The flag will be carried by a platoon of marines, alongside the flags of other Allied nations who fought against the Axis during the Second World War, during a parade held at the National Monument to the Dead of World War II in Rio de Janeiro. Brazilian Defense Minister Jaques Wagner personally approved the presence of the Russian flag.
Earlier, internet activists petitioned Brazil's Center of Cultural Heritage of the Armed Forces to create a mast for the Russian flag at the National Monument. At present, the monument has masts for the flags of Brazil, France, Britain and the United States.
Activists have explained that the flag of the Russian Federation serves as the direct successor to the Soviet Union, and so should also have a place at the monument. Officials responded that the monument, built in 1960, cannot be changed. O Globo has explained that the Soviet flag's absence at the monument was a "legacy of the Cold War, when Russia was part of the communist bloc."
Federal University of Parana history Professor Dennison de Oliveira recently told Sputnik Brazil that Brazilian GIs serving in the country's armed forces during the war were keenly aware of the Soviet contribution to victory, a fact confirmed in newspapers from the time:
"Brazilian soldiers had no doubts about the importance of the Soviet Union's contribution to victory. So much so that the Sixth Infantry Regiment, which was the first to reach Italy and one of the last to leave combat…created a great illustration featuring the six flags of the allied nations: Brazil, the United States, the Soviet Union, Britain, France and China."
Brazil joined the Allied nations in the war against Nazi Germany and Italy on August 22 1942 following repeated German submarine attacks against Brazilian ships. In 1944, Brazil sent a 25,700 Brazilian Expeditionary Force, nicknamed the Smoking Snakes, thus becoming the only South American nation to send troops overseas. The BEF joined the US Fifth Army in liberating Italy from Italian fascism and Nazi occupation. Brazil also sent two Air Force units to Italy during the course of the war, and the Brazilian Navy scoured the Atlantic for German U-boats in the South Atlantic.
