80th anniversary of the Operation Barbarossa

[Storr]

What I find most incredible about Barbarossa are in mind bogglingly massive number of deaths. The Soviet Union lost 27 million citizens, which was 13.7% of the pre-war population. 1 in 4 Belarusians died during the War. There's plenty to dislike about Putin's Russia, but its skepticism (or outright hostility) of the West has deep roots, with Barbarossa being a big part of it. Honestly with how much Russia has faced in its history, from Moscow being taken by Napoleon to the embarrassing collapse of the Soviet Union and subsequent decade of economic hardship, but especially Barbarossa, it's hard not to sympathize or at least understand where that deep rooted skepticism comes from.