The Old Vet and His Tank
This is so touching: an old WW2 Russian tank army veteran has finally found his own tank on which he passed through all the war standing in small Russian town as a monument and got emotionally shocked that people worried his heart won’t be able to cope with this.
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Thank you, grandfather!
Thank you,grandFARTER!
You suck, badly fag!
not fun
What does it mean ? Unfortunately, I’m not an “eagle” in English
He took the word grandfather and and replaced the father part with farter(and assuming you may not know what that is-it’s when gas comes out your backside). He’s juvenile and low brow and it’s really not worth paying attention to any of his comments. I also hope he don’t try to give up his menial day job for a career in comedy because he’ll end up living in a cardboard box, more lonely than he is now.
mp5A23a you are an asshole, with shit for brain.
Thanks a lot………tolerate others point of PEW………..
Wow, I hope that you are under 10 because that’s the most immature thing I’ve ever been privy to. Seiously if you are an adult you really shouldn’t procreate. Why not try and learn something from this site, instead of making jokes which only show your ape like intellect. Drunken frat guys are more mature than that, and you have only humored yourself. Search beyond what they teach you in school, as school systems are controlled by governments which want you to act in a certain way and to believe certain things. If you want to be controlled by people without your best interests in mind, go ahead. Let MTV tell you what clothes to buy, and what crappy music to listen to. I hesitate to think but I’m sure you have no clue as to the German side of the war do you? EVOLVE!
I hope you and your kids die in hell you ungrateful bitchass motherfucker.
These are awesome photos on this site. It goes to show you that soldiers are the same no matter where they are from, and the horrors of war are there for all veterans. Don’t be so one-sided in you views, the defeat of Nazi Germany was a Allied effort. Russia, England, and as much as I like to joke about them-France fought them for years before we ever commited troops. While we were making our pushes in Africa, the Soviets were fighting in their backyards. Americans don’t know the sounds of enemy bombers pounding their cities everyday. Our loss of civilian life was nothing compared to the European theater, including the Axis powers, yes that’s right America-we bombed civilians in Europe. Our soldiers commited war crimes for which they were never brought to trial. Sorry, it’s true, it happened all over the place. Face it, it was an ALLIED victory, not American, not Soviet. The French army fought until they got pushed across the channel, and hit the beaches during D-Day. Quit thinking linearly from what you were fed in your schools, and be open to the other side’s trials too. The man in this picture answered his nations call just like my father did and many of your father/grandfathers. He risked his life against the enemy so don’t cheapen it. And to all you who make fun of him, he’s not that different with WW2 vets in the states. I’ve met enough at a D-Day event to know, and of course my father too was a vet. If you haven’t been at war, you have no business commenting badly about this. And by at war, I don’t mean sitting on base bitching about chow. If you haven’t saw what war causes firsthand you are not qualified to say the ignorant things you say. It wasn’t a pretty little 9-5 war run in an office, it was brutal. The Greatest Generation isn’t an exclusively American thing, respect those who do what you fear to do.
the french army in world war 2…i million rifles for sale…never fired dropped once…at least the Russians English and Americans fought back…
200.000 french soldiers died in 6 weeks. Many units in the Ardens and the Alps mountains didn’t surrender. Millions of civilians, including Belgians and Hollanders, had to bug out. And the Germans had excellent troops, plenty of tanks and planes.
Back to the 70s, I remember of these small guys wearing black pyjamas, shooting there chinese AK, and kicking the ass of the “übersoldiers” of the greatest military power. And the same story continues in Iraq and Afghanistan
This really is touching!
Wonderful.
Wonderful find. The poor man is overwhelmed.
Amazing
Why not raise his pension a bit [lets say- triple it] so he can enjoy many more years. The pathetic 150 or so dollars he gets now… Russia should be ashamed at how it’s treating it’s veterans. The people that risked their life for the country.
Though right after the war it was even worse.
After the Great War everybody that lost a limb or got seriously disfigured in battle was deported by force to some remote city / village, because they were soiling the sights of the nation and giving people bad afterthoughts about the war. Everybody should focus on positive things !! Those that were liberated from German POW-camps were send straight to the Siberian gulags because they had been in touch with the West and it’s despicable ideas. So they might be a potential danger to the State. Off with them !! Many died.
Stop talkin` a bull shit! This story not about it. This really is touchin`!
Actually, he is quite right.
No he is exaggerating to an extreme. Disabled vets were not sent off to prison camps, some went to sanatoria to rehabilitate, many prisoners were sent to camps for various reasons but the vast majority ended up in the Red Army or back home after the war. He is correct only in the sense that the support veterans got was inadequate at best. Considering the amount of destruction that the war brought to Russia you have to question where the resources were to come from after it was over. Keep in mind, after removing the lions share of the fascist armies Russia got no help from ANYONE, ANY COUNTRY. She did the rebuilding all by her lonesome. They had nothing to spare for anyone. Take note, do your research and you will find that the US cut all ties after the war ended, not Russia/USSR.
The Marshall Plan was offered to the USSR and the Eastern Bloc nations. All refused. The USSR rebuilt itself and the Eastern Bloc because it refused aid, not because it was not offered.
I’ll look that up, I very much doubt that is fully correct. Wonder if Russia was offered a deal like something the IMF would come up with, virtual economic slavery. I wouldn’t have taken it either.
It was offered under the condition that USSR drop communism…
“The USSR rebuilt itself and the Eastern Bloc because it refused aid”
Refused because government of all countries included in USSR comes from Moscow… They wasn’t give a permission to take an aid.
Yes the marshall plan, that oh so gracious plan that called for an end to communism. That is an amazing peace plan. Too bad it was never accepted. But why don’t we do what they didn’t? We can all be friends if the US gets rid of all its leaders, government, currency, armies, and accepts radical islam. Thats a great idea isnt it? Because that is exactly what you are complaining the Soviets did not accept. The US never even intended to hold up their side of the bargain if the USSR accepted. They did not have any materials or manpower to help the USSR. It was just a cheeky joke so later in history americans could say i told you so. Off rant mode it is a very touching picture, does anyone know where i can find out more info about this?
I didn’t state that disabled vets were send off to prison camps, I said many were under force relocated to remote area’s instead of receiving the hero’s welcome they deserved.
Of course this is not a popular piece of knowledge today, but this doesn’t make it less true.
Read Vasili Grossman’s writings on the war - he was the number 1 war reporter for the Red Army, writing for their paper Krasnaya Zvezda. Read a collection of his war reports in ‘A Writer at War: A Soviet Journalist with the Red Army, 1941-1945′. Because he started after the war also [though reluctantly] writing about the horrors of Stalin’s regime including what I stated earlier he was considered a threat to the totalitarian regime and became a non-person, close to being deported himself.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasili_Grossman
Pure BS. Not all of them were shipped off to remote areas. They probably went home by choice as it stated in the book Ivans War many of them were given a lot of privilages. No one forced them to do anything unless it was under the orders of a doctor most likely.
Scrat, I hold Grossman in pretty high regard, but please give me a reference if you have a source that runs counter his reports.
I am not familiar with Grossman, I have read Ivans War, Russia At War by Alexander Werth and his other books “The year of Stalingrad” and “The time of our Sacrifice”.
I consider A Werth the most reliable. He was THERE, he told of people having only potatoes to eat for months on end, scurvy becoming common on the streets of Moscow. He told of how in Smolensk Oblast they didn’t start manufacturing soap until 1949!! He wrote out a lot of the challenges that those people faced, women working together to drag logs from the forest so that they could build a place to live. THE PEOPLE HAD NOTHING!! THEY WERE BARELY SURVIVING!!
Say what you want about the way the Vets were treated and what you want about all of the bad things you only seem to hear in the western media. It’s never hard to find reasons to point a finger at a dead carcass on the road and get the attention of your average moron but when it gets down to the heart of it, its all about distorting facts to your advantage. The Vets got the best they could be given at the time and most likely were lucky to get that.
Vasily Grossman was also an eyewitness.
To fuck pet sheep………
Not all of them were coming from the city to start with, I guess.
Doctors orders eh?
‘To grow back your missing face and your foot, take long walks in the counntry side and drink lots of water. Healthy sea air is also good.’ Something like that ?
…mmmmm… wikipedia… how reliable and impartial
Another interesting read for those interested :
Ivan’s War: Life and Death in the Red Army, 1939-1945 [over 200 interviews with veterans and others involved, thus giving a human face and nuance to this 'collective' effort [as the communists preferred to see it].
I read it, it’s filled with sophistry and inaccuracies and once again exaggeration. It’s literature that doesn’t represent the facts, if you look long and hard enough you will find cases like the ones she pointed out anywhere. Hell, at least point out the fact that a lot of the vets were given downtown apartments in Moscow, cocks of the walk they were. Unfortunately some fell through the cracks.
I just saw you recommended it earlier ???
i reply to the replyer of replying repler of the replying haha
I do not know about how it happened that the Marshall´s plan was rejected in DDR, Poland or Hungary, but in Czechoslovakia it was the Moscow-controlled puppet Communist Party that blocked its acceptance as it would contradict its plans to get sufficient support for a putsch which happened some six months later, in 1948.
I agree.
Are you some idiot? Russian vets get great pensions, the ones who fought and were wounded for life there, gets cars..
If anyone get a great pension now a days here, it is a veteran.
Ps. 150 dollars? Err, closer to 250 dollars for a regular pension, 500dollars for a veteran pension..
And 500 dollars is about 12000 roubles.
A soda costs 20 rubles.. Everything is far cheaper in Russian than in the west. So i suggest you get some brains, and stop spamming. 250dollars is a regular pension, really…
You moron(Nikitn), what are you talking about?
“Everything is far cheaper in Russian than in the west”
Who paid you for this BS???
Have you ever been to the west ? Russia cheaper ? At least not in Moscow and St. Pete. Everything appears to be imported nowadays so all those involved have to make money -> outrageous prices. Prices are on par or higher than in the west. And the government is imposing outrageous taxes on imports on top of that. The average citizen is paying the bill…
The country-side is still cheap. But you live on potatoes, carrots and cabbage, mainly. Basically, what you can grow yourself.
The time is near that only the priviliged can afford to live in the big cities.
A piece of broccoli : 5 dollars [if available], an avocado: 2 dollars, on average you easily spend [on average groceries - so not avocados and similar] 25 dollars p/day for an adult. In an average supermarket. In Russia you are considered ‘new middle class’ if you make around 1000 dollars p/month. You do the math.
Or try to buy flowers for your girl: for a simple bouquet of tulips you pay this veterans monthly pension. Easily. Where do you get your facts about the pensions ? A fairy-tale book ? Propaganda ? It is simply not true. You can’t live on a pension, you are dependent on your family or other help.
BTW - By official legislation it is now no longer allowed to call ‘milk powder-with-water’ milk. It should be called: milk drink. Let’s wait and see how much ‘milk’ is left on the shelves. And what they are charging for this milk.
Again you bitch. You are read a fairy-tale books and propaganda. You faggot you don’t know peoples, you don’t know how they living here shut your dirty mouth bitch.
I was so overwhelmed by your passion that I failed to find the logic or a single fact in your rebuttal. I’m sure it’s there . . . I’ll read it again.
Yes, in Russia everything is cheaper than in the west. In the west you must get expensive “dental care”, in russia we have efficient system where tooth just gets pulled from head. In the west you have expensive autos and in russia we just need to put grass in mouth of donkey and kick it to go. In west, of i don’t need to continue…It’s sooo expensive to live in west.
Not everything. As we have already learned, automobiles are far more expensive in Russia than in the west. I’m sure that there are many other things that are more expensive in Russia too. As far as the things that are less expensive in Russia, I would say that you definitely get what you pay for.
wrong info, actually all vet get approx 1000-1100 usd’s each month, it’s good enough if you live not in moscow, the prices are quite cheap anywhere out of Moscow in Russia. one bottle of good beer costs less than 50 cents for example.
“Russia should be ashamed at [sic] how it’s treating it’s [sic] veterans.”
You should be ashamed of your grammar.
Oye ya? N if US treats vets nice where do Rambos come from?
war sucks donkeyballs
http://lenta.ru/photo/2008/05/28/granitsa/ - ex-frontier guard s celebrating day o frontier guard (”den’ pogranichnika”).
Wow! What are the odds of finding his T-34?
It’s not t-34, it is IS-1 appeared on the front at the end of WW2, used quite often in Korean WAR
I think its a T-34/85, an upgunned version of the original T-34 which carried an 85mm main armament instead of the original 76mm. Whichever the configuration, the T-34 was the most important tank of the war for the purpose of defeating Nazi Germany.
http://sholademi.livejournal.com/878492.html - russian livejournal beauty contest.
a lot of russian girls. : )
Poor old man…
Not true. The old man is deranged patient of local psychiatric hospital. He likes to dress up in uniform with medals and pretend to be a general. Every single day he makes a trip to this monument and starts giving orders to his imaginary crew. Kids enjoy teasing and playing along with the old man
I think so too.
Can you get more sad than this? I hope you will go to a war, and expierence what he has. Then, maybe if youre lucky you will survive it. Its pahtetic tossers like you come here and say so. Soviet and its people defeated the Nazis nearly alone.
85% of the dead wermacht were killed at the Eastern front.
What about Stalin backing up Hitler ; the Molotov-Rippentrob-pact ? Because of Stalin Hitler felt confident enough to start the whole affair…
Balance your facts ‘dude’. Do not get lost in silly patriotic talk.
And what ? Pact is normal thing. Fuck you
[...] Link to the photos… [...]
It seems that we Veterans of war, no matter what nation we fought for, all feel the same deep sense of loss and isolation from our closest friends. I see in this old warriors actions what I feel in my own heart. You will meet them again, old soldier… this is my hope for you.
Thank you sir. We can never repay veterans enough.
I fell so shameful to all of so called “patriotic peoples”.we can`t justify to killing human beings,in the name of “motherland”.the right of life and death is belong to all mighty God.
Amen.
A soldier is a soldier is a soldier. Only soldiers can know what he feels.
Well, what did he actually fight for?
For a nation with chechens and chinese roaming the streets?
A country selling it’s own children?
Kids doing drugs?
And people say Hitler shouldn’t have won. =D
What ? Go fuck yourself asshole
You forgot to mention all of the Muslim trash that needs to be cleaned up.
I agree. I propose to start with the Arabs and the Africans, but not until they cause further disruption in Europe and North America. Then after they have caused collapse of those societies they must submit to Pure Persian Power, or else . . . there will be lots of choppy-choppy!
FUCK RED ARMY
BUNCH OF FUCKING MURDERERS AND COMMIES…
SCREWED UP THE ENTIRE EASTERN AND CENTRAL EUROPE…
KILLED OFF MORE PEOPLE, INCLUDING JEWS THAN HITLER DID
ILLEGALLY OCCUPIED BALTIC STATES AND WESTERN UKRAINE
FUCK YOU OLD POPS, GO BURN IN HELL FOR YOUR SINS
FUCK
same to you US junkie mofo !
In Russia there are at least to independant jewish states bigger than israel, live quite happily wih every one else.
Probably did, it does have a lot to offer but like everything else written about Russia you have to do a lot of sifting through the dungheap. It’s good for gleaning little tidbits of info but it ain’t no book fit for a serious kind of consideration.
If you want to make a nasty comment, I suggest you go to war first and then come back and make your comments, if you are able to. Kids living in their parents basements mostly from some of the comments above.
I bet you’re a war veteran too.
If not, then please STFU. Ty
They should just allow him to drive the tank back with him :), he deserves to go home in it, half is heart belongs to that tank.
Where are these pictures from? It’d be nice to credit the original source…
I recommend reading Grossman above Werth. Check the wikipedia link for the why: Grossman was the most prominent and capable writer / journalist at that time, spending over 3 years non-stop at the Russian front; every front line that historically speaking mattered. Stalingrad, Leningrad, etc..
And from a Russian p.o.v. definitely to be trusted; he was a true patriot, idealistic to a level where it became unrealistic. So if he is critical, it is probably really bad in reality.
F.i he refused to believe until after the war was over that Stalin would turn against the Jews, even though the proof was everywhere around him, including the death of his own family.
I have noticed often that people are choosing the sources that back up and fit their own ideas the best instead of going for just the best sources. Even if the truth they speak is not a nice piece of knowledge.
I agree.
Grossman was also an eyewitness.
This is clearly the result of KGB style brainwashing.
We shouldn´t blame that poor elderly man for the deeds committed by the Russian leadership during WWII and after. Do not forget that if you did disobey orders from the military you got shot on the spot or politically disagree got sent to Siberia, if you were lucky. This elderly basically did what he was asked to do…
What happened to his teeth? Oh this must be another fine example of russian dental care.
Poor old man, he is really a part of our history BUT
In today’s Russia the WWII is used as a means of propaganda - every patriotic bastard is proud of having “won” the War, but no one gives a shit about the everyday life of those old people.
Thank you grandfather!!! You did it!!! You won that f#cking war!! You are our Hero!!!
fuck i wish i could shoot some of you people
awesome 3rd picture!!!
you should send it to the national geographic as a candidate of photo of the year
Realmente estas homenagens aos veteranos é sempre gratificante de se ver, a muitas histórias para serem contadas…….
Потрясающе!
I will save this page, interestng story and pix.
yes, I do feel bad tha veterans don’t get paid as much as western vets but at least we remember and honor them more than others. yes, honoring won’t make them live longer, every one needs money.
I don’t get why americans are saying that we should be ashamed of something. you know what, look after yourself, then try to say something.
and who’s poloticians re causing problems to distabilize others?… yours! because they want america to be the only place thatisn’t that bad, so ppl would come over ad work for this land + make kids here tht will later fight forthis land if needed.
your politicians are they only reasons why usa is being hated and why your flag is in guiness book for being burnt more often than any other flag on the planet, by far.
Not you - those who sits in soft chairs and light rooms and eats his popcorn in full and lazy west - not you to mention this vet and his life and his country. Fuck off.
TYANK YOU, GRANDFATHER!
Я БЛЯДЬ АНГЛИЙСКИЙ ЗНАЮ. НО БЛЯДЬ
НА ВАШЕМ ХУЮ СПИК ИНГЛИШЬ ХУЯЧИТ НЕ БУДУ.
ПОТОМУШТО И ВЫ И ЯЗЫК ВАШ - ГОВНО УЕБИШНОЕ.
Я БЛЯДЬ ВОТ ЧТО СКАЖУ Я ИЗ РОССИИ ПИТЕР КУПЧИНО
И ЕСЛИ ВЫ БЛЯДЬ ЕЩЕ ЧЕГО НА НАШЕГО ВЕТЕРАНА ПОГОНИТЕ
Я БЛЯДЬ ПРИЕДУ И ТАКИХ ВАМ ПИЗДЮЛЕЙ ВКАТАЮ ВМЕСТЕ С ВАШИМ НАТО-ХУЯТО АЖ ЗАКАЧАЕТЕСЬ ПИЗДЮКИ.
What a shame thats its so trendy to bash the U.S.-We risked all to help the helpless in Somalia,Haiti,Bosnia and Kosovo(I was there when Serb-aligned Russian Army thugs seized the Prishtina Airport,just to make their point)-besides rolling tanks and shock troops in to wield their Iron Fist of Doom(let’s ask Chechnya what they think of Russia),what has Russia done in the past few years-Honestly,Now?
[...] The Old Vet and His Tank Worth taking a look at. English Russia The Old Vet and His Tank [...]
Look at how “Mother Russia” has payed you back: poverty and vodka.
many of this people have fullfilled their purpose on this Earth.
Alcoholism is a psychological thing. Tons of Vietnam vets got theirs lives LOST too when they got back to peace…
Its just one of the negative results of any war, you cant just come back and be normal.
To: ВОВАН(КУПЧИНСКИЙ)
А хули им говорить?! Уёбки, других слов нету.
Я русский, но живу в Беларуси. Мой дед (репрессированный, кстати, в 30-х) воевал за Россию. За РОДИНУ. Два года уже, как его нет, но он всегда говорил - “пофиг власть, пофиг Сталины, Ленины итд, но это МОЯ РОДИНА! И я любому за неё глотку перегрызу”.
А эти ушлёпки, которые за цент удавятся, которые будут считать: какая власть им выгодна - старая или новая, и при какой власти они смогут потолще слой масла на бутерброд намазать, - им же насрать на свою страну. Где теплей, там и родина. Нехер вообще с проститутками говорить.
Very STRONG moment
thank you for posting
I am from Minnesota US, so this may not directly affect me in some peoples opinion … but in a way I feel that it does … I have so much respect for senior veterans, especially from WWII - even the Russian vets … without the sacrifice and courage of these incredible people 65 years ago, the nazis may have won WWII and our entire world (including the US) may have ended up an entirely different and unimaginably horrible place … I may never know his name, but he has my thanks and respect forever … I would have been honored to fight along side of this soldier for freedom against the nazis if I had been alive at the time - he was one of the lucky few who survived to see these current days
This is very touching.
Respect for all WWII veterans.
I just crapped some doo-doo out of my butt!
If you don’t like the past or the present, create a new standard. It starts with each one of us in the form of tolerance and love for one another. How can a government make a good country with bad ingredients?
God Bless that old man! He did the best he could considering his circumstances. Love is more enjoyable anyway, because people love you back.
Look at the spheres of influence of the US today. All nations that accepted the Marshall help after the war are now puppets of US. Most of the population of western Europe (and East) hate US, I can now i live in western Europe. Still the government’s can’t turn their side on the US because they are too dependant on them.
Would surprise me if it was the US and Britain who orchestrated WW2, jus like they orchestrated the Russian revolution, the Israel&Palestenian and all African conflicts. And it wouldn’t surprise me either if the current financial crisis is a set up to start a new war and give it another shot to dominate the world. And when the things are at its worst, everbody turns to Russia. Just like with the Mongols Napoleon and Hitler.
@lincoln-you’re nothing more than a dirty piece of shit…
you stupid pig!
If you’re too retarded to show some respect for this brave old man,the least you can do is to shut that pie-hole of yours.
I wish I could get my hands on you,you dirty punk!!!
shame on you!
Охуеваю!!! Это ОНИ войну выиграли??? Хорошо, что хоть блин не все не пиндосских сайтах верят в эту фигню! 1000$ пенсия, 50 центов хорошее пиво??? может им в магазины стоит зайти???
И вообще, не стоит кричать и критиковать ветеранов обоих сторон (наши и союзники), а просто отдать почести каждому - каждый тогда был героем, каждый что-то оставил на той войне. Просто некоторое намеренно или ненамеренно забывается
Bless that old man’s heart. I can not imagine the things he has seen. He deserves respect
There’s a lot of idiot posters here — hopefully most of them are tweens, and will one day mature and learn some basics of humanity (like empathy, for example). With any luck, you children will never need to be involved in war to understand its true horror.
It’s natural to hate war itself, but to abuse the soldiers who fought in them is brainless. Whether a soldier fought for what you consider ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ they at least had the motivation (and balls) to fight for what they believed in.
Anyone who’s participated in battle and kept a shred of human honor and decency deserves respect — especially a dear old Vet like the one pictured who managed to survive hell on earth — it’s these souls that allow you children to live a life of freedom where ‘war’ is an abstract and evil concept that hopefully you’ll never need to relate to.
Peace.
Lee,
Well said! Us Vets no matter from what country understand what this man is thinking.
Disabled vet US Army Cold War “Fulda Gap”
I really enjoy reading English Russia » The Old Vet and His Tank . It’s very interesting. Hope you will post something like this again.
Wonderful pictures of the vet who found his own tank again. Great site too, thanks for putting it online!
Seriously, is there anywhere on the internet where Russian and Western people can swap ideas and views without the discussions being contaminated by these fucking retards? It’s like having a cockroach invasion at your party.