The author introduces us, first and foremost, to his home – his town, his people, his fatherland:
{
2} Every person has a place on Earth, where he said his first word,
mama. This place – a town or a city – is where he was born. To know your native town –to know who you are on this Earth– is important for every person. For this, it is necessary to know the history of your people and your fatherland, even in brief.
Fatherland, Fatherland – this is the place where our great-grandfathers, grandfathers, and fathers lived and died, where we were born, live and want to die.
This is the land of our fathers. This is why we call it Fatherland. We were born on this land; this is why we call it our native land. We call it our Homeland. How can one not love the land of their fathers and grandfathers? How can one forget her? How can one not know her?
World War II, known among Russians as The Great Patriotic War:
Our ancestors went through a difficult, thorny, bloody, but glorious path in the name of their homeland.
In her most difficult hour, we must defend our Homeland. We must stand for her defense, as this land was bequeathed to us by our great-grandfathers and grandfathers. And we must bequeath her to our children and grandchildren, so that they can live, work, rejoice, and be merry on their native homeland.
Our Russian Fatherland is vast and mighty among other nations.
We are proud of the fact that we are the sons and daughters of the Great Russian people. We are the equal citizens of our multi-ethnic Russian land.
Not generally known in the West, this war resulted in the deaths of approximately 20% of the entire population of Russia, and massive physical destruction.
