Speech at the Red Army Parade on the Red Square
Moscow, November 7, 1941
Comrades, men of the Red Army and Red Navy, commanders and political
instructors, working men and working women, collective farmers-men and
women, workers in the intellectual professions, brothers and sisters in
the rear of our enemy who have temporarily fallen under the yoke of the
German brigands, and our valiant men and women guerillas who are
destroying the rear of the German invaders!
On behalf of the Soviet Government and our Bolshevik Party I am
greeting you and congratulating you on the twenty-fourth anniversary of
the Great October Socialist Revolution.
Comrades, it is in strenuous circumstances that we are to-day
celebrating the twenty-fourth anniversary of the October Revolution.
The perfidious attack of the German brigands and the war which has been
forced upon us have created a threat to our country. We have
temporarily lost a number of regions, the enemy has appeared at the
gates of Leningrad and Moscow. The enemy reckoned that after the very
first blow our army would be dispersed, and our country would be forced
to her knees. But the enemy gravely miscalculated. In spite of
temporary reverses, our Army and Navy are heroically repulsing the
enemy’s attacks along the entire front and inflicting heavy losses upon
him, while our country – our entire country – has organized itself into one
fighting camp in order, together with our Army and our Navy, to
encompass the rout of the German invaders.
There were times when our country was in a still more difficult
position. Remember the year 1918, when we celebrated the first
anniversary of the October Revolution. Three-quarters of our country
was at that time in the hands of foreign interventionists. The Ukraine,
the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Urals, Siberia and the Far East were
temporarily lost to us. We had no allies, we had no Red Army – we had
only just begun to create it; there was a shortage of food, of
armaments, of clothing for the Army. Fourteen states were pressing
against our country. But we did not become despondent, we did not lose
heart. In the fire of war we forged the Red Army and converted our
country into a military camp. The spirit of the great Lenin animated us
at that time for the war against the interventionists. And what
happened? We routed the interventionists, recovered all our lost
territory, and achieved victory.
To-day the position of our country is far better than twenty-three
years ago. Our country is now many times richer than it was
twenty-three years ago as regards industry, food and raw materials. We
now have allies, who together with us are maintaining a united front
against the German invaders. We now enjoy the sympathy and support of
all the nations of Europe who have fallen under the yoke of Hitler’s
tyranny. We now have a splendid Army and a splendid Navy, who are
defending with their lives the liberty and independence of our country.
We experience no serious shortage of either food, or armaments or army
clothing. Our entire country, all the peoples of our country, support
our Army and our Navy, helping them to smash the invading hordes of
German fascists. Our reserves of man-power are inexhaustible. The
spirit of the great Lenin and his victorious banner animate us now in
this patriotic war just as they did twenty-three years ago.
Can there be any doubt that we can, and are bound to, defeat the German invaders?
The enemy is not so strong as some frightened little intellectuals
picture him. The devil is not so terrible as he is painted. Who can
deny that our Red Army has more than once put the vaunted German troops
to panic flight? If one judges, not by the boastful assertions of the
German propagandists, but by the actual position of Germany, it will
not be difficult to understand that the German-fascist invaders are
facing disaster. Hunger and impoverishment reign in Germany to-day; in
four months of war Germany has lost four and a half million men;
Germany is bleeding, her reserves of man-power are giving out, the
spirit of indignation is spreading not only among the peoples of Europe
who have fallen under the yoke of the German invaders but also among
the German people themselves, who see no end to war. The German
invaders are straining their last efforts. There is no doubt that
Germany cannot sustain such a strain for long. Another few months,
another half-year, perhaps another year, and Hitlerite Germany must
burst under the pressure of her crimes.
Comrades, men of the Red Army and Red Navy, commanders and political
instructors, men and women guerillas, the whole world is looking to you
as the force capable of destroying the plundering hordes of German
invaders. The enslaved peoples of Europe who have fallen under the yoke
of the German invaders look to you as their liberators. A great
liberating mission has fallen to your lot. Be worthy of this mission!
The war you are waging is a war of liberation, a just war. Let the
manly images of our great ancestors – Alexander Nevsky, Dimitry Donskoy,
Kuzma Minin, Dimitry Pozharsky, Alexander Suvorov and Mikhail
Kutuzov – inspire you in this war! May the victorious banner of the great
Lenin be your lodestar!
For the complete destruction of the German invaders!
Death to the German invaders!
Long live our glorious Motherland, her liberty and her independence!
Under the banner of Lenin, forward to victory!
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