The greatest contribution attributed to the Soviet Union has usually been perceived to be its having had the largest number of victims among the war’s belligerent parties. It should be noted that half of all Soviet casualties, 13 million of 26 million people, were non-Russian. While diminishing the role of other members of the anti-Nazi coalition, including the United States, United Kingdom, France and resistance movements across German-occupied territories, Russian propaganda also ignored the contribution of other ethnic groups within the Soviet Union. Stalin himself was allegedly surprised after the war at how the Russian people kept tolerating his chairmanship despite knowing about his involvement in the war’s outbreak.
Moreover, the Soviet export of vital goods, including crude oil and wheat to Nazi Germany before and during the early days of the Second World War, contributed to German blitzkriegs on both fronts and lasted until June 22nd 1941, the day when Germany launched an offensive against the Soviet Union. Official Soviet and Russian historiography either skips or tries to justify this action. By launching an attack on Poland, which in September of 1939 was desperately resisting the marching German troops, Stalin, allied with Hitler, contributed to the quick occupation and division of Poland and to starting a global war. The secret protocol attached to the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact implied dividing Eastern Europe into two spheres of influence. Russia has not yet accepted its responsibility for the outbreak of the Second World War. Responsibility for the outbreak of World War
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