Greetings!
Yeah, the Soviet Union did lots of *Heavy Lifting* to defeat Nazi Germany during World War II. The Soviets weren't always the *best* of friends, or being very nice, trusting, or even very cooperative. However, the Soviets did suffer the burden--and achieved the glory--of fighting 60-70% of the entire armed forces of the Third Reich. The Russian's turning of the tide in the East and rolling back the Nazi armies, and ruthlessly crushing them at every turn is deserving of everyone's deep respect and gratitude. The Soviets--and the Slavic peoples everywhere over there--suffered an unimaginable hell fighting against the Nazis, and lost a horrendous 25 to 50 million people, civilians and military--to achieve that monumental victory. The Russians often literally fought with shovels, pick-axes, teeth and fists to grind down and slaughter the Nazis. After 1941, the Soviet Union typically faced off against 60% of the Luftwaffe, and 65% to 75% of the Wehrmacht on a constant basis. Considering the fact that in the West, the Western Allies were thus only dealing with fighting one fourth--or 25%--of the German Army on any battlefield, and we had the difficulties and challenges enough with that reality.
Make no mistake, had the Third Reich been able to move even an additional 15-25% of their forces fighting the Russians in the East and transferred them to Western Europe, fucking everything may have ended very differently. Certainly, American, British, and Allied casualties in the West would have been FAR HIGHER. Over all, the Germans were superior warriors, and managed to maintain a kill-ratio of 4 to 1 or more against any Western Allied Army. The German's kill ratio was, of course, even higher throughout the war against the Russians. Western casualties would thus have been horrifically higher under such circumstances. So, the Russians also helped the West by literally bleeding and suffering and dying--so that we didn't. That is also an undeniable fact.
I fucking hate Communism, and Stalin, and the Soviet Government were also a bunch of selfish, evil, cruel bastards and monsters--but at the time, they were also allied with us against the Nazis, and fighting to defeat the Third Reich. Aside from the Communist, Soviet Government, the Russian People suffered, and died, and heroically fought to defeat the Nazis, culminating with their horrific siege and victory over Berlin, and raising the Soviet Red Banner over the Reichstag in 1945.
American and British aid to the Soviet Union was meaningful, significant, and at different times and in different ways, of critical importance to helping the Russians resist the Nazis, and eventually counterattack against them, and crush them. Thousands of American and British sailors and naval crews died in the icy waters of the North Atlantic throughout the war, fighting against the German Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe, attempting to get supply convoys to Soviet Murmansk and Archangel. Food, Oil, Medicine, Ammunition, Guns, Tanks, Artillery, Radios, Train Locomotives, Aircraft, Clothing, and TRUCKS. Train Locomotives and trucks were critical for supplying the Red Army with MOBILITY, as well as radios. Yes, the Russians had some of their own, and they never had enough radios to go around for everyone, but the majority of the radios they did possess came from America and Britain. All them Russian Tank Armies and Guards Infantry Armies don't really move anywhere without having TRUCKS and RADIOS. The Russian industry heroically produced mountains of weapons and gear for the Russian armies--famously, their Tanks, Artillery, and Aircraft, but they didn't somehow produce many trucks or radios. The American-built TRAINS also provided the Russians with mass-mobility of supplies and troops over the Russian interior. That's of critical importance when you have only a few weeks or a few days at most to respond to yet another Blitzkrieg offensive by 200,000 Nazis and a bunch of Panzers. If you don't get your own troops, artillery, an tanks into position in time, well, you're fucked, an the Nazis win. And lots of Russian resources are lost, and hundreds of thousands of Russian civilians die or are marched off as slaves in the Third Reich. That was the reality of the modern battlefield during World War II.
In the end, it is a blessing and an honour that we were allies together during World War II. Together, we defeated the Third Reich.
Semper Fidelis,
SHARK