War and Integration: Importance of May 9

Anybody visiting Kyrgyzstan near its border with China on Thursday will witness a solemn moment. This can also be seen on the Kazakh side of the Kazakh-Chinese border. On the same day, celebrations will be held along the Atlantic shores of Portugal and Ireland. The reason for this is that Thursday is May 9.
 
States frequently emphasize particular periods of history well ignoring others that they are less proud of. At times, they try and rewrite their history, omitting uncomfortable dark passages. All states are the same in this respect, in that none are unblemished and all desire to portray their best features, making themselves appear as attractive as possible. Naturally, the aim of remembrance is to accentuate the positive rather than to dwell on failure, misfortune or destruction. In this respect, defeats are interpreted as turning points and victories as if divinely preordained.
 
Therefore, specific dates are always noted by states. Usually they depict religious holidays, military victories, births or deaths of founders and proclamations of independence. May 9 is particularly significant for Eurasia, and its effect stretches as far away as North America and Australasia. The reason for this being the European dimension of World War II coming to an end on that very day in 1945.
 
Historic move for Europe
 
May 9 is significant for another vital reason, too. Five years later, in 1950, French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman gave a very famous speech. In it he called for the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), whose members would unify their coal and steel production. This organization was the first to be supranational -- where decisions would be taken above the level of the nation-state. It was to be administered by individuals who relinquished their loyalties to their respective nations and pledged allegiance to the collective good. From the ECSC grew the European Union that we all recognize today.
 
May 9 is not, however, viewed uniformly across Eurasia. The “Asian” dimension of Eurasia dwells on the end of the war, whilst the “European” component remembers the start of European integration. One may wonder then why the Kazakhs and the Kyrgyz, as well as all the other Central Asian Turkic states, commemorate the end of World War II, but Turkey for example, does not. The answer lies in the fact that all the Turkic peoples who were part of the Soviet Union contributed to the war effort in great numbers. The cost of that contribution was immeasurable.
 
One can get an idea of this by visiting villages that are the furthest possible from Germany: right on the Chinese border. In these far away tiny Kyrgyz and Kazakh settlements one comes across even in the smallest of villages, disproportionately large cemeteries where the locals conscripted into the Red Army are commemorated. It is in these distant corners of ancient Turkestan, upon dirt roads with large crevices where one comes across giant statues of Red Army soldiers with Asiatic eyes holding a rifle, standing guard at the war cemeteries. The local Turkic people, who have never met a German or speak Russian, will fall silent on Thursday and pray for the souls of their sons and daughters who made the ultimate sacrifice.
 
Those sacrifices are not easy to forget, due to everyday reminders whether in the form of place names or great literary works. During the war effort, as the Soviet Union was retreating, Tashkent became a magnet for refugees and industry, and it is here in the Uzbek capital where the northern district of the city as well as the terminus metro station are named after Major General Sobir Rakhimov who fell in the battle over Danzig in 1945. Young Uzbeks continue to be reminded of him and honor his legacy, proud of their hometown war hero. In the same vein, certainly no one has expressed more eloquently and heartbreakingly the excruciating legacy of the Turkic involvement in the fight against Nazism than the immortal Chinghiz Aitmatov.
 
Also, Schuman’s Declaration has no resonance for Azeris or Turkmens, but the defeat of Nazism by the Allies does. Therefore, it is the military victory that continues to be remembered in the former Soviet Union. For the EU, celebrating “Europe Day” on May 9 can be understood as remembering the roots of voluntary economic and political integration. It is a day that primarily celebrates peace and unity in Europe. Schuman had set out his idea for a new form of political cooperation in Europe and predicted that the merging of coal and steel production would make war between historic rivals France and Germany “not merely unthinkable, but materially impossible.”
 
A more united Europe
 
The creation of “European” rather than the continuation of national interests would help raise living standards as well as encourage further steps towards a more united Europe. The true significance, however, of the European idea was of member states limiting their sovereign rights and creating a body of law that bound both their nationals and themselves. The adoption of a treaty-based European legal system of rights and obligations by their domestic legal systems meant that those states had voluntarily and permanently limited their sovereign rights.
 
Whilst only six countries participated in the first attempt at integration, one must bear in mind that the EU will number 28 in two months’ time with the accession of Croatia. This is indicative of the magnetism of the EU, especially when bearing in mind that Iceland, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey are all queuing up to join at the earliest opportunity.
 
The experience of the EU has not always consisted of days of wine and roses. The EU has certainly had its fair share of ups and downs over the decades. The troubles over the euro stem from providing the southern member states access to cheap credit, which was used to finance wage increases that were not matched by productivity gains. This led to a price explosion alongside massive external deficits and the eurozone crisis. Therefore, the most recent challenges continue to be the various bailouts to the members of the eurozone as well as the calls to end the single European currency. Despite these mounting obstacles, the EU still strives to stumble forward while readying itself for expansion and further soul-searching in terms of deeper integration.
 
That theme of integration, however, is not limited to Western Europe. It has already begun to take shape under the leadership of Russia, inspired by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, as the Eurasian Union. Comprising of these two countries as well as Belarus, the idea of Eurasian integration seeks to replicate the EU in many respects. It aims for deeper economic integration coupled with supranational decision-making. Its appeal can be seen in Central Asia where the Kyrgyz and the Tajiks are contemplating joining the integration train. Many though are skeptical of the underlying political reasons and question the chances of the Eurasian Union’s success.
 
It is useful to remind oneself of the inventory on May 9, the final defeat of Nazism in 1945 which included 27 million Soviet war dead, complete devastation of vast swathes of Europe, the collapse of the transport infrastructure and the prospect of starvation due to massive food shortages. Within five short years, the two arch enemies, namely France and Germany, who had waged war on each other three separate times in the past 75 years, were collaborating in the war-making industries of coal and steel. Seven years later they agreed to include their whole economies within the integration effort.
 
Winners of victory
 
While Western Europe benefitted from the Marshall Plan and democratic politics, the Soviet Union and its satellites endured central planning and suffocation from one party rule. Parts of Europe did not experience liberation at all. They simply exchanged one master for another. Oddly enough the nation that came out best was the one that had suffered the most: Germany. Those who lived in the west experienced the economic miracle of the 1950s and beyond, while those who lived in the east enjoyed the highest standards available in the socialist camp.
 
Comparing Eurasia today with what it looked like in 1945 or 1950 is akin to a pensioner looking at a photograph of herself as a schoolgirl. The eyes are the same shape but have lost their sparkle; the hair remains, but is thinner and a different color: white. There are some resemblances, but they are few and far between. Eurasia remains powerful, endowed with great resources, whether they are underground in terms of hydrocarbons, or above ground in terms of infrastructure and human capital. Eurasia experienced a mutated version of Marxism under the guise of Soviet socialism for 70 years or so before preferring democracy. Due to such differing experiences, Eurasia is a mixed bag of all sorts, harboring extremes in its territories: the extreme authoritarian regime of Belarus, the politically stable Danes, the wealthy Dutch, the poverty-stricken Tajiks and the economically prospering Estonians as well as the prevaricating Ukrainians.
 
In this respect what May 9 marks are the divergent paths that have divided Eurasia, both politically and economically, since. The eastern part of Eurasia still lacks the structures and the political culture to entrench accountable and participatory democracy. Economic development lags, ensuring the grass looking much greener on the other side. Governments continue to remain wary of relinquishing sovereignty and political leaders of peaceful transfers of power. The wealth gap keeps on increasing while citizens plan to migrate.
 
During the Cold War, the Soviet Union paid great homage to Victory Day -- May 9. In the 1990s, however, it took a backstage role as Soviet-style mass demonstrations did not fit in with the worldview of President Boris Yeltsin. His successor, Vladimir Putin, emphasizing the prestige of the governing regime and of history, considered such an occasion a source of national self-esteem, and the military parade has once again taken center stage.
 
As for the Western European part of Eurasia, it has successfully constructed a supranational organization where nations have come together for mutual benefit and more. Sovereignty, that vital ingredient and key feature of all states, has been collectively pooled so that decisions can be made for the greater good. It is this section of Eurasia that has achieved and maintained a higher standard of living since 1945.
 
To celebrate Europe Day -- May 9 -- in contrast to military parades, the EU institutions open their doors to the public in Brussels and Strasbourg. Local EU offices in Europe and all over the world organize a variety of activities and events for all ages with thousands of people taking part in debates, concerts and other events to mark the day and raise awareness about the EU. The focus, as in all such occasions, will be on the positive, not the negative; on the successes, not the failures; on hope and not despair for the future.
 
All in all, May 9 is a great occasion to unify: to coalesce under opposing fascism and supporting peaceful integration.