MARTINA CARR: What do you see as the major turning point during the war?

KIRILL ANDERSON: I would rather not talk about the military operations as I am not an expert in military history and military strategies. Although from the Russian point of view there were two important moments – the Battle for Moscow and the Battle for Stalingrad. The Battle for Moscow represented the end of Blitzkrieg, after that the war changed to a war for survival. And during this long war for survival the Battle for Stalingrad was a major turning point when all resources, the economy of the whole state were concentrated on this operation.  However, from the political point of view I believe the establishment of the alliance was a major turning point. After that Germany didn’t really have much of a chance to win the war. Germany could fight each of the countries separately, but once the forces were united, the Germans had no chance. To me that was a major turning point although perhaps that wasn’t clear at the beginning.