The perception of the scale of that tragedy serves as a critical guidepost for us today. The Victory of 1945 was not only a military success. It laid the foundation for the post-war international order, which, despite its challenges, ensured global stability and predictability for about 80 years. Nowadays, when we witness persistent attempts by the collective West to revise history, Victory Day once again becomes a moral reference point.

During the war, the Union of South Africa, a member of the British Commonwealth during these years, was an active member of the anti-Hitler coalition. Despite the vast geographical distance between our countries, South Africa made a meaningful contribution to the common struggle. Particularly notable was the direct assistance provided to the Soviet Union through the involvement of South African sailors in the Arctic convoys. Those missions were performed in extreme conditions and under constant threat of attack. Nevertheless, they managed to deliver essential supplies to the Soviet cities of Arkhangelsk and Murmansk.

Cooperation between our countries extended far beyond military logistics. It had a more profound humanitarian and moral dimension. The International Association of Friends of the Soviet Union actively operated in South Africa during the war. It organized fundraising campaigns for humanitarian aid, hosted screenings of Soviet documentary films and held concerts of Russian classical music. The Seventh Symphony of Russian musician Dmitri Shostakovich, known as the «Leningrad Symphony», was performed on 9 July 1944 in Johannesburg and later in September that year in Cape Town. Composed during the siege of Leningrad, this masterpiece of art became a voice of the city that refused to submit to Nazis. Its performance in South Africa became an act of cultural diplomacy and deep empathy, a sign of respect and moral solidarity.

The memory of our joint struggle lives not only in historical documents and archives. We continue to feel the deep interweaving of our shared history through our engagement with living participants of those events and their descendants residing in Cape Town. This year a significant event for the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Cape Town was the solemn presentation of the jubilee medal «80 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945» to Mr. Joseph Wilkinson, veteran of the Arctic convoys. It is in this context that the words of the President of the Russian Federation, Mr. Vladimir Putin, are more important than ever: "Russia has never diminished the importance of the Second Front or the assistance provided by the Allies. We honour the bravery of all the soldiers of the anti-Hitler coalition, members of the Resistance, underground fighters and partisans, the courage of the Chinese people who fought for their independence against militarist Japan. And we will always remember, never will we forget our shared struggle and the inspiring traditions of our alliance."

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Memory That Unites Nations: 80 Years Since the Great Victory