During its plenary session, the State Duma passed a declaration affirming that the actions of Germany and its collaborators in the course of the Great Patriotic War constitute genocide against the peoples of the USSR. The official wording was published on the Duma’s website, making clear the body’s position on the nature of those crimes and their impact on Soviet citizens.
The declaration states that the State Duma acknowledges the criminal acts committed by Nazi invaders and their supporters against the civilian population of the Soviet Union as genocide of the peoples of the Soviet Union. This phrasing aligns the legislative body with a formal recognition of mass violence and the targeting of noncombatants as central to the historical record of the war and its consequences for Soviet society. The move situates the Duma within a broader framework of accountability for wartime atrocities and signals a stance intended to preserve historical memory and legal clarity for future generations. (Duma site)
Previously, the Belgorod District Court ruled that the genocide of the peoples of the USSR was indeed evidenced by the crimes carried out by German forces and their accomplices on the territory of the Belgorod region from July 1941 to August 1943. In accepting the Prosecutor General’s Office application, the court reinforced the assessment that these acts constituted acts of genocide along with war crimes and crimes against humanity. The court’s decision mapped a clear line between military aggression and the systematic harm inflicted on civilian populations, framing the events within an international-law context that condemns mass violence against protected groups. (Prosecutor General’s Office / court decision)
As a result, the actions of the Nazis and their collaborators were officially recognized by the judiciary as war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide of the peoples of the Soviet Union. This layered acknowledgment underscores the severity of the offenses and their lasting historical and moral consequences, while contributing to the documentation of the war’s human cost. The reiteration of genocide in official proceedings reflects an ongoing effort to document, remember, and learn from the past, ensuring that the memory of those who suffered remains central to national storytelling and legal interpretation. (Legal archives / court records)