Russian youths “climb” famous Soviet tank to fight US world dominance

Several patriotic groups in Volgograd have created a federal union named after the T-34 Soviet tank to counter external and internal enemies.

Stalingrad was the site of arguably the most brutal battle of the Second World War, which took place between August 1942 and February 1943. It also proved to be the turning point in the war: after defeating Nazi Germany and their allies on the Volga River, the Red Army began its advance to victory in the Great Patriotic War.Now Volgograd, as the city is currently called, has become a place where several young patriotic movements gathered to establish a union aimed at fighting for a multipolar world, as well as face up to a wide variety of threats.  The new federal organization is called “The T-34 movement of fighters against enemies of Russia” as a reminder of the tank that became a symbol of the victory of the Soviet people in the war. Its participants want to defend their views through rallies and picketing on the streets. Their main goals are to support a multipolar world order, as well as to counter external and internal threats, including drug abuse and “color revolutions.” “T-34” was timed to coincide with US President Barack Obama’s birthday. “We are against the aggressive dominance of the US, and insist on the principles of a multipolar world,” the union’s acting leader, Dmitry Fetisov said. Young people will organize protest rallies and pickets, following the example of other patriotic groups, he told Interfax on Friday.Another important idea is to make talented youths, oriented towards improving the country’s future, a new elite. The “tank movement” will roll across the whole country, Fetisov warned. In the near future, braches of our federal structure will appear in Voronezh, Lipetsk, Moscow, Kaliningrad, Khanty-Mansiysk and other cities, he continued.   The leadership, headquartered in Volgograd, does not rule out that members of “T-34” might run for seats in regional and municipal legislative bodies.It seems that the packed scene of political youth movements in Russia is getting a news serious player. Maria Kislitsina, a commissar of the Nashi pro-Kremlin group, told the agency that one should be very careful in defining someone as “an internal enemy.” There are not so many real enemies “who are aiming their cannons at us or are trying to influence us in a military way,” she said. But “internal enemies” are our own citizens, she added, calling them simply opponents who “have different views.” It is important that such movements as “T-34” must work within legal boundaries and bring about real results, the Nashi commissar said. She noted that although many groups are fighting drug abuse and alcoholism nowadays, there have been few real achievements so far.