{"id":16589,"date":"2026-05-08T07:40:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T01:55:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\/?p=16589"},"modified":"2026-05-08T07:40:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T01:55:16","slug":"from-cape-town-to-the-arctic-russian-embassy-in-south-africa-hosts-photo-exhibition-honouring-wwii-contribution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\/?p=16589","title":{"rendered":"From Cape Town to the Arctic: Russian Embassy in South Africa Hosts Photo Exhibition Honouring WWII Contribution<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pretoria. On the sidelines of the Russian Movie Night Victory Marathon, the Russian Embassy in South Africa has opened a photo exhibition dedicated to South Africa’s participation in the Second World War \u2014 a conflict that was not merely a European war, but a truly global struggle against Nazi and fascist tyranny.<\/p>\n

The exhibition was attended by ANC veterans, South African officials, members of the diplomatic corps, and representatives of the cultural, business, academic, and media communities.
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“We will always remember that during World War II South Africa was our ally and an important member of the Anti-Hitler Coalition,” Russian Ambassador to South Africa Roman Ambarov emphasized during his welcoming remarks.<\/p>\n

According to the Embassy, South Africa’s strategic geography proved decisive when the supply route through the Dardanelles was closed. Cape Town became one of the principal ports of call for vessels delivering war materials to the Soviet Union via the Persian Gulf \u2014 a vital lifeline at the most critical moment of the war.
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Around 3,000 South African seamen served in the Royal Navy, many of them aboard Allied vessels carrying vital supplies to the Soviet northern ports of Murmansk and Arkhangelsk to relieve besieged Leningrad. Those perilous journeys were made in brutal weather under constant threat of enemy attack.<\/p>\n

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In late January 1945, a South African Air Force DC-3 flew a classified mission from Cairo \u2014 through Tobruk and Athens \u2014 to recently liberated Crimea. The South African aircrew found themselves present at one of history’s most consequential moments: the Yalta Conference, where Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill gathered at the Livadia Palace to shape the post-war world. The flight engineer later recalled, with warm simplicity, being invited for tea and cake by the wife of the Soviet airfield commander \u2014 a small, human moment at the centre of history.<\/p>\n

The Russian Embassy extended its sincere gratitude to the DITSONG National Museum of Military History for providing the unique materials that made this exhibition possible, ensuring that the stories of those who served will never be forgotten.<\/p>\n

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