Raising a Flag over the Reichstag (Russian: Знамя Победы над Рейхстагом, romanized: Znamya Pobedy nad Reykhstagom, lit. 'Victory Banner over the Reichstag') is an iconic World War II photograph, taken during the Battle of Berlin on 2 May 1945 by Yevgeny Khaldei. The photograph was reprinted in thousands of publications and came to be regarded around the world as one of the most significant and recognizable images of World War II, but, owing to the secrecy of Soviet media, both the identity of photographer and the identities of the men in the picture were often disputed.
The Reichstag was seen as symbolic of, and at the heart of, Nazi Germany. It was arguably the most symbolic target in Berlin. After its capture on 2 May 1945, Khaldei scaled the now pacified Reichstag to take a picture. He was carrying with him a large flag, sewn from three tablecloths for this very purpose, by his uncle. The official story would later be that two hand-picked soldiers, Meliton Kantaria (Georgian) and Mikhail Yegorov (Russian), raised the Soviet flag over the Reichstag, However, according to Khaldei himself, when he arrived at the Reichstag, he simply asked the soldiers who happened to be passing by to help with the staging of the photoshoot; the one who was attaching the flag was 18-year-old Private Kovalev from Burlin, Kazakhstan; the two others were Abdulkhakim Ismailov from Dagestan and Leonid Gorychev (also mentioned as Aleksei Goryachev) from Minsk.Photograph credit: Yevgeny Khaldei for TASS; restored by Adam Cuerden
For the excellent work you have produced for Singapore-related articles since your splashing entry into wikipedia, I hereby bestow the Exceptional Newcomer Award upon you! We look forward to many more of your extraordinary edits! :D - Huaiwei 12:27, 11 Jun 2005 (UTC)
I, Titoxd, award you this barnstar for your impressive contributions to the Hurricane Katrina article. --Titoxd 06:46, 31 August 2005 (UTC)
For your tireless contributions to and maintenance of articles on Singapore, especially those pertaining to its history, politics and current events. —Sengkang 01:57, 23 September 2006 (UTC)
The Graphic Designer's Barnstar
Dear Vsion, it's a pity that your contributinos go unnoticed and unappreciated. Therefore, sir, I, Tan Ding Xiang, hand over the Graphic Designers' Barnstar for your excellent skills in Singapore map-making!-- 陈鼎翔贡献Chat with Tdxiang on IRC! 08:46, 9 May 2006 (UTC)
