More from Crimea

Being interviewed on Russian national TV while at the 35th Battery Museum in Sevastopol, Crimea on May 4.  As the Nazis advanced on Sevastopol during WW II Russian sailors and soldiers retreated to the 35th Battery and up to 30,000 were killed by the Nazi troops.  This is one of the most incredible museums I've ever visited.

Our group having just emerged from the final hall of the museum where a moving video showed the faces of many of the 30,000 who were killed by the Nazis during the German occupation of Crimea.

GN board member Will Griffin (Iraq & Afghanistan war veteran) standing with a 93-year old WW2 Soviet Union veteran who helped defeat Nazi fascism. We  learned much from his stories and perspectives. He’s worried about climate change and says the future of our kids depends on what we do now. This meeting took place in Yalta.

Two days ago, in Yalta, Crimea we split our 20-person study tour group into smaller units and went to various places.  Several of us met with the Council of Veterans which included a 93-year old WW II veteran (pictured above with Will Griffin).

He was quite an impressive man who joined the Army of the former Soviet Union at 16 years old (he lied about his age) and today still does push-ups for exercise.  He joined the Army as the Soviets were pushing the German fascist army away from the Soviet Union and he was stationed in Romania, Hungary and Austria.

Here are some of the things he told us:

We have a negative attitude today about US-NATO military encirclement of Russia.

During the war I met American soldiers near the end of the war – it was a joint victory against the Nazis.  In Austria we were amazing friends with each other.

The military budget of the USA is today more than 10 times grater than the Russian military budget.  Russia can’t be an aggressor.

Ninety-eight percent voted in our 2014 referendum to re-join Russia.  There was not one casualty during that time. During the Soviet Union we had education for free, medical care for free, housing for free, vacation for free. 98% of our kids went to summer camps for free. 

There were shortcoming too.  We could not travel outside of the Soviet Union and our economy began to slide near the end.

Now many things have changed.  Russia has more social programs to benefit the people.

We are faithful to these memories.  We do not want war.  If we have to we will cut the head of the snake that seeks to surround us.  We hope mankind will be smart enough not to start a war.

If someone wants to compete with each other let them compete in sports stadiums, places of art, etc.

In Russia we are more oriented towards using capitalist profits to help people. Eighteen percent of the population in Russia live in poverty.  We now have the task to bring them up so we don’t need any war and neither do you in the USA.

Photos by Will Griffin