Disinfo: Poland wants to re-establish its own empire

Summary

Leaders of Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine, Latvia and Estonia will attend the celebration of the 230th anniversary of the Constitution of 3 May 1791. Territories of all of these countries - fully or partly - belonged to Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. This celebration is a celebration of empire, which never happened. Also, it is an attempt to create a block (new empire) of the states of Central and Eastern Europe by the initiative of Poland. It is strange that the mentioned countries are following Poland in this political performance (because all these countries have their own historical phantoms which not coincide with Polish).

Disproof

Recurring narrative presenting Poland as the state which has imperial ambitions. The celebration of the historical event evaluated as a modern geopolitical projection.

The 230th anniversary of the Constitution of 3 May 1791 is especially important for Poland and Lithuania. This document is considered by the two countries as the first written constitution in Europe. It is also part of common European historical heritage. The Constitution reflects enlightenment influences, which gave primacy to reason, law and freedom, as well as religious tolerance.

The celebration also is a reason for political dialogue between independent countries. As was announced, all heads of states, participating in the celebration, “will sign a joint declaration and discuss the relationship between the law and the well-being of the people”. Lithuania and Poland, as well as Latvia and Estonia, are part of the European Union. Ukraine is part of the Eastern Partnership programme of the EU. The meeting of the heads of these states during the celebration in Warsaw create conditions for equal dialogue (not a creation of the “block” or new “empire”).

See other examples of disinformation, accusing Warsaw of using the Polish minority in Belarus to serve geopolitical games of Washington, or that present-day Polish foreign policy is reminiscent of 1930’s Polish anti-Soviet action, or that Poland is spreading historical propaganda.

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baltnews.lt (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 242
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 03/05/2021
  • Article language(s) Russian
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Ukraine
  • Keywords: Historical revisionism, Puppets, Imperialism/colonialism
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Disinfo: People killed in Odesa on 2 May 2014 are victims of political terror

People killed in Odesa on 2 May 2014 are victims of political terror. Time passes, but Ukrainian authorities are indifferent to the grief of the victims’ relatives, and the perpetrators and their political sponsors remain unpunished.

May 02, 2021
Disproof

This is a pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about violent clashes that happened between pro-Russian activists (also known as anti-Maidan) and Ukrainian patriots in the southern Ukrainian city of Odessa on May 2, 2014, and the ensuing fire in the House of the Trade Unions. In reality, these tragic events have nothing to do with political terror. A total of 48 people died that day, most of them being pro-Russian activists. About 200 were wounded. Pro-Kremlin forces accuse Maidan leaders of instigating the clashes, claiming also that far-right nationalists burned dozens of people alive, while Ukrainian patriots say that Moscow and its agents of influence in Ukraine are to blame for these violent events.

On that day, about 300 well-organised pro-Russian supporters attacked a march of about 2,000 Ukrainian patriots, including local residents and a large number of football fans who had arrived from Kharkiv for a football game. Both groups used firearms in the clashes. 6 pro-Russian supporters and 2 Ukrainian patriots were shot and killed as a result. Pro-Russian activists began throwing stones and Molotov cocktails at their opponents. The situation went out of control as the police failed to respond effectively to violence. The investigation is still underway. Several individuals prosecuted in relation to these events have managed to flee abroad. Some of them took refuge in the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, now occupied by the Russian Federation, while others fled to the separatist-held territories in Donbas.

Disinfo: Odessa tragedy was a pre-planned massacre of people who disagreed with the coup in Kyiv

It was a pre-planned, prepared massacre of people who disagreed with the coup d'état that took place on February 21, 2014, in Kyiv.

May 02, 2021
Disproof

Recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the Odesa tragedy alleging that the Ukrainian government was planning the killings of people in the House of Unions. This narrative is combined with another recurrent claim about Euromaidan as a coup.

There is no evidence that the Ukrainian government was involved in the Odessa tragedy. No trial has yet established the responsibilities of the different actors before a court. A total of 5 cases on trials and 3 investigations are currently ongoing. Media reported about the tragedy in May 2014: the BBC, the Guardian, the DW. A chronology of the events has been established (1 and 2) and a non-partisan documentary film by Ukrainian Channel 7 has collected testimonies: May 2nd without Myth.

Disinfo: The West is pursuing an absolutely unfriendly and hostile policy towards Russia

Russia has imposed sanctions against the heads of the European Parliament and the prosecutor's office in Berlin. This is a response to those absolutely unfriendly and sometimes even hostile actions that we see from the collective West. The West is pursuing one seditious thought, accusing Russia of increasing escalation, saying that it was through Russia's actions that the deterioration and degradation of bilateral relations began. But this is not true. We have not done anything that could provoke such actions on the part of our Western partners. This is purposeful, as we now understand it, and, apparently, a long-planned policy towards the Russian Federation.

May 01, 2021
Disproof

This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the West's aggressive Russophobic policy and allegedly belligerent and hostile agenda against Russia.

The EU and Russia have committed to upholding and respecting the fundamental values and principles of democracy, human rights, the rule of law and the market economy. Russia remains a natural partner for the EU and a strategic player combating the regional and global challenges. The EU’s approach to Russia is guided by five principles agreed in 2016 and reaffirmed, most recently, by EU Foreign Ministers in October 2020. Read more about the EU-Russia relations here.