Mathematic formula only way to determine number of Soviet genocide victims — Kremlin aide

ST. PETERSBURG, April 19. /TASS/. The approximate number of victims of the genocide of the Soviet population during the Great Patriotic War can only be determined using a complex mathematical formula, Vladimir Medinsky, a Kremlin aide who chairs the Russian Military Historical Society, told TASS. "We have a very detailed methodology for calculating the number of genocide victims. Another question is that in the context of the colossal scale of atrocities and war crimes, we can actually only calculate the number of civilians killed using mathematical formulas," Medinsky said. "This formula exists, it is scientific. It takes into account births, deaths, illnesses, demographic data, various tables, and, naturally, population census data conducted before and after the Great Patriotic War." Medinsky added that the total number of Soviet citizens who fell during the war was calculated using the same formula. "This ‘canonical’ figure, 26.7 million people, was calculated mathematically. On such a scale, the number of losses can only be calculated using a very complex mathematical formula," Medinsky explained. Earlier, a similar opinion was expressed to TASS by Yelena Malysheva, head of the National Center for Historical Memory under the Russian president and member of the Russian Public Chamber. She also believes that the exact number of Nazi crimes will hardly be determined. Russian President Vladimir Putin previously signed a law establishing a new commemorative date in Russia on April 19: the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Genocide of the Soviet People. On April 19, 1943, Decree No. 39 was issued: the first legal act that officially recorded the targeted and large-scale policy of the Nazis and their accomplices to destroy the civilian population in the occupied territories, and also defined the legal basis for bringing criminals to justice. Vladimir Medinsky earlier stated that the number of Soviet civilians killed during the Great Patriotic War would be further refined, preliminarily ranging from 13.5 million to 16 million, and according to some data, up to 18 million people.