Speaker of the Estonian parliament, Henn Põlluaas, said that Russia allegedly seeks to rewrite history "for the sake of its goals." His words are published on the official website of the Riigikogu.

“Estonia and Poland are good allies in both NATO and the EU. We are connected by similar historical events, common values ​​and a common understanding of modern security risks. We have a common neighbor, Russia, which denies international law and international agreements and is trying to rewrite the whole story for the sake of its goals, ”Pylluaas’s press service quotes.

According to him, supposedly an example of this can be made recently addressed to Poland "accusations of unleashing the Second World War", as well as "events in Georgia and Ukraine."

“We strongly condemn such activities,” said the parliamentarian. - All this every day reminds us that the danger from the east has not disappeared. Therefore, we wholeheartedly thank the NATO allies for their contribution to protecting our borders. ”

The deputy chairman of the State Duma committee on CIS affairs, Eurasian integration and relations with compatriots Viktor Vodolatsky reacted to Pylluaas’s statement.

“The most important thing is that the closer the great date of May 9, the 75th anniversary of the Victory over fascist Germany, we will hear more and more statements from those leaders who fulfill the order to discredit the Soviet Union and the Soviet soldier ... The more blasphemous the lie, the it is more widely disseminated through various information channels, and we must be prepared and confronted with this, ”Vodolatsky emphasized in a conversation with RT.

State Duma deputy Ruslan Balbek, in turn, called the words of the Estonian parliamentarian “hysteria”.

“Russia will not ignore such statements and, no doubt, will respond to such attacks ... The Baltic countries, as well as Poland, were liberated from the Nazis by the Soviet troops,” the source said.

As Vladimir Olenchenko, the chief researcher at the Center for European Studies of the IMEMO RAS, notes, "Estonian foreign policy in this matter is not independent."

“The theses promoted by the Estonian parliamentarian are not original, they are copied from the Polish side,” the analyst explained in a conversation with RT.

  • Veterans on Red Square before the start of a military parade dedicated to the 74th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War
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  • © Alexey Kudenko

Olenchenko also added that the accusations against Russia are connected in this case by the Estonian side and with the notorious “Russian threat”, including “to explain the buildup of NATO’s military presence in the Baltic territory and in Poland.”

“Accusations of the failure of various historical approaches are made precisely by those countries that either do not have a verified historical concept of statehood or are trying to construct it from auxiliary and not always suitable material. In the case of the Republic of Estonia, this is exactly what we are observing, ”said Nikolai Mezhevich, president of the Russian Association for Baltic Studies, in an interview with RT.

Not the first case

Estonia is far from the only country in Eastern Europe that has recently made similar accusations against Russia.

A similar thesis was voiced by Lithuania. So, the president of this Baltic republic, Gitanas Nauseda
On December 23, he wrote on his Facebook page that he allegedly "recently Russia has been trying hard to rewrite history."

“One example is the denial of the secret protocols of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact on the painful history of Europe,” said Nauseda.

According to the president of the Baltic republic, the agreements between Nazi Germany and the USSR allegedly led "to the subsequent occupation of the Baltic countries."

The day before, the Polish Foreign Ministry expressed "concern" with statements by Russian representatives, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, about the causes and progress of World War II. According to the Polish side, these statements represent a “false picture of events”. This is stated in a message published on the website of the Polish Foreign Ministry.

It also states that in the 1930s, the Polish republic allegedly adhered to a "peaceful policy" and sought normal relations both with Germany and the USSR, and therefore concluded a non-aggression pact with both countries, but they "violated" it.

In addition, the deputy head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Vasily Bodnar, in an article for the online publication Zerkalo Nedeli, claims that Moscow allegedly “ascribes to itself other people's victories” and “transfers responsibility for crimes to others”.

Such accusations fell on Russia after Vladimir Putin said during a large press conference on December 19 that Soviet troops entered Poland in 1939 “after the Polish government lost control of its armed forces and what was happening on territory of the country.

The Russian leader recalled that at that moment the Polish government “was already somewhere near the Polish-Romanian border,” and therefore “there would be no one to even talk about with this subject.”

As analysts recall, the Baltic countries and Poland have long been pursuing a course in rewriting history. Warsaw, in particular, is trying to convince everyone that the USSR "attacked" Poland in 1939, just like Hitler Germany, experts say.

  • The liberation of Poland from Nazi occupation. Residents of the city of Bialystok welcome the Soviet soldiers-liberators
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At the same time, Poland cites the "evidence" of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which was signed on August 23, 1939 in Moscow. Simultaneously with this document, an additional protocol was adopted, according to which the spheres of interests of the USSR and Germany were differentiated. As analysts emphasize, the content of the document did not contradict the norms of international law and the contractual practice of countries. According to military historians, the pact made it possible for the Soviet Union to get a “respite” in order to prepare for war, as well as prevent a Japanese attack on the USSR.

Moreover, archival materials prove that the agreement with Berlin the USSR concluded the last of all European countries. Prior to this, similar documents have already been signed by the governments of several European countries. It was their actions, including the Munich agreement, which allowed Nazi Germany and Poland to get part of Czechoslovakia, became one of the factors in the outbreak of World War II.

Distortion of historical truth

At the same time, Russia has repeatedly stated that Poland and a number of European countries seek to rewrite history, while Moscow advocates the preservation of historical justice.

President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky during his visit to Poland on January 28 also said that he considers the USSR to be one of the culprits of the outbreak of World War II. The briefing was broadcast by Newsone.

“Poland and the Polish people were the first to feel the collusion of totalitarian regimes. This led to the outbreak of World War II and allowed the Nazis to launch the deadly flywheel of the Holocaust, ”RIA Novosti quoted Zelensky as saying.

According to him, Europe and the world as a whole "do not have the right to remain silent today, as it was in 1939."

In addition, the Ukrainian leader did not mention the USSR, talking about the liberation by the Soviet troops of the Auschwitz death camp (Auschwitz). However, he emphasized that the natives of Ukraine participated in the operation.

The Kremlin said that Moscow categorically disagrees with the statement of the Ukrainian leader about the outbreak of World War II, calling the statement “offensive” to tens of millions of citizens of the CIS countries whose relatives gave their lives for the liberation of Europe from fascism.

Earlier, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Moravecius published an article in the publication Politico entitled "Moscow is rewriting the history of the Holocaust." In the column, the Polish head of government claims that the Red Army “did not liberate” Warsaw, the Soviet Union could have liberated Auschwitz earlier, but did not, and the “Soviet occupation” of Central Europe allegedly cost “millions” of lives.

The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, responded to this publication, stressing that the Polish prime minister “killed a man in himself” in this article.

“And this despite the dozens of monographs and scientific works based on documents and eyewitness accounts that recorded the feat of Soviet soldiers in history!” Zakharova noted.

A day later, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Poland had decided to launch a large-scale disinformation campaign against Moscow on the topic of World War II. Among the reasons for such measures, Zakharova called “rewriting of history”, as well as “serving her own and other people's political interests”.

Moreover, as Russian President Vladimir Putin noted, a similar policy is being pursued by the leadership of the European Union.

  • Russian President Vladimir Putin at the annual big press conference at the World Trade Center on Krasnaya Presnya
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  • © Ekaterina Chesnokova

He stated this at the end of December at an informal meeting of the CIS heads of state, saying that he was "surprised and hurt" by a resolution of the European Parliament. The President recalled that the document said that the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact "divided Europe and the territories of independent states between the two totalitarian regimes, which paved the way for the start of World War II." According to the Russian leader, Europe deliberately ignores the truth about historical events - this is how Western states seek to hide uncomfortable moments in their own history.

"To belittle the role of Russia"

According to Nikolai Mezhevich, Poland, the Baltic countries and Ukraine “came forward as a united front”, groundlessly accusing Moscow of “rewriting history”.

“This is quite dangerous, because the historical truth is at stake. These countries of Eastern Europe are ideologically united by Russophobia and are ready to fight with Russia in the fields of historical memory. At the same time, they cannot attack Moscow without rewriting their history. Otherwise, they simply will not have arguments, ”the analyst said.

Volodymyr Olenchenko, in turn, notes that Poland, the Baltic countries and Ukraine have now set a single goal - "to overshadow the 75th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War and downplay the role of Russia as the successor of the USSR."

“These statements are aimed at somehow denigrating the Soviet Union, which bore the hardships of war on its shoulders. If there had been no victory for the USSR, then there would have been no victory over Hitler. These countries want to assure their population, the public that they won, ”the expert said.

In addition, Olenchenko believes that such a "historical card is played out," including to "refresh the anti-Russian sentiment."

“However, among the population of Europe there are many people who objectively look at history and speak out for normalizing relations with Russia,” the analyst emphasized.

At the same time, with accusations against Moscow, some countries of Eastern Europe “are trying to cover up historical facts that are unfavorable for them,” Olenchenko believes.

“However, Moscow must and will fight this in the information space,” the expert concluded.