On April 27, 1945, the Red Army closed the siege circle around Berlin. The Battle of Berlin, one of the bloodiest battles of the entire war (by death toll only topped by Leningrad and Stalingrad) lasted until May 2 and ended with the capture of the German Reichstag.
It took six more days, until Germany finally surrendered, but the picture of the Soviet flag over the building of the German government, taken on May 2, 1945 by Yevgeny Khaldei is as iconic to Russians, as the American flag over Iwo Jima is to Americans.
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