NEWS: “Today, it’s become a trend for the West to make baseless accusations against Russia and point to some “aggressive behavior”. Not to mention the vulgar confusion of terms (for instance, military maneuvers on its own territory cannot be defined as acts of aggression!). Western and primarily NATO strategists cannot accept the fact that, after the collapse of the USSR, Russia managed to survive, stand up and create a defensive force powerful enough to shield its own, legitimate interests on the international stage”, Kuzmin said in the interview.
“The Great Patriotic War was the direct outcome of one of the chapters in the millennia-old history of the Russian nation, which embodied an unprecedented surge of nationhood and patriotism. Emerged spontaneously a few years back, the “Immortal Regiment” civil movement became the clearest evidence that these values are very much alive and the people who honor them won’t bow their heads to the geostrategic ambitions of imaginary partners elsewhere, driven only by their thirst to raid unbothered and completely destroy Russia”, the Russian diplomat added.
NARRATIVES: 1. Russia is carrying out military exercises on its own territory and has every right to do so. 2. Russia is the country that defeated Nazi Germany and the great winner of the Second World War.
BACKGROUND: Valery Kuzmin gave the interview on May 9, when Russia celebrated Victory Day over Nazism in World War II and the EU marked Europe Day (the Allies celebrate Germany’s capitulation on May 8).
In recent years, Russia has been conducting an aggressive disinformation campaign regarding its contribution to “the liberation” of Europe from Nazi occupation, accusing the West of trying to diminish the role Moscow played in bringing peace to Europe.
As regards the recent military build-up on the Ukrainian border, which is estimated to be 100-thousand strong, Russia believes it has every right to do that, despite the West saying that its increased militarism displayed after 2013-204 (the Euromaidan protests and the annexation of Crimea) has put Baltic and Danube riparian states on their guard.
Russia is constantly playing the victim, although it engages in large-scale military exercises, invades and incorporates new territories, which rightfully disquiets neighboring states.
PURPOSE: To legitimize military scare tactics. To put additional pressure on Kiev authorities with the purpose of getting new concessions during talks with pro-Russian separatists in Donbass. To send the West a message that Ukraine should remain under Moscow’s sphere of influence. To promote the image of a country that has always been at the gates of Europe, a country that defended itself and never engaged in unwarranted military actions in the last century in Europe.
WHY THE NARRATIVES ARE FALSE: Kuzmin says Russia has every right to conduct large-scale military drills on its territory, but the Crimean Peninsula, illegally annexed following the 2014 military invasion, is not Russian territory under international law. Its sovereign claim to this territory has not been recognized by any country participating in the network of international relations.
On the other hand, the Great Patriotic War Russia refers to is, in fact, a lie by omission, promoted by Moscow’s Soviet-era politicized historical theses. The Great Patriotic War covers the period June 22, 1941 – May 9, 1945. More specifically, it refers to Operation Barbarossa launched by Germany against the Soviet Union. There’s no mention of the Stalin-Hitler pact (Ribbentrop-Molotov), signed on August 23, 1939, which was actually a deal between two allies – Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union – whereby they divided Europe in the wake of its invasion and occupied a number of European countries. The pact triggered Poland’s invasion on September 1, 1939 and thus the start of World War II.
For that matter, in a resolution issued on September 19, 2019, the European Parliament agreed that both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union are responsible for the start of the war. The Red Army invaded the Baltic States and attacked Poland while it was trying to ward off the Nazi offense from the west. In the case of Romania, the USSR issued an ultimatum whereby it annexed Bessarabia and northern Bukovina, territories which have never been returned to Romania, as a result of to Moscow’s aggression against Romania at the time.
For years Russia has been trying to mystify history, claiming the Red Army was the only liberating force in Europe. The role of smaller countries, including Romania, which turned arms and fought against Germany at great human cost, is rather dwarfed, whereas the contribution of Western powers such as the United States, Great Britain, Canada, etc., is all but erased from Russian official discourse.
Moreover, on May 9, the United States Embassy in Bucharest posted a message saying that “America sent weapons and equipment to the Soviet Union to help withstand the Russian assault. Over 1941-1945, the United States delivered to the Soviet Union 400,000 jeeps and trucks, 14,000 aircraft, 13,000 tanks, weapons, ammunition, military technology, medicines, blankets, clothing, millions of tons of petrol products and food, with a total worth of 11.3 billion dollars (180 billion dollars in 2016 currency)”.
The US Embassy also writes this was a loan to the USSR which its successor, Russia, has never paid back. The American Embassy also quotes the former Soviet leader, Stalin, who said “Russia wouldn’t have won the war without the United States’ help”, according to Nikita Khrushchev’s memoirs.
The US Embassy post is actually a response to Russia’s constant attempts at rewriting history and overexaggerating its role in the fight against the Nazi in Europe, proving that without the major military contribution coming not only from the West, but also from smaller countries, Russia’s western campaign wouldn’t have made due progress.
Overall, Russia is trying to promote the idea that its present-day actions in Ukraine and in the Black Sea region, as well as elsewhere in Europe, are somehow justified due to the sacrifice of the Red Army during World War II.
WHO STANDS TO BENEFIT: The Kremlin, in an attempt to justify its present-day actions through the lens of past sacrifices.
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