Presidential Library marks 80th anniversary of Victory in Great Patriotic War. Newspapers and magazines of war years as mirror of era

January 13 marks the Russian Press Day. On this day in 1703, in Moscow, by the decree of Peter the Great, the first issue of the Russian printed newspaper, Vedomosti, was published. Since then, thousands of newspapers and magazines have been published, many of which are available in the collection Domestic Periodicals in the Presidential Library. Currently, the library has more than 336,000 electronic copies of periodicals, and in 2024 alone, over 23,000 new issues were added to the collection.

In the year of the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War, Library highlights the collection of front-line periodicals from 1941-1945 on the it's portal. One can browse through the pages of digitized military newspapers such as Pravda, Leningradskaya Pravda, Na Strazhe Rodiny, Uchitelskaya Gazeta and Boyevoy Put', as well as issues of partisan publications. These yellowed pages from the time of World War II are a true reflection of that era.

On June 21st, 1941, the newspaper Leningradskaya Pravda published an editorial titled Theater Season. The article talked about the tours of Leningrad's artists, factories that had completed their six-month programs ahead of schedule, and university admissions. No one could have imagined that the peaceful life that seemed unshakable would end the very next day.

The Great Patriotic War had begun, a terrible and bloody war that brought enormous sacrifices to our country. Due to the urgency of the situation, some print media did not have time to publish emergency news, and as a result, many newspapers did not mention the war on the morning of June 22nd. Headlines of articles in the newspaper Kommunar proves it: More Care for Workers' Summer Holidays, In the City of Fishermen, and Ancient Chinese Building on the Banks of the Yenisei.

The special issue of the Leningradskaya Pravda newspaper, dated June 22, 1941, has become a historical document that can be found on the Presidential Library's portal. The front page features the text of a radio speech delivered by Vyacheslav Molotov, the Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs, regarding the treacherous attack by Nazi Germany on the Soviet Union.

In his speech, Molotov states: Today at 4 am, without any claims against the Soviet Union or declaring war, the German troops launched an attack on our country. The Soviet government has ordered our troops to repel this attack and drive the German forces from our homeland." Molotov emphasizes that the Soviet cause is just and that the enemy will be defeated.. "Victory will be ours!" On the same page, a resolution was published at the workshop-wide meetings of the Kirov Plant, anticipating the outcome of the battle with the enemy: The Soviet people know how to fight and love to fight. Woe betide anyone who dares to draw provocative weapons against us. We will turn the war imposed upon us by the fascists into a patriotic war and, as always, defeat the enemy.

On July 3, a text of a speech by Joseph Stalin, the Chairman of the State Defense Committee, was published in the newspaper Leningradskaya Pravda. The speech read: Comrades, citizens, brothers and sisters, soldiers of our army and navy! The treacherous attack of Nazi Germany on our homeland, which began on June 22, is continuing. Despite the heroic resistance of the Red Army and the defeat of enemy divisions and aviation units, the enemy is still advancing, sending more forces to the front.

The pages of wartime publications recount the tremendous physical and mental effort that was required of everyone in our country to defend the homeland, liberate it from the enemy, and defeat Nazi ideology. From young to old, everyone worked for the future of Victory.

The publications from the war years, digitized by the Presidential Library, deserve special attention. When war broke out, the bright and cheerful illustrations were replaced by drawings that reflected the realities of the time. However, even in these publications, children's magazines tried to support their young readers.

For example, on the cover of Murzilka magazine, published in February 1942, there is an image of a commander of the Red Army and partisans. Stories about great Russian commanders, who always defeated the enemy and liberated their homeland, began to appear more frequently on the pages of these publications. The message to readers from Murzilka, in issue 3/4 of 1942 (which can be viewed online at the Presidential Library's portal), is: War is hard. You need to be strong to stay strong, brave to not be afraid, and grow up to be like these great leaders. In the same issue, the editorial team appealed to children to provide shelter for their peers who had lost their parents due to the war.

The Koster magazine, whose digitized copies are also available on the Presidential Library's portal, continued its activities during World War II. The magazine published articles about the heroism of soldiers on the front lines of the Great Patriotic War, stories about assisting families of veterans, and about the efforts of schoolchildren during the Siege of Leningrad.

On May 9, 1945, Soviet newspapers published the announcement of the unconditional surrender of German troops. "The Great Patriotic War is over. Today is a day of national celebration - Victory Day!" the newspapers proclaimed. They also published a decree from the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet declaring May 9 as Victory Day.

Each of us will remember this day for the rest of our lives, and very accurately, all the simple, unique little details, all the unprecedented, great joy, wrote poet Olga Bergholz, who was known as the voice of besieged Leningrad, in the newspaper Leningradskaya Pravda on May 10, 1945.

In the same issue of the newspaper, there is a report on the celebration of the Great Victory Day in Leningrad. On the morning of May 9, the city was filled with activity as the streets came alive with crowds of people celebrating the end of World War II. Leningraders gathered to commemorate the victory, and the streets were filled with joy and celebration.

On June 22, 1945, Joseph Stalin issued an order appointing a Victory Parade to be held in Moscow on June 24. All the media reported on the event, describing it as a display of the strength and determination of the Soviet people. In the newspaper Moskovsky Bolshevik, it was written that "the Russians had once again defeated the Prussians, thanks to their clear mind, steadfast character, and patience."