Although the Great Patriotic War was certainly a part of World War II, the Russian (and many former Soviet) people perceive it as a separate war in which the very existence of their country and their national identity were at stake. The team of historians, writers, designers and programmers who created this project did not intend to correct this perception, but rather to document it for future generations, and to share the memories and experiences of the veterans.

See previous answer.

Pobediteli is Russian word for «Victors».

To help people understand one another. The events of WWII still have a great bearing on current geopolitics, and we believe that sharing how citizens of the former Soviet Union perceive the war might help bridge some gaps between nations today.

No, this was a civic initiative by a group of private businesses and individuals. We did receive various official endorsements, but only after the project was done and got noticed. We never intended the project to flatter the Soviet Union — our motivating objective was to document the current popular perception of the Great Patriotic War in the former Soviet Union.

To preserve the privacy of veterans, the lists have been provided to us without detailed addresses, and contain only the city of residence for each veteran as of the 60th Anniversary of the Victory. Unfortunately, we are not aware of any governmental or public organization that could assist you in locating a veteran.