Editing History of Russia (section)

===World War II===
{{Main|World War II|Eastern Front (World War II)}}
On 17 September 1939, the [[Red Army]] [[Soviet invasion of Poland|invaded eastern Poland]], stating as justification the "need to protect Ukrainians and Belarusians" there, after the "cessation of existence" of the Polish state.<ref>Gross, Jan Tomasz. ''Revolution from Abroad: The Soviet Conquest of Poland's Western Ukraine and Western Belorussia''. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2002. 2nd ed. {{ISBN|0-691-09603-1}}.</ref><ref>Zaloga, Steven & Victor Madej. ''The Polish Campaign 1939''. 2nd ed. New York: Hippocrene Books, 1991. {{ISBN|0-87052-013-X}}.</ref> As a result, the Belarusian and Ukrainian Soviet republics' western borders were moved westward, and the new Soviet western border was drawn close to the original [[Curzon line]]. In the meantime negotiations with [[Finland]] over a Soviet-proposed land swap that would redraw the Soviet-Finnish border further away from [[Leningrad]] failed, and in December 1939 the USSR invaded Finland, beginning a campaign known as the [[Winter War]] (1939–1940), with the goal of annexing Finland into the Soviet Union.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Manninen|first1=Ohto|author-link1=Ohto Manninen|title=Miten Suomi valloitetaan: Puna-armeijan operaatiosuunnitelmat 1939–1944|year=2008|publisher=Edita|isbn=978-951-37-5278-1|ref=Manninen2008|language=fi|trans-title=How to Conquer Finland: Operational Plans of the Red Army 1939–1944}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Clemmesen |editor1-first=Michael H. |editor2-last=Faulkner |editor2-first=Marcus |title=Northern European Overture to War, 1939–1941: From Memel to Barbarossa|ref=Clemmesen| year=2013 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-24908-0}}</ref> The war took a heavy death toll on the [[Red Army]] and the Soviets failed to conquer Finland, but forced Finland to sign the [[Moscow Peace Treaty]] and cede the [[Karelian Isthmus]] and [[Ladoga Karelia]].<ref>Vehviläinen, Olli. ''Finland in the Second World War: Between Germany and Russia''. New York: Palgrave, 2002. {{ISBN|0-333-80149-0}}</ref><ref>Van Dyke, Carl. ''The Soviet Invasion of Finland 1939–1940''. London: Frank Cass, 1997. {{ISBN|0-7146-4314-9}}.</ref> In summer 1940 the USSR issued an [[June 1940 Soviet Ultimatum|ultimatum to Romania]] forcing it to cede the territories of [[Bessarabia]] and [[Northern Bukovina]]. At the same time, the Soviet Union also occupied the three [[occupation of Baltic states|formerly independent Baltic states]] ([[Estonia]], [[Latvia]] and [[Lithuania]]).<ref>Dima, Nicholas. ''Bessarabia and Bukovina: The Soviet-Romanian Territorial Dispute''. Boulder, CO: East European Monographs, 1982. {{ISBN|0-88033-003-1}}.</ref><ref>Tarulis, Albert N. ''Soviet Policy Toward the Baltic States 1918–1940''. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1959.</ref><ref>Misiunas, Romuald J. & Rein Taagepera. ''The Baltic States: The Years of Dependence, 1940–90''. 2nd ed. London: Hurst & Co, 1993. {{ISBN|1-85065-157-4}}.</ref>

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-E0406-0022-001, Russland, Kesselschlacht Stalingrad.jpg|thumb|left|Soviet soldiers during the [[Battle of Stalingrad]], the largest and bloodiest battle in the history of warfare, the turning point on the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]] and in the entire WWII]]
The peace with Germany was tense, as both sides were preparing for the military conflict,<ref name=Isaev10>А. В. Десять мифов Второй мировой. – М.: Эксмо, Яуза, 2004, {{ISBN|5-699-07634-4}}</ref><ref>[[Mikhail Meltyukhov]], ''[[Stalin's Missed Chance]]'', М. И. Мельтюхов ''Упущенный шанс Сталина: Советский Союз и борьба за Европу 1939–1941 гг. : Документы, факты, суждения.'' Изд. 2-е, испр., доп. {{ISBN|5-7838-1196-3}} (second edition)</ref> and abruptly ended when the [[Axis forces]] led by Germany [[Operation Barbarossa|swept across the Soviet border]] on 22 June 1941. By the autumn the [[Wehrmacht|German army]] had [[Battle of Kiev (1941)|seized Ukraine]], laid a [[siege of Leningrad]], and [[Battle of Moscow|threatened to capture the capital]], Moscow, itself.<ref>[[Gilbert, Martin]]. The Second World War: A Complete History. 2nd ed. New York: Owl Books, 1991. {{ISBN|0-8050-1788-7}}.</ref><ref>Thurston, Robert W. & Bernd Bonwetsch (ed.). ''The People's War: Responses to World War II in the Soviet Union''. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2000. {{ISBN|0-252-02600-4}}.</ref><ref>[[Clark, Alan]]. ''Barbarossa: The Russian-German Conflict, 1941–1945''. New York: Harper Perennial, 1985. {{ISBN|0-688-04268-6}}.</ref> Despite the fact that in December 1941 the Red Army [[Battle of Moscow|threw off the German forces from Moscow]] in a successful counterattack, the Germans retained the strategic initiative for approximately another year and held a deep offensive in the south-eastern direction, reaching the [[Volga]] and the [[Caucasus]]. However, two major German defeats in [[Battle of Stalingrad|Stalingrad]] and [[Battle of Kursk|Kursk]] proved decisive and reversed the course of the entire [[World War II|World War]] as the Germans never regained the strength to sustain their offensive operations and the Soviet Union recaptured the initiative for the rest of the conflict.<ref>[[Beevor, Antony]]. ''[[Stalingrad (Beevor book)|Stalingrad, The Fateful Siege: 1942–1943]]''. New York: Viking, 1998. {{ISBN|0-670-87095-1}}.</ref> By the end of 1943, the Red Army had broken through the German siege of Leningrad and [[Battle of the Dnieper|liberated much of Ukraine]], much of Western Russia and [[Battle of Smolensk (1943)|moved into Belarus]].<ref>[[Glantz, David M.]] & [[Jonathan House|Jonathan M. House]]. ''When Titans Clashed: How the Red Army Stopped Hitler''. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1998. {{ISBN|0-7006-0717-X}}.</ref> During the 1944 campaign, the Red Army defeated German forces in a series of offensive campaigns known as [[Stalin's ten blows]]. By the end of 1944, the front had moved beyond the 1939 Soviet frontiers into eastern Europe. Soviet forces drove into eastern Germany, [[battle of Berlin|capturing Berlin]] in May 1945.<ref>[[Beevor, Antony]]. ''Berlin: The Downfall, 1945''. 3rd ed. London: Penguin Books, 2004. {{ISBN|0-14-101747-3}}.</ref> The war with Germany thus ended triumphantly for the Soviet Union.

As agreed at the [[Yalta Conference]], three months after the [[Victory Day (Eastern Europe)|Victory Day in Europe]] the USSR launched the [[Soviet invasion of Manchuria]], defeating the Japanese troops in neighboring [[Manchuria]], the last Soviet battle of World War II.<ref>[[Glantz, David M.]] ''The Soviet 1945 Strategic Offensive in Manchuria: 'August Storm{{'}}''. London: Routledge, 2003. {{ISBN|0-7146-5279-2}}.</ref>

[[File:Raising a flag over the Reichstag - Restoration.jpg|thumb|right|''[[Raising a Flag over the Reichstag]]'']]
Although the Soviet Union was victorious in World War II, the war resulted in around 26–27&nbsp;million Soviet deaths (estimates vary)<ref>This is far higher than the original number of 7 million given by Stalin, and, indeed, the number has increased under various Soviet and Russian Federation leaders. See Mark Harrison, ''The Economics of World War II: Six Great Powers in International Comparison'', Cambridge University Press, 1998, p. 291 ({{ISBN|0-521-78503-0}}), for more information.</ref> and had devastated the Soviet economy in the struggle. Some 70,000 settlements were destroyed.<ref>As evidenced at the post-war [[Nuremberg Trials]]. See Ginsburg, George, ''The Nuremberg Trial and International Law'', Martinus Nijhoff, 1990, p. 160. {{ISBN|0-7923-0798-4}}.</ref> The occupied territories suffered from the ravages of German occupation and deportations of [[slave labor]] by Germany.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dw.com/en/final-compensation-pending-for-former-nazi-forced-laborers/a-1757323|title=Final Compensation Pending for Former Nazi Forced Laborers &#124; DW &#124; 27.10.2005|website=DW.COM|access-date=18 April 2020|archive-date=22 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120122194402/http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,1757323,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Thirteen million Soviet citizens became victims of the repressive policies of Germany and its allies in occupied territories, where people died because of mass murders, [[famine]], absence of medical aid and slave labor.<ref>Gerlach, C. "Kalkulierte Morde" Hamburger Edition, Hamburg, 1999</ref><ref>Россия и СССР в войнах ХХ века", М. "Олма- Пресс", 2001 год</ref><ref>[http://www.tr.rkrp-rpk.ru/get.php?1379 Цена войны (Борис ЯЧМЕНЕВ) – "Трудовая Россия"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927001441/http://www.tr.rkrp-rpk.ru/get.php?1379 |date=27 September 2007 }}. Tr.rkrp-rpk.ru. Retrieved 16 February 2011.</ref><ref name="gumer1">[http://www.gumer.info/bibliotek_Buks/History/Article/_Rubak_VelOtech.php Рыбаковский Л. Великая отечественная: людские потери России] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927183814/http://www.gumer.info/bibliotek_Buks/History/Article/_Rubak_VelOtech.php |date=27 September 2007 }}. Gumer.info. Retrieved 16 February 2011.</ref> [[The Holocaust]], carried out by German ''[[Einsatzgruppen]]'' along with local collaborators, resulted in almost complete annihilation of the Jewish population over the entire territory temporarily occupied by Germany and [[Axis forces|its allies]].<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.un.int/russia/other/latv1941.htm |website = Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090113204945/http://www.un.int/russia/other/latv1941.htm |archive-date=13 January 2009 |publisher = United Nations |title = Involvement of the Lettish SS Legion in War Crimes in 1941–1945 and the Attempts to Revise the Verdict of the Nuremberg Tribunal in Latvia}}</ref><ref>[http://www.un.int/russia/other/eest1941.htm#english Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations (Russian Federation. General Information)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090511175048/http://www.un.int/russia/other/eest1941.htm |date=11 May 2009 }}. United Nations. Retrieved 16 February 2011.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url = http://www1.yadvashem.org/about_holocaust/chronology/1939-1941/1941/chronology_1941_18.html#top |archive-url=https://archive.today/20050311225417/http://www1.yadvashem.org/about_holocaust/chronology/1939-1941/1941/chronology_1941_18.html |archive-date=11 March 2005 |title = July 25: Pogrom in Lvov|website = Chronology of the Holocaust|publisher = Yad Vashem}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.einsatzgruppenarchives.com/hofer.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070606213149/http://www.einsatzgruppenarchives.com/hofer.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=2007-06-06 | title=It Took Nerves of Steel}}</ref> During the occupation, the Leningrad region lost around a quarter of its population,<ref name="gumer1"/> Soviet Belarus lost from a quarter to a third of its population, and 3.6&nbsp;million Soviet [[prisoners of war]] (of 5.5&nbsp;million) died in German camps.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gendercide.org/case_soviet.html|title=Case Study: Soviet Prisoners-of-War (POWs), 1941–42|work=Gendercide Watch|access-date=22 July 2007|archive-date=15 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190515180937/http://www.gendercide.org/case_soviet.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>"Soviet Casualties and Combat Losses in the Twentieth Century", Greenhill Books, London, 1997, G. F. Krivosheev</ref><ref>Christian Streit: Keine Kameraden: Die Wehrmacht und die Sowjetischen Kriegsgefangenen, 1941–1945, Bonn: Dietz (3. Aufl., 1. Aufl. 1978), {{ISBN|3-8012-5016-4}}</ref>