The history of Africa in terms of liberation from colonial rule cannot be complete without remembering the contribution of the Soviet Union, and this friendship must be cemented with remembrance, Kwame Muzawazi, CEO of the Institute of African Knowledge and the administrator of the Zimbabwean Museum of African Liberation, told Sputnik Africa.
Thus, he commented on Zimbabwe's plans to open the first monument in Africa dedicated to the Soviet Union's victory in the Great Patriotic War - the term used in Russia and some other former Soviet republics to refer to the 1941-1945 conflict on the Eastern Front of World War II, primarily between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany.
"The monument that has been proposed to commemorate the Great Patriotic War, to be situated at the Liberation City in Zimbabwe, is befitting, appropriate, it's in fact late. It must be implemented with lightning speed because, at the end of the day, friendship must be consummated with memory. The friend who remembers what you did for them is the best friend," he pointed out.
He added that the African Liberation Museum is the most appropriate place for the monument because "in terms of conquest against the forces of colonial domination cannot be complete without remembering our Russian friends."
The director emphasized that the victory in the Great Patriotic War catalyzed the momentum of liberation movements around the world, especially in Africa, then under the yoke of colonial subjugation by European powers.
He referred to the 5th Pan-African Congress held in Manchester in 1945, where future African leaders like Kwame Nkrumah and Jomo Kenyatta forged a vision for the emancipation of the continent.
"They seized to ensure that at the Manchester meeting [...] the ideals, the ideologies, the philosophies, and the framework for the emancipation of the people of Africa were set in motion. So that meeting in Manchester, that historical commencement of the freedom of Africa, was only possible thanks to the victorious conclusion of the Great Patriotic War," Muzawazi opined.
He added that it was the Soviet Union that decided to "break the ice and start a new path in history" by being the first country to provide militery assistance to the liberation movements in Africa.
"This will never be forgotten, it should never be forgotten, and it was one of the most important aspects in the liberation struggle of the peoples of Africa," the CEO said.
Muzawazi concluded by congratulating Russia on Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War against Nazi Germany, which is celebrated on May 9.