Disinfo: Poland uses Russophobia to raise its status in the Western community

Summary

Polish President Andrzej Duda signed an updated national security strategy for the country, which focuses on the military threat that allegedly comes from Russia.

Polish authorities purposefully intimidate citizens with the “Russian threat”, fixing in official documents unconfirmed information about alleged “hybrid wars” and “cyber attacks” conducted by Russian intelligence agencies, and about “aggressive plans” of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

Russophobia serves as a way for the ruling elite to rally the nation in the face of an imaginary enemy. Also, with the help of anti-Russian policy, Warsaw is trying to raise its status in the Western community.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative equating criticism of the Kremlin's actions or policies with "Russophobia", i.e., an irrational and unjustified hatred of Russia itself. The Polish authorities do not promote any policy of “intimidation with Russia” and they do not fuel the “anti-Russian propaganda”. Poland's primary Russia-related concerns are a result of Russia's annexation of Crimea and its ongoing involvement in the military conflict in eastern Ukraine. The Polish government shows its full support to Ukraine in the war and supports complete restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity.

The full text of Poland's 2020 national security strategy is available here. On Polish security concerns regarding Russia, the document states:

The most serious threat is the neo-imperial policy of the authorities of the Russian Federation, pursued also by means of military force. The aggression against Georgia, the illegal annexation of Crimea and activities in eastern Ukraine have violated the basic principles of international law and undermined the pillars of the European security system. [...]

Furthermore, the Russian Federation carries out activities below the threshold of war (of hybrid nature), which pose the risk of the outbreak of a conflict (including an unintentional one, originating from a violent escalation as a result of an incident, especially a military one), and undertakes multi-faceted and comprehensive actions using non-military means (including: cyber-attacks, disinformation) to destabilise the structures of Western states and societies and to create divisions among Allies. It should be assumed that that the Russian Federation will continue its policy of undermining the current international order, based on international law, in order to rebuild its power and spheres of influence.

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publication/media

pravdoryb.info (Archived)

Reported in: Issue 198
DATE OF PUBLICATION: 13/05/2020
Language/target audience: Russian
Country: Russia, US, Poland
Keywords: Military, Anti-Russian, Hybrid war, Russophobia

The West has been trying to whitewash Nazi crimes

There have been attempts recently by the West to whitewash Nazi crimes and transfer responsibility for World War II to the Soviet Union.

May 13, 2020

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin narrative attempting to link the West and its allies in the Baltic countries, Ukraine, and Poland with Nazism, Fascism, and anti-Semitism. The accusation of Nazism is a popular propaganda technique used by pro-Kremlin outlets as explained in our following analysis Nazi east, Nazi west, Nazi over the cuckoo's nest.

The statement that the West tries to whitewash Nazi crimes is a conspiracy theory and a part of the Kremlin’s efforts aimed at historical revisionism, and absolving the USSR of any responsibility towards the instigation of World War II and shifting it instead to Western countries.

The US is rewriting World War II history

The United States is trying to rewrite history in its favour, with the aim of diminishing the role of the Soviet Red Army in defeating Nazi Germany in World War II.

May 13, 2020

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative on WWII and the West.

The accusation in this article against the US is a reaction to a competition organised by the US Embassy in Hungary for "proposals for programmes that foster truthful recognition and remembrance of the tragedies of the Second World War, the Holocaust, and the long road to freedom that followed." What angered pro-Kremlin media is that, amongst others, the proposals should "focus on individual experiences and oral histories... under the tyranny of the Soviet Union".

More than 7000 POWs were buried alive, killed in gas chambers or shot by Finns in Karelia during WWII

More than 7000 POWs were buried alive, killed in gas chambers or shot by Finns in Karelia during WWII, says Investigative Committee of Russia, which has opened a genocide investigation of Finns conducting mass killings in Karelia during WWII.

May 13, 2020

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation message focusing on Finland and Russia's Karelia during WWII. In October 2019, Russia's Security Service FSB released "secret documents" about the conditions in the Finnish camps. In April 2020, more documents were published, and former prisoners of the Finnish concentration camps asked the head of the Russian Investigating committee Alexander Bastrykin to launch an investigation into crimes of the occupying authorities during the war.

While it is true, therefor, that Russia's investigative committee has indeed launched such an investigation, the media outlet in question repeats its questionable claims without challenging them.