“Let's leave the topic to historians”: Johnson's words about World War II were commented on at the Russian embassy

The Russian embassy in London commented on the statement by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson that Poland during the Second World War was between the "hammer of fascism" and the "anvil of communism."

"With all the historical discussions around the Soviet military operation in the eastern regions of Poland, the formulation of the question, in which the actions of the USSR are actually equated with Hitler aggression, is completely unacceptable," the website of the Russian embassy said.

Diplomats also suggested recalling the role of British diplomacy in World War II, “which not only condoned the aggressive policies of the Nazis (Austria, Czechoslovakia, Memel), but also consistently sabotaged the USSR’s proposals to create an effective anti-Hitler alliance, including specifically to defend Poland.”

At the same time, the Russian embassy recalled that most residents of Great Britain and Russia honor the memory of Soviet-British alliance.

“We regret that the prime minister chose a different perspective, which, fortunately, is not very popular in the UK,” the embassy added.

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Johnson previously posted on Twitter a video dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II. The politician said that while the Poles were defending the country from the Nazi attack, "Soviet troops attacked them from the east."

The Strange War of Great Britain

Vadim Trukhachev, Ph.D. in History and Lecturer in the Department of Foreign Regional Studies and Foreign Policy at the Institute of Aviation Studies at the Russian State Humanitarian University, noted that Britain itself was waging a “strange war” at that time.

“Poland was an ally of England, but the British waged a“ strange war ”- that is what it later became known in literature. Despite the fact that England and France promised Poland protection, they did not really do anything. Yes, they declared war on Germany, but they didn’t send any military units to help allied Poland, ”said the historian.

He emphasized that the USSR, unlike Great Britain, had no obligations to protect Poland. At the same time, the Soviet army rushed to the aid of the Poles, the expert noted.

According to Trukhachev, Johnson’s statement is “an attempt to silence the unseemly role of his own country.”

Longtime allies

Professor of the Department of Comparative Political Science of the RUDN University, Yuri Pochta, believes that Britain is now trying to emphasize friendship with Poland and downplay Russia's role in world history.

“The British, as part of the West, decided that they were victors in the Cold War, and now have the right to rewrite the history and rules of conduct in this world. They decided that Russia should be “thrown out” of the history of the Second World War ... They are trying to attribute Russia to blame at the beginning of the Second World War and even the First World War, and in general to blame all the sins of mankind on us, ”the expert emphasized.

Recall that earlier the Polish leadership refused to invite Russia to events dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II. Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Volodin noted that the actions of the Polish authorities offend the memory of more than 600 thousand soldiers and officers who died for the liberation of Poland.

“Official Warsaw has not driven itself into such a stupid position for a long time,” said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

In early August, the Prime Ministers of Britain and Poland Boris Johnson and Mateusz Moravecki held a telephone conversation, during which, among other things, they discussed the "destabilizing actions of Russia."

“Among the security issues, they discussed the tense situation in the Persian Gulf, the destabilizing actions of Russia, as well as the work that the two countries are jointly doing in NATO,” the statement said.

According to the Post, Poland is now more likely to focus on the UK and the US than on the leadership of the European Union.

“This desire to somehow get an exceptional place in world politics by finding an influential overlord,” the Post emphasized.