During the Second World War, the United States and Great Britain - the allies of the USSR in the anti-Hitler coalition - provided the supply of military cargoes (armaments, ammunition, military hardware, food, medical equipment and medicine, strategic raw materials) under the US Lend-Lease Act. Assessing the Allies’ military supplies, the Minister (the People's Commissar) for Foreign Trade of the USSR and Co-Chairman of the Lend-Lease Commission, A.I. Mikoyan, noted that during the Great Patriotic War "we received about 400,000 first-rate cars for their time such as "Studebaker", "Ford", “Willys Jeep" and amphibious vehicles. It was as if our entire army was set on wheels and what wheels they were! As a result, the army’s maneuverability and momentum for advance increased substantially".

      The WW2 veteran, Air Lieutenant-General Stepan Anastasovich Mikoyan, who I was fortunate enough to communicate often with, recalled that his father, Anastas Ivanovich Mikoyan, once said: "Without the Lend-Lease we would likely have to fight one to one and a half years longer." And that would mean millions of more ruined lives!

     During 1999-2016 I happened to work in the sphere of international military cooperation. In May 2010, during the 65th anniversary celebration of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War, I was invited to attend the British Ambassador residence for the reception in honour of this Victory Day. It was there that I came across a very impressive group of about 50 people – the WWII veterans from Great Britain who took part in the Arctic Convoys. A short conversation with them had a profound effect on me and inspired me to find Russian war veterans.

      In 2009, The Honourable Tim Lewin, Vice President of HMS Belfast Association (the son of Admiral of the Fleet Lord Lewin (Terence Lewin 1920-1999), the First Sea Lord and subsequently the Chief of the Defence Staff), proposed a project to replace the masts on HMS Belfast (both masts were found to be corroded beyond reasonable repair), a historic warship and museum. The T. Lewin's initiative was supported by the then Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (2008-2012). A number of Russian companies participated in this ship project - “United Industrial Corporation”, “Severstal” and “Sovcomflot” produced the new masts at their own expense. The technical support was provided by the British insurance company Lloyd's Register. The solemn ceremony of opening HMS Belfast after the restoration took place on 19 October 2010.

     The acquaintance with Tim Lewin in 2011 paved the way to the beginning of the veteran project "The Last Soldier of the Second World", aimed at supporting veterans of the two countries and preserving the memory of the heroic pages of the war.

      In the run-up to the 85^th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War, the purpose of this website is to inform visitors about the heroic generation of front-line soldiers and seamen, to draw attention to the war veterans living among us, to support them by words and deeds and lastly, to learn from them how to love life and how to relate to other people.