Disinfo: Polish authorities are obsessed with an idea of reconstruction of a modern Polish Empire

Summary

The future of the EU depends on whether it will be able to establish space for international cooperation and dialogue. The Polish authorities do everything to undermine this goal. They are obsessed with the revenge ideas for the defeats of the previous centuries. They are dreaming about the dominance in Eastern Europe and reconstruction of a modern Polish Empire similar to the First Rzeczpospolita, where Ukraine and Belarus would be the vassals of Warsaw. Today, this plan of Poland is one of the biggest threats for the future of the European Union.

Disproof

This message is part of the Kremlin’s policy of historical revisionism alleging that Poland has imperialist plans for Ukraine and Belarus.

Poland fully supports the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine and Belarus, it does not have any territorial claims against its neighbours and it rejects any “imperial” ambitions towards other countries.

Read other examples of the Russian historical revisionism concerning this issue - Signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact thwarted the UK’s expansionist plans in Europe, The Molotov-Ribbentrop pact did not violate the rights of the Polish state, the shift of all blame for WWII outbreak at the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact the best example of manipulation of history.

publication/media

  • Reported in: Issue 185
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 17/02/2020
  • Outlet language(s) Polish
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Poland, Belarus, Ukraine
  • Keywords: Historical revisionism, Imperialism/colonialism, European Union, Conspiracy theory
see more

Disinfo: The US has recognised Euromaidan as a coup controlled by US officials

In this film, for the first time, Americans themselves recognise Euromaidan as a coup d’etat under the external control of officials of the US presidential administration. The author of the investigation tells how the leaders of the Ukrainian revolution coordinated their actions at the US embassy in Kyiv, and then went out on the streets to protest. This investigation surprised few people in Nezalezhnaya [derogatory name for Ukraine]: the journalists from Israel and Italy already told about the Georgian snipers recruited through Saakashvili, but American viewers see for the first time how Ukraine has become a platform for fighting, war and making money.

Disproof

This is a recurring effort by pro-Kremlin disinformation outlets to represent grassroots protest movements in post-Soviet countries, including Russia itself, Ukraine, and others, as plotted by US to destabilise those countries and weaken Russia. Thus, the Euromaidan protests in Ukraine in 2014 are presented as a coup fomented alternatively by the West, Georges Soros, or Victoria Nuland from the US in person; it is also often portrayed as a "Nazi coup".

In fact, the demonstrations that began in Kyiv in November 2013, called "Maidan" or "Euromaidan", emerged organically as a result of the Ukrainian people's frustration with former President Yanukovych's last-minute U-turn on the highly anticipated EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, which had been under negotiation for seven years. For more cases about the Euromaidan protests, see here.

Disinfo: The Munich Security Conference was established to make money

The Munich Conference is the place to earn a lot of money. Do you think the conference organisers provide the five-star hotels for free? Everyone is guarded by security. No. They earn money there.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin narrative discrediting Western officials and organisations. The Munich Security Conference is the world’s leading forum for debating international security policy organised by the non-profit limited liability company Munich Security Conference Foundation. The conference was established as an independent meeting place for politicians and experts to discuss the most important current and future issues of international security policy in the world. It is an influential global event and the 2020 conference included speeches from China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Director-General of the World Health Organisation Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov.

Disinfo: Ukrainian Community of Crimea urged Zelenskyy to abandon Crimea claims

“Your people are not here”: the Ukrainian Community of Crimea urged Zelenskyy to abandon claims to Crimea.

Disproof

The Ukrainian Community of Crimea mentioned in the news is an "organisation with a stolen name". The original Ukrainian Community of Crimea existed long before the annexation of the peninsula and now it continues to exist on the "mainland" Ukraine.

After the annexation of Crimea, there were two attempts to "recreate" this organisation. The second time in 2018, it was founded under the leadership of a member of the "Young Guard of United Russia". The other founders include a member of the Simferopol branch of "United Russia" party and a deputy chairman of the Belarusian organisation.