"Are they trying to forget about Beslan?" - why Moscow plans for the Day of the End of the WWII to coincide with the school massacre anniversary

North Ossetia is aghast after Russia’s State Duma decided to move the commemoration of the Day of the End of World War II from September 2 to September 3.

People here have taken it as an insult, because September 3 is the day they remember the victims of the 2004 tragedy in Beslan in North Ossetia.

A group of terrorists captured the school right during the holiday lineup on September 1, 2004, there were 1,128 people. Then, almost all of them were kept in school without food and water for three days, after which the Russian special services launched an assault.

As a result, 334 people died, including 186 children. 783 people were injured.

In 2005, the Beslan tragedy became the basis for officially designating September 3 as the Day of Solidarity in the fight against terrorism.

Since then, commemorative events honouring the victims of the terrorist attack in Beslan have been held every year throughout the Russian Federation.

15 years after the terrorist attack on a school in Beslan, the investigation is still not completed. This video features the main questions to which the survivors and relatives of the victims have yet to receive answers. Video author: Tamara Agkatseva / JAMnews

The Human Rights Council under the President of Russia has also opposed this decision.

Public figure Badri Gazzati says that “the decision of the State Duma has plunged the residents of North Ossetia, especially Beslan, into bewilderment, shock and rejection”:

“September 3 is a day of mourning for both Ossetia and Russia. I do not think that State Duma deputies made this decision intentionally. But it increasingly looks like this – because for 15 years the federal authorities have been doing everything to force the Beslan issue into oblivion. I believe that making a holiday out of September 3 is unacceptable for Russia. ”

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Why did Moscow decide to move away from the internationally accepted World War II end date – September 2

On September 2, 1945, an unconditional surrender of Japan was signed on board the American battleship Missouri. This event is internationally considered as marking the end of World War II.

In February 1995, Russia adopted the federal law On the Days of Military Glory (Victory Days) of Russia. It included this date as well.

However, the authors of the current amendment believe that the documents adopted in the Soviet Union should be considered as the reference point – since, in their opinion, it was the victory of the USSR over Japan in 1945 that made a decisive contribution to the end of World War II.

And in the Soviet Union, the day of the nationwide celebration was precisely September 3, the deputies said.

On September 30, 1945, a Soviet medal “For the victory over Japan” was established, which was awarded to almost two million people. The reverse side of the medal carries this date: September 3, 1945.

Also, in 1945, the presidium of the Supreme Council of the USSR adopted a decree “On declaring September 3 the holiday of victory over Japan.”

The State Duma explained its decision to go back to the Soviet tradition, as opposed to the international one, by a desire “to strengthen the historical foundations and patriotic traditions, and to preserve historical justice toward the victors in the Second World War”.

“This is a different approach, it emphasizes the role of the Soviet Union in the defeat of Nazi Germany, militaristic Japan and their allies in World War II,” Yury Shvytkin, deputy chairman of the State Duma’s defense committee, told reporters.

Celebration amid grief

Valery Fadeev, Chairman of the Presidential Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights, shares the outrage over the decision.

“Decisions setting memorable dates should unite people, not divide them. The moving of the Day of Military Glory from September 2 to 3 will meet with rejection from the families and friends of those who died in this monstrous terrorist attack. This tragic date will forever remain in the hearts of Russians as a day of a terrible terrorist attack, ”he wrote, addressing the Chairperson of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation, Valentina Matvienko.

Matvienko replied that she thought “the stir surrounding the postponement of the Second World War End Day to September 3 excessive”.

“The State Duma of this convocation hit the bottom by agreeing to establish a holiday on the day of mourning,” said Alexei Venediktov, journalist and editor-in-chief of Echo of Moscow, commenting on the decision.

Political analyst Alan Mamiev believes this has happened because “Beslan is no longer on Russia’s information agenda.”

“Beslan remains only the Ossetian pain. Young people in Russia learned about this tragedy from the film by Dud [a popular Russian blogger who directed a film “Beslan. Remember”]. The people who made this decision are politicians whose focus is only on Russia’s interests on the international arena. I won’t be surprised if they even forgot that September 3 is a tragic date for us. ”

Aneta Gadieva, co-chair of the Mothers of Beslan Committee, said that the decision of the State Duma was “either the unprofessionalism of the deputies or a deliberate act.” According to her, the relatives of the victims of the attack and former hostages intend to appeal to the State Duma deputies who represent North Ossetia in the State Duma

But Alan Mamiev considers this useless – after all, they have already supported this initiative. Which, in his opinion, makes the situation “even sadder.”