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Disinfo: Ukraine rewrites its history to move away from Russia

Summary

Ukrainian history is full of myths because a realistic approach leads to the conclusion that Ukraine is part of the Russian statehood.

 

Disproof

This is a recurring pro-Kremlin narrative designed to discredit Ukraine's history, statehood and independence.

There are a lot of mentions in history showing that Kyiv existed before Moscow, and Ukraine before Russia.

The history of Ukraine dates back to the Kyivan Rus era in the 9th-13th centuries. Early in the 20th century, after the collapse of the Russian empire, the Ukrainian People's Republic was proclaimed, simultaneously with other nations, like Georgia, Finland, Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. When the Bolsheviks seized power in Russia in late 1917, fierce attempts were made to re-establish Russian control over the newly independent states. Soviet Russia managed to take control over Ukraine, establishing a Bolshevik regime.

Battling against nationalist movements, Moscow created "Soviet Republics" in order to mimic national independence: the Estonian Soviet Republic was, for instance, established in Narva in 1918. Soviet Russia managed to take control over Ukraine, establishing a Bolshevik regime. Moscow performed aggressive anti-Ukrainian policies, exterminating the population during four famines; battling the language and the Ukrainian culture.

However, Moscow continues to use selective historical narratives of the Soviet past to diminish Ukraine's history and therefore its statehood.

See more disinformation cases claiming that Ukrainians are not Ukrainians but Russians.

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publication/media

Rossia 24 - YouTube [from 47:50 to 48:20] (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 222
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 23/11/2020
  • Language/target audience: Russian
  • Country: Russia, Ukraine
  • Keywords: Historical revisionism, Russian world, Ukrainian statehood

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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Germany depends on the US in the sphere of security

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November 29, 2020
Disproof

Recurring disinformation narrative about US hegemony in Europe. Pro-Kremlin outlets like to present other countries as American puppets. See similar narratives here, here and here.

Germany is an independent state and implements an independent policy. The narrative of the dependence of this country on the US is disinformation presented without any clear evidence. The statement that US military presence is “a sign of German dependence” is a speculative one. Germany and the US have close partner relations of two sovereign and independent countries. The US military presence in Germany is in the interest of both countries as well as in the interest of Europe security.

Polish protests against the attempts to revise the role of the USSR in the Katyń Massacre is a denial of reality

Poland presented its protest against the attempts to revise the Katyń Massacre after an appeal by a Russian MP to reassess the role of the NKVD and the USSR in these events. In these terms, the Polish side often ignores what happened in Polish-Russian shared history – Poland a priori occupies a hostile position, denying reality.

November 29, 2020
Disproof

This message is part of the Kremlin’s policy of historical revisionism and an attempt to distort the truth about the Soviet crimes committed against Poland.

The Katyń Massacre is a symbol of the criminal policy of the USSR against the Polish nation. In Spring 1940, almost 22.000 Polish prisoners of war were executed by the NKVD in Katyn, Kharkiv and Kalinin (Tver). The Massacre was carefully considered and organised by the Soviet leadership. Up until 1991, the Soviet authorities refused to accept their responsibility for this crime, blaming Nazi Germany for the mass-murders of Polish prisoners of war. In 1992, the Russian President Boris Yeltsin submitted documents to President Lech Walesa confirming the Soviet blame for this crime. Read more about the Katyn Massacre here.

Russia puts more effort into establishing the truth about the Katyn massacre than Poland

Russia puts more effort into establishing the truth about the Katyn massacre than Poland. During the recent two years, the Russian authorities have devoted much closer attention to this issue that the Polish leadership.

November 29, 2020
Disproof

This message is part of the Kremlin’s policy of historical revisionism and an attempt to distort the truth about the Soviet crimes committed against Poland.

The Katyń Massacre is a symbol of the criminal policy of the USSR against the Polish nation. In Spring 1940, almost 22.000 Polish prisoners of war were executed by the NKVD in Katyn, Kharkiv and Kalinin (Tver). The Massacre was carefully considered and organised by the Soviet leadership. Up until 1991, the Soviet authorities refused to accept responsibility for this crime, blaming Nazi Germany for the mass-murders of Polish prisoners of war. In 1992, Russian President Boris Yeltsin submitted documents confirming the Soviet blame for this crime to President Lech Walesa. Read more about the Katyń Massacre here.