Edinichka

In Russian war films the Russians are always the underdog, even towards the end of the war, as they are poised to break into Germany itself. They will find some isolated Russian unit that manages to find itself under attack by a superior German enemy. But there's another coincidence: nearby is a church, where little children are hiding. And Germans apparently have nothing better to do than try and kill them all. So what do the brave Russians do to save these Polish kids? They bring them along as they retreat under fire, and put them in the trench, as a superior German force bombards the trench and advances towards it. Now, that's what I call keeping kids safe. As usual, everyone has to die, because otherwise a Russian film won't get greenlighted for production. There is also a theme of reconciliation between Russians and Poles, as the anti-communist resistance realises they are best off surrendering their country to communists. So there you have it: Russia did in fact liberate Poland, and the fact they also imposed communism and membership in the eastern bloc is not all that important. What matters is that infanticidal Germans have been defeated.