This year, the historic cruiser Avrora went into drydock in St Petersburg for repairs. It was last drydocked in the ’80s. For a ship over a century old that’s still afloat, it’s in very good shape. It fired the opening shots of the October Revolution at the Winter Palace, and it was present throughout the 900 Days. Its guns were mounted in an armoured train during the VOV to help defend the city.
BMD
The above image from a parade on 7 November 2012 in Moscow to mark the 71st anniversary of the Parade for Red October in 1941… where the soldiers went from the parade straight to the fighting on the outskirts of the city.
Yet, never forget… soldiers aren’t automatons… they’re human beings with real lives and real emotions. As a friend of mine wrote:
I’ve seen it many times… men would be fighting for their life, but they held their fire so as not to hit a poor animal. Innocence, I suppose, kids and puppies.
If that doesn’t tell you that soldiers aren’t brutes, I don’t know what to tell you. Mark this well… soldiers are usually not warmongers… they know the cost of it all. They’ve buried one too many of their friends…
I once had a comrade,
you won’t find a better one.
The drum was rolling for battle,
he was marching by my side
in the same pace and stride.
A bullet flew towards us
meant for you or for me?
It did tear him away,
he lies at my feet
like he was a part of me.
He wants to reach his hand to me,
while I’m just reloading my gun.
“Can’t give you my hand for now,
you rest in eternal life,
My good comrade!”
I had a comrade…
Я был товарищ…
Ich hatte einen Kameraden…
J’avais un camarade…
Zhuravli… the White Cranes… “Perhaps, it’s there for me?”
It seems to me that sometimes that soldiers
Who didn’t come home from blood-soaked battlefields,
Weren’t laid to rest in the earth,
But turned into white cranes…
That ever since that time long ago
They have been flying, calling,
Maybe that’s why we often, and sadly,
Fall silent, staring into the sky!
The tired flock flies and flies up in the sky,
It flies in the fog, as the day dies,
In this formation, there’s a space;
Maybe, it’s a place for me.
The day will come when I’ll also drift
With the flock of the cranes in the blue-grey haze,
Calling from the sky, in the bird’s language,
The names of you I’ve left on earth.
It seems to me sometimes that soldiers
Who didn’t come home from blood-soaked battlefields,
Weren’t laid to rest in the earth,
But turned into white cranes…
Yo tenía un camarada…
Minulla oli toveri…
Είχα ένα σύντροφο…
Tôi đã có một đồng chí…
No matter what tongue, no matter what uniform… it hurts…
BMD
The above image is of a US Marine combat photographer in the Pacific in 1943 in World War II… but it stands for all soldiers in all wars, in all climes, in all times. Humanity never leaves the soldier… their heart never completely closes… ask any vet.
BMD
This is a Belarusian soldier lighting a candle at liturgy. That’s what Orthodox people do… we DON’T badger others, we DON’T preach at them, and we DON’T make absolute pests of ourselves with Nosey Parker meddling in other’s lives. We pray for them and give them genuine good will. We save our own souls, knowing that God will lead others as He sees fit… not as we think that He should. There’s a difference! Those who want to ape Evangelicals and their “Have you heard the Word of the Lord Today” rubbish are all wet. It’s good enough to pray for others and to be decent to all, believers and unbelievers alike. I’m not God… I don’t have omniscience… I doubt that you’re any different. Keep it focused… our first duty is to save our souls… not the souls of others. “Save your own soul and thousands will be saved about you”… St Serafim Sarovsky said that, and it’s as true today as when he said it in the 19th century. That’s why I don’t preach at others… and the older that I get, the more irritating such jumped-up frauds get for me. “Love God… and do as you will”. Think on that…
Let’s keep to our traditions… what’s ours is ours, and what’s theirs is theirs, and I think that everyone can say “Amen” to that…
BMD
Voices From Russia, Too 
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