The Western Front Fallacy: Russia’s Overlooked Sacrifice in World War II
But recognising it doesn't make you a Putin fan.
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World War II was one of the most catastrophic events in human history. Yet, nearly a century later, its legacy remains distorted by selective memory, cultural myths, and self-congratulatory narratives. While it is often said that the victors write history, the United States has turned this principle into an art form—glorifying the Western Front to such an extent that the Eastern Front is often treated as a mere footnote.
The stark contrast between the Soviet Union’s immense suffering and the relative safety of the American home front was a crucial aspect of Soviet wartime and Cold War propaganda. This narrative reinforced the idea that the USSR bore the true cost of victory. At the same time, the West reaped the benefits, and it fostered resentment while framing the United States and its allies as ungrateful and morally bankrupt.
The Soviet Sacrifice vs. The American Experience
The Soviet Union endured catastrophic losses during World War II, with an estimated 24 to 27 million deaths, the vast majority of them civilians. Nazi occupation, starvation, and scorched-earth tactics devastated Soviet cities like Leningrad (where over a million people perished during the siege), Stalingrad, and Kyiv.
By contrast, the American homeland was never under direct attack, aside from minor incidents like the Japanese balloon bomb attacks and the raid on Pearl Harbor, which targeted a military base rather than civilians.
Historian Richard Overy captures the stark difference in experience:
“The contrast between Soviet and American wartime experience could not have been greater: while Soviet cities were being obliterated, civilians massacred, and industry dismantled by occupation, Americans lived through the war with their factories booming and their daily lives largely unaffected by the horrors of total war.” (Russia’s War, 1997)
This disparity became a key theme in Soviet Cold War propaganda, which depicted the U.S. as a nation that profited from the war without truly suffering.
The Role of Suffering in Soviet Identity & Propaganda
Soviet leaders used their people’s suffering to forge a unifying narrative of collective endurance, leveraging it to justify political repression, militarization, and hostility toward the West.
Glorification of Civilian Sacrifice – The war was framed as a people’s struggle, where workers, farmers, and children made the ultimate sacrifice. Soviet films, literature, and speeches reinforced this theme.
Western Cowardice & Betrayal – Having suffered relatively little, the U.S. and the UK were portrayed as detached and ungrateful. Soviet propagandists accused them of deliberately delaying the Second Front (D-Day) to let the USSR bleed out.
Historian Geoffrey Roberts highlights this:
“For the Soviet leadership, the war was not just about the scale of sacrifice but about the moral contrast: they had lost millions of civilians, yet it was the Americans who dictated postwar terms. This was seen as an unforgivable act of ingratitude.” (Stalin’s Wars: From World War to Cold War, 2006)