The picture of this Russian soldier in Berlin surprised many people that were not aware of the diversity.
When Hitler became aware of the proximity of Stalin's army to Berlin, he committed suicide, along with Eva Braun and his German Shepherd dog "Blondi". Hal
That's the point of my post Hal. Russia is a large country and encompasses a number of different racial groups that served in the Russian Army in WW2. Mongolian Russian soldiers were among the first to fight their way into Berlin.
A common sight for me. They were not necessarily Mongols but from Asian ethnic groups that look Mongolian. You find them in Kazakhstan and other former Soviet Republics behind the Ural. When the Wehrmacht was getting close to Moscow in winter 1941 Stalin redeployed fresh, well-trained, and well-equipped troops from the Far Eastern territories of the Soviet Union who were excellently adapted to cold and snowy winters and initiated the turning point of the war. This guy could have been one of them.
The mongols planted their genetic seeds in a lot of places. The Fire chief in a city nearby has similar facial features. My Aunt's father did also.
They sure did and not just them but even those who looked the way they look themselves but were considered to belong to a different "race".
I had no idea there were non-Slavic troops in the Russian Army, and I'm older than you! You guys have a much better depth of world knowledge than I! Hal
Don't worry, Hal. If it comforts you, then I can tell you that not every German knows that soldiers from the former Dominions were fighting with the Brits on the other side of the front line.
I think we have a lot to learn from this Russian got great because all groups worked together and defeated an enemy God bless them. How do you defeat an enemy have them fight each other. Look at what is going on in the USA. and Look what Trump is promoting not one side but being a patriot and that does not mean color race sex or anything else. When everyone comes together they can defeat anything.
I once read that the conscripts in the Russian army did not have enough arms for everyone so they were told to make do with what they could, and when a comrade was felled, to pick up his arm and therefore be himself be armed.
Even if they had no proper equipment, Russian soldiers were forced to keep attacking by officers who would shoot them from behind if they were not willing to fight or wanted to withdraw. At least "upgrading" one's own weapon by picking one from a fallen comrade and using clothes and arms from dead enemy soldiers was also typically done in the Wehrmacht. For a period of time there were not enough of the popular MP40 automatic rifle to equip each soldier with. So they were often picked from fallen comrades in exchange for the Karabiner 98k. Particularly in the battle of Moscow when German solders had no winter clothes and temps were reaching -20 F, they stripped off the warm felt boots of fallen Russians.