Scottish piper 'honoured' to perform at VE commemorative events in Russia.

Jimi McRae plays 'Fleurs O' The Forest' at the Rzhevsky Memorial 270 miles NWW of Moscow.

The monument is dedicated to the Red Army soldiers who took part in military offensives against the invading Nazis in the Rzhev area between early January 1942 and March 1943. Some estimates put Soviet losses at over two million dead, injured and missing. The offensives at Rzhev forced the German High Command to divert key forces to the area, weakening the Axis frontlines elsewhere and thus contributing to the great Soviet victory at Stalingrad in early 1943, which most historians regard as the turning point of WW2.

Scots piper Jimi McRae was extremely honoured to be invited to accompany distinguished western historians, university professors and authors on a trip to the city of Pskov in Russia to help mark the 80th anniversary of the great Allied and Soviet victory in WW2.

The week long visit was officially entitled 'The International Forum for the Support of Russian History and Culture - On That We Stand'. It involved round table discussions and presentations by western and Russian academics and also musical performances by Jimi and other artists at concerts throughout the Pskov region.

Western academics taking part included Professor Alexander Hill of the University of Calgary in Canada, Professor Geoffrey Roberts from Cork University in Ireland, Professor Richard Sakwa of the University of Kent, Professor Christopher Read from Warwick University and Professor Alastair Mackay Renfrew from Durham University. The event was supported by the Government of the Pskov region and local businesses.

"It was a great honour to be there" said Jimi. "I feel very privileged to have been asked to play a small part in a festival commemorating the 80th anniversary of VE day and the decisive contribution made by the people of Russia to the great Allied victory.

"This was my third visit to Pskov, one of the oldest cities in Russia and I'm happy to say that, once again, the Russian people made us all feel extremely welcome. None of us experienced any xenophobia. We wandered the streets freely encountering nothing but goodwill everywhere we went."

Jimi was joined by internationalist artists including Serbian accordionist and composer Aleksa Mirkovic and Chinese pop star Wang Hao for a string of sell out shows which culminated in a gala performance with Pskov Symphony Orchestra at the city's Philharmonic music hall.

Jimi performing with Pskov Symphony Orchestra and local and international artists.

 

Jimi and Chinese pop star/composer Wang Hao.

During WW2 Pskov and its surrounding areas were occupied by invading Axis forces from July 9, 1941 until its liberation by the Red Army in July 1944. The people suffered terribly.

"The majority of the population perished from either starvation or Nazi brutality" said Jimi. "A resistance or partisan force operating from deep inside the area's vast forests struck back but the Nazis responded with even more brutality."

During the trip Jimi and the historians were shown one particularly poignant and moving memorial which comprised of gravestones bearing multiple names.

"I initially thought the names on each grave were of various persons, but no, they were actually the names of villages, entire villages which had been destroyed by the Nazis" added Jimi. "In nearly every case all the villagers, women and children included, were herded into barns at gunpoint and burnt alive."

 

Headstones with the names of entire villages destroyed by the Nazis.

Jimi continued: "Atrocities like this were committed everywhere on the Eastern Front by Axis forces. It was all part of Hitler's plan to exterminate local 'Slavic' populations and create 'lebensraum' or new land for his beloved Aryan race. He wrote about it in his autobiography Mein Kampf"

Historians agree that at least 27 million Soviet citizens died in WW2, to this day still referred to as 'The Great Patriotic War' by most people in Russia

During one discussion between western and Russian historians in Pskov, Jimi was invited to make a short presentation on his ongoing investigations into how and why a memorial bearing the insignia of a Nazi SS Division deemed responsible for multiple war crimes against civilians - the 14th Waffen SS Galizien Division - had come to be standing in Scotland. More info here: http://www.jimithepiper.co.uk/2025/01/waffen-ss-memorial-in-scotland.html

"Investigations are continuing and despite zero interest from the Scottish and UK media I was able to say that the work of myself and others had attracted considerable public interest and support" said Jimi.

 "I am hopeful that a lawful solution can be found which honours the memory of the 650,000 + British citizens who lost their lives in the struggle to free Europe from the Nazis and also Scotland's Jewish and Polish communities, members of whom suffered terribly at the hands of the 14th Waffen SS Galizien during WW2".

Organisers of the Pskov International Forum hope it will become an annual event. Jimi has a busy summer of work and music lined up in Scotland but said he would be delighted to return to Pskov again if invited.

Views of Pskov Orthodox Christian Cathedral and Kremlin (castle) from the Velikaya River.

                                                             

Jimi in action in the town of Velikie Lukie

Audiences in Pskov

                                                             

Serbian composer and accordionist Aleksa Mirkovic

Jimi performing with Pskov Symphony Orchestra