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Town of Glory

May 27, 2022

The small town of Yelnya, about 400 kilometers west of Moscow, is proud of its history. It was here, after all, that the Red Army won its first victory against Hitler's troops.

https://p.dw.com/p/4A8n5
Dokumentation " Jelnja - Stadt des Ruhms"
Image: First Hand Films

Before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, parts of the Russian army were quartered in Yelnya.

Dokumentation " Jelnja - Stadt des Ruhms"
Image: First Hand Films

But the town’s past has long been closely linked with the military. For years, the annual celebrations commemorating the "Great Patriotic War" have offered the town’s youth distraction from local problems like widespread unemployment. As is common in Russian provincial towns, the youth of Yelnya receive a patriotic education: Even at kindergarten age, they march to songs whose meaning they can barely grasp. 

Dokumentation " Jelnja - Stadt des Ruhms"
Image: First Hand Films

In recent years, these celebrations have been increasingly overshadowed by anti-Western sentiment. Vladimir Putin's push to "Make Russia Great Again" shows itself as bizarre and disturbing in Dmitry Bogolyubov's documentary.




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