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Disinfo: The Baltic States benefited from the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact

Summary

The Baltic States decided that the 80th anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact is a good occasion to shake the money bags of the US and Europe. The Baltic States, beneficiaries of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, released a joint statement asking for money to investigate the evil deeds of totalitarian regimes and compared the Soviet Union to Nazi criminals.

Disproof

This claim uses historical revisionism to reinforce common pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about WWII and the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact.

On 23 August 1939, the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany signed a non-aggression (Molotov-Ribbentrop) pact whose secret protocols divided the territories belonging to Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, and Romania into Soviet and Nazi spheres of influence. The Baltic States were not beneficiaries of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. Like other countries mentioned in the pact, they lost their independence and territories. Soviet occupation of the Baltic States lasted for 50 years, and resulted in mass deportations and repressions against local populations.

The European Parliament has proclaimed the 23rd of August as a European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Totalitarian Regimes.

On the 80th anniversary of the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Romania released a joint statement urging "the governments of all European countries to provide both moral and material support to the ongoing historical investigation of the totalitarian regimes. By acting in a concerted manner, we can counter more effectively disinformation campaigns and attempts to manipulate historical facts." No country stands to obtain financial gains from this initiative.

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publication/media

60 minut @Rossiya 1 - YouTube [from 26:20 to 26:46] (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 161
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 23/08/2019
  • Language/target audience: Russian
  • Country: USSR, Baltic states
  • Keywords: Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, USSR, WWII

Disclaimer

Cases in the EUvsDisinfo database focus on messages in the international information space that are identified as providing a partial, distorted, or false depiction of reality and spread key pro-Kremlin messages. This does not necessarily imply, however, that a given outlet is linked to the Kremlin or editorially pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. EUvsDisinfo publications do not represent an official EU position, as the information and opinions expressed are based on media reporting and analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force.

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