern Poland in 1939 and the Baltic states in 1940. It also omitted Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina taken in 1940 alongside the Soviet, Finnish War spanning 1939 to 1940. The Soviet, Japanese War of 1945 remains outside this specific legal definition as well.
Until 2014, Uzbekistan stood alone among Commonwealth of Independent States nations by refusing to recognize the term Great Patriotic War. That nation referred to the conflict simply as World War II on its state holiday called Day of Remembrance and Honour. On the 9th of April 2015, the Ukrainian parliament replaced the phrase Great Patriotic War with Second World War within national law. This legislative change occurred as part of a broader set of decommunization laws enacted across Ukraine. A Newsweek article published on the 10th of April 2015 documented these Purges Of Symbols Of Its Communist Past. Ukraine established Victory Day over Nazism in World War II as a new national holiday in 2015 according to the law On Perpetuation Of Victory Over Nazism In World War II 1939, 1945. By 2023, Ukraine abolished that holiday and replaced it with Day Of Remembrance And Victory Over Nazism In World War II 1939 , 1945 celebrated annually on the 8th of May.
People in Saint Petersburg carry portraits of their ancestors who fought during the Great Patriotic War at Immortal Regiment events. Military parades and Soviet military symbolism play an important role in the 9th of May celebrations across Russia today. The victory banner appeared prominently during the 2019 Moscow Victory Day Parade. Since the 2000s, the Russian government under Vladimir Putin has increasingly used the memory of this war to foster national unity. Authorities employ this historical narrative to justify contemporary political actions within the country. Veterans like those seen paying tribute on Victory Day in 2014 in Minsk operate under the cloak of the Soviet flag. These public displays reinforce the term's significance as representation of the most important part of World War II for many citizens.
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Common questions
When did the phrase Great Patriotic War first appear in Russian literature?
The phrase Patriotic War first appeared in 1844 within Vissarion Belinsky's essay Russian literature in 1843. It was printed in the magazine Otechestvennye Zapiski, volume 32, on page 34 of section 5 Critics.
What date did Pravda publish an article titled The Great Patriotic War of the Soviet People?
The newspaper Pravda published an article titled The Great Patriotic War of the Soviet People on the 23rd of June 1941. Yemelyan Yaroslavsky wrote this long piece while serving as a member of the Pravda editors' collegium.
Which dates define the standard period for veteran status under Federal Law No 5-FZ dated the 12th of January 1995?
Federal Law No 5-FZ dated the 12th of January 1995 established legal parameters for veteran status regarding the war with a standard period running from the 22nd of June 1941 through the 9th of May 1945. For some legal purposes, authorities extended the end date to the 11th of May 1945 to include the conclusion of the Prague offensive.
When did Ukraine replace the phrase Great Patriotic War with Second World War within national law?
On the 9th of April 2015, the Ukrainian parliament replaced the phrase Great Patriotic War with Second World War within national law. This legislative change occurred as part of a broader set of decommunization laws enacted across Ukraine.
What specific conflicts does the term Great Patriotic War exclude according to Russian federal law?
The term does not cover other conflicts involving the Soviet Union during World War II phases including the occupation of eastern Poland in 1939 and the Baltic states in 1940. It also omitted Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina taken in 1940 alongside the Soviet, Finnish War spanning 1939 to 1940.