Changes

The Red Army went on the offensive after the defense of Moscow, but soon the Nazis gained the advantage and pushed to Stalingrad. More than one million troops fought on each side in urban combat. Hitler refused to allow surrender, and eventually the Nazis were encircled and routed.  

The Red Army went on the offensive after the defense of Moscow, but soon the Nazis gained the advantage and pushed to Stalingrad. More than one million troops fought on each side in urban combat. Hitler refused to allow surrender, and eventually the Nazis were encircled and routed.  

The [[Nazi]]'s obsession with exterminating the Russian nation turned [[World War II]] into a [[Patriot]]ic one. So it was natural that in a bid to overpower the enemy the nation turned to its traditions and Russian history. The [[Orthodox Christian]] [[faith]] was the Russian main [[spiritual]] basis. Stalin realized this, so he sought assistance from the [[Church]] during that dangerous period of time in Russian history. 20,000 churches were opened during the war years. In spring 1942 the Soviet regime allowed [[Easter]] celebrations for the first time in many years. On September 4, 1943 Stalin invited the hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church to the [[Kremlin]] to discuss the need for reviving [[religious]] life in the [[USSR]] and the speedy election of a Patriarch.<ref>[https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2009/08/miraculous-kazan-icon-taken-by-nazi-to.html Orthodox Christianity Then and Now], August 17, 2009. www.johnsanidopoulos.com</ref><ref>[https://www.pravmir.com/article_107.html pravmir.com Russian Orthodox Church in the Second world war], ''Orthodoxy and the World'',  May 8, 2006. www.pravmir.com</ref>

The [[Nazi]]'s obsession with exterminating the Russian nation turned [[World War II]] into a [[Patriot]]ic one. So it was natural that in a bid to overpower the enemy the nation turned to its traditions and Russian history. The [[Orthodox Christian]] [[faith]] was the Russian main [[spiritual]] basis. Stalin realized this, so he sought assistance from the [[Church]] during that dangerous period of time in Russian history. 20,000 churches were opened during the war years. In spring 1942 the Soviet regime allowed [[Easter]] celebrations for the first time in many years. On September 4, 1943 Stalin invited the hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church to the [[Kremlin]] to discuss the need for reviving [[religious]] life in the [[USSR]] and the speedy election of a Patriarch.<ref>[https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2009/08/miraculous-kazan-icon-taken-by-nazi-to.html Orthodox Christianity Then and Now], August 17, 2009. www.johnsanidopoulos.com</ref><ref>[https://www.pravmir.com/article_107.html Russian Orthodox Church in the Second world war], ''Orthodoxy and the World'',  May 8, 2006. www.pravmir.com</ref>

After turning the tide of war in the [[Battle of Stalingrad]], the 1943 [[Kursk]] tank battle was decisive in pushing the Nazis from European Russia. In two years, the Red Army pushed the Nazis all the way back to [[Berlin]]. Stalin used his control of Eastern Europe to extract concessions from [[President Roosevelt]] at Allied conferences, including control over the region. [[Winston Churchill]] warned against this very control, for he greatly feared Soviet hegemony in Europe. Victorious, Stalin named himself Generalissimo and became more popular than ever in the Soviet Union and more dangerous than ever to the capitalist world.

After turning the tide of war in the [[Battle of Stalingrad]], the 1943 [[Kursk]] tank battle was decisive in pushing the Nazis from European Russia. In two years, the Red Army pushed the Nazis all the way back to [[Berlin]]. Stalin used his control of Eastern Europe to extract concessions from [[President Roosevelt]] at Allied conferences, including control over the region. [[Winston Churchill]] warned against this very control, for he greatly feared Soviet hegemony in Europe. Victorious, Stalin named himself Generalissimo and became more popular than ever in the Soviet Union and more dangerous than ever to the capitalist world.