Dossier on manifestations of neo-Nazism and Russophobia in Ukraine and Western countries
by Russian Foreign Ministry [2-3-2023 published].
(Regardless of how you feel about the other side, it is often important to understand their perspective, especially when you are at war with them or in competition. It doesn't mean that you have to agree with them. This certainly applies to the conflict in Ukraine with Russia, NATO, Europe, United States, & many other countries & businesses around the world. — RAD)
1. Reaction of the Russian Side to manifestations of neo-Nazism, anti-Semitism and Russophobia {read full}
In the former Soviet Baltic states and Ukraine, collaborationists who supported the Nazis have been declared members of national liberation movements who fought for the "independence" of theirs states. A number of educational and outreach activities are being developed and implemented, and, more broadly, attempts are being made to reconfigure public thinking. Curricula and cultural projects serve to glorify the "feat" of volunteer members of the national SS legions who fought for Nazi Germany and were involved in numerous massacres of civilians. The authorities' encouragement has unleashed radical nationalists and right-wing extremists, who are often the main perpetrators of the cynical "war" against monuments to Soviet soldiers liberators. For their achievements in fighting the "Russian world" and Soviet memorial heritage, the nationalists are privileged to preach the idea of the "right patriotism" to the society as a whole. No measures are taken by the national authorities to put a stop to this debauchery in most cases. Protests expressed by Russian diplomatic missions remain vastly without response.
From the report by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Regarding the Situation with the Glorification of Nazism and the Spread of Neo-Nazism and Other Practices That Contribute to Fuelling Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, August 30, 2022
The Kiev regime government is based on a bizarre combination of Russophobic policies to persecute the Russian speakers, create an atmosphere of hatred toward the Russian culture and Russians, glorify Nazi collaborators, including those recognized as such at the Nuremberg Trials, who have become official heroes of modern Ukraine and whose biographies are studied in schools and universities, as well as to proclaim the European and Euro-Atlantic policy of Ukraine (the latter is laid down in the preamble to the country’s Constitution).
This ideology is implemented violently by killing, beating, and torturing inhabitants of Donbass, opposition politicians, and journalists through numerous Ukrainian “Death Squads”, censorship and mass violations of freedom of speech imposed in the country, banning the dissident media, arrests of journalists, persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, etc.
The scale and frequency of neo-Nazi acts in Ukraine are growing and becoming more aggressive in nature. The followers of the Nazi ideology feel total impunity and even support from the authorities.
Ukraine’s Government continues to erect monuments and memorial plaques to honour UPA hitmen and pay homage to surviving former collaborat
From the materials by the Russian Foreign Ministry "The Truth Behind Events in Ukraine & Donbass (2014-2022)"
European leaders are emboldening the Ukrainian government and encouraging neo-Nazi acts. President of the European Council Charles Michel, Head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, and Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg never stop saying that a “battle for European values” is going on in Ukraine, and President Zelensky is “defending freedom and democracy.” In the same way, they backed the neo-Nazi coup of 2014 which sought to abolish everything that is Russian in Ukraine. Later, it was codified in numerous laws outlawing Russian education, media and culture. Today, they are supporting the slogans which Vladimir Zelensky is using to carry out his campaign and presidency.
I operate on the premise that Europe is part of the processes that seek to revive neo-Nazism. It’s hard to draw other conclusions. President Macron recently wondered why Ukraine should live according to a Russia-imposed model. A statement that says it all. In the years that followed the coup, he never asked why the Russians in Ukraine should live according to a model imposed by the neo-Nazis, which is a clear case of double standards. A person who claims to be the number one politician in Europe is saying things like that unashamedly. Amazing.
From the Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s interview for the film, Nazism on Trial, Moscow, November 26, 2022
2. Examples of statements by Ukrainian officials in support of the Nazis, OUN-UPA, collaborationism, anti-Russian and Russophobic remarks {read full}
Then-People’s Deputy of Ukraine Lesya Orobets, following the burning of people in the House of Trade Unions in Odessa, 2014: “This day has gone down in history. An assembly of colorados has been eliminated.
Then-Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine Andrey Reva, 2019: “I do not feel sorry for them [the Russian-speaking residents of Donbass] at all. I feel sorry for the soldiers, officers and their families who were killed there for these scums.
President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky, at a news conference when responding to a question on sanctioning opposition members who advocated efforts to normalise relations with Russia and opposition Russian-language media channels, November 26, 2021:
“You call them humans? That’s interesting... There are representatives of humans, but not all people are humans; there are specimens, I think so. I am not talking about everyone, this is my personal opinion.”
Adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Anton Gerashchenko, May 16, 2022: “As for those who took part in various mass demonstrations on
May 9: they all have been identified and will be included in the databases of both state authorities and the Mirotvorets website as traitors and collaborationists who took part in mass events directed against Ukraine.”
Patriarch Filaret of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate, 2016: “One shouldn’t think that the [Russian-speaking] population of Donbass is not to blame for their suffering. And they must atone with suffering and blood for their guilt.”
Then-Minister of Culture of Ukraine Yevgeny Nishchuk, November 2016: “The situation in the east and south is an abyss of consciousness. Moreover, when we spoke of genetics in Zaporozhye and Donbass, the cities’ population was moved in. No genetics there. These are regions where people were deliberately moved to.”
Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine Alexey Danilov, October 22, 2022: “The Russian language must be eliminated for good as an element of enemy propaganda and brainwashing of our people. These questions also apply to those addressed by journalists, and during the war they speak Russian.”
Then-President of Ukraine Pyotr Poroshenko, October 27, 2014: “We will have jobs, they will not. We will have pensions, they will not. We will have support of children and pensioners, they will not. Our children will go to kindergartens and schools, theirs will be sitting in basements. They do not know how to do anything. And this is how we will win this war."
3. Glorification of Nazism and the war on monuments in Ukraine {read full}
Since 1991, regular torchlight marches and Nazi “parades” have been held in Ukraine. Such events have been authorised and supported by the Ukrainian authorities, especially in recent years.
Every year on January 1, on the anniversary of birth of Stepan Bandera radicals stage torchlight processions in some Ukrainian cities, and in the past years also in Kiev, as well as commemorative events involving local authorities.
On October 14, the radical nationalist groups Svoboda, C14, the Right Sector, the OUN and others hold torchlight marches on the anniversary of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army.
Similar events are regularly held in western Ukraine on April 28 to honour the formation of the Waffen-SS Division Galicia. On April 28, 2021, for the first time such a march was held in Kiev where Nazi insignia was used.
On May 9, 2020, Ukrainian nationalists disrupted an auto rally in Odessa marking the 75th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. The radicals also held a march carrying portraits of Nazi proxies from the OUN-UPA and other similar organisations as well as insignia of Waffen-SS Division Galicia.
The March of the Unconquered was held in Lvov on August 24, 2021. The participants of military operations in the east of the country marched across the city showcasing UPA flags and symbols. Mayor of Lvov Andrey Sadovy and local deputies took part in the march.
On October 23, 2021, all members of the 80th assault brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine took part in a flash mob and performed the song Our Father is Bandera dedicated to the OUN-B leader.
The Kiev regime is actively pursuing and supports the demolition of numerous Soviet monuments including those commemorating the events and heroes of the Great Patriotic War, as well as Holocaust memorials.
On April 15, 2019, members of the Sokol nationalist organisation dismantled the bust of celebrated commander Nikolai Vatutin on the 75th anniversary of his death outside Chernigov.
On June 2, 2019, members of the National Corps and the Right Sector dismantled a monument to Marshall Georgy Zhukov.
On October 17, 2019, a memorial to Holocaust victims was damaged and desecrated in the town of Yavorov, Lvov Region.
On March 15, 2021, in the village of Fontanka near Odessa, perpetrators destroyed a monument to Soviet soldiers who defended the city against Nazi invaders in 1941.
On July 23, 2021, the sculptures Motherland Calls and Liberator Warrior were removed from the Monument to Military Glory in Lvov.
On April 11, 2022, a monument to the Soviet T-34 tank was removed in the town of Mukachevo. On the same day, special equipment was used to demolish an obelisk to the Soviet soldier in the city of Stryi, Lvov Region.
On April 16, 2022, a monument to Soviet partisan fighter Nikolai Prikhodko was brought down using a tractor.
On April 17, 2022, militants from the Kraken armed group’s local branch in Kharkov destroyed the monument to Soviet military commander Georgy Zhukov.
On May 4, 2022, a monument to legendary Soviet intelligence officer Nikolai Kuznetsov, Hero of the Soviet Union, who personally eliminated 11 Nazi Germany’s generals and high-ranking occupation administration officials, was demolished in Rovno.
On May 18, 2022, a monument to Red Army soldiers who liberated the city from the Nazis in Pustomyty, Lvov Region, was demolished.
On May 19, 2022, Verkhovina town council in Lvov Region ruled to demolish monuments to Red Army soldiers in the towns of Verkhovina, Iltsy, Verkhneye Yasenevo and Krasnik.
On May 20, 2022, Lvov Region administration launched the demolition of all monuments to Red Army soldiers, who liberated the region from Nazi invaders.
In June 2022, a monument to the Soviet soldier was demolished in Buzhsk, Lvov Region. Soviet symbols were removed from the memorial to the Red Army soldiers in the city of Glukhov, Sumy Region. Monuments to Red Army soldiers who died during the liberation of Ukraine from the Nazis were also demolished in June in the town of Rava-Russkaya, Lvov Region, the town of Berezhany, Ternopol Region, the village of Torgovitsa, Transcarpathian Region, in Zhdeneyevo community, Transcarpathian Region, in the town of Shumsk, Ternopol Region, the city of Borislav, Lvov Region, the village of Urezh, Lvov Region, the village of Gukalevtsy, Ternopol Region, and the village of Rozhnyatov, Ivano-Frankovsk Region.
On June 23, a monument to Soviet liberator warrior was demolished in the town of Verkhovina, the Ivano-Frankovsk Region.
4. Destruction of Soviet memorial heritage in Europe {read full}
Poland
Poland is engaged in a targeted campaign to destroy all our memorials. This topic has been coming up daily in our statements over the past years. All this is happening despite the February 22, 1994, intergovernmental agreements setting forth the obligations for the parties to maintain memorials, preserve burial sites, tombs, monuments and other remembrance sites and to properly care for them.
Monuments to Soviet soldiers-liberators have been removed from public spaces as “symbols” or “propaganda” of communism.
In 2019-2021, such monuments have been destroyed or defaced in Waszkowo (Wielkopolskie Voivodeship), Bińcze and Radowo Wielkie (Pomorskie Voivodeship), Wroclaw and Ścinawa (Lower Silesian Voivodeship), Krzanowice (Silesian Voivodeship), Patrzyków (Łódź Voivodeship), Wilków and Józefów (Lublin Voivodeship).
In January 2021, a monument to Soviet soldiers was demolished in Wysokie Mazowieckie (Podlaskie Voivodeship).
In April it was discovered that the Monument of Gratitude to the Red Army, in Lesko (Subcarpathian Voivodeship) and the Monument to Soviet and Polish Brotherhood in Arms in Czechowice-Dziedzice (Silesian Voivodeship) had been taken down.
In August 2022, a monument to the Red Army was dismantled in Brzeg in southern Poland.
On October 27, 2022, monuments to Red Army soldiers were torn down in Glubczyce and Byczyna (Opole Voivodeship), Bobolice (West Pomeranian Voivodeship) and near the town of Staszow (Swietokrzyskie Voivodeship).
Estonia
In the past few years, there have been an increase of manifestations of anti-Semitism and the desecration of monuments to Soviet soldiers who fell on the territory of Estonia in battles with the Nazi invaders.
On May 16-17, 2022, a monument to Soviet soldiers and the stone slab in front of it disappeared from Mihkli cemetery in Koonga Parish, Pärnu County. Now only the foundation of the monument is left.
On June 17, 2022, it became known about the dismantling and transportation in an unknown direction of the monument to the soldiers of the Soviet Army who fell in the Great Patriotic War, installed on a mass grave in Otepää (the burial place of 34 soldiers).
At the end of June 2022, the Russian Embassy in Tallinn learned about the dismantling of the monument located on Kindralimägi Hill (on the way to Etsaste, Tartu County) built in honor of the Soviet commander, Major General P.Potapov, who fell in the battles for the liberation of Estonia in September 1944.
On August 16, 2022, a Soviet T-34 tank memorial was removed in Narva.
On September 12, 2022, the destruction of a monument to Soviet liberator soldiers began in Tartu.
Latvia
Latvia has decided to focus on dismantling monuments to soldiers who liberated the country from Nazism.
On 14 June 2022, the authorities of Jēkabpils began eliminating the mass military burial on Rīgas street, 205, in close vicinity of the memorial complex. Heavy machinery demolished the pedestal of the monument to Soviet artillerymen, the remains of three Soviet officers buried underneath were exhumed. On the same day, the adjacent memorial complex to the heroes of the Soviet Union who had been killed in the Krustpils operation was demolished.
On August 25, 2022, a monument to the liberators of Riga from Nazi invaders was torn down in the Latvian capital.
On October 31, 2022, monuments to Soviet soldiers were demolished in Daugavpils.
In November 2022, a monument to the liberators of Latvia from Nazi invaders was torn down in Rezekne.
As of mid-November 2022, 120 Soviet monuments have been dismantled in Latvia in accordance with the law on the prohibition of the display of objects glorifying the Soviet and Nazi occupation regimes and on their dismantling in Latvia, which the parliament adopted on June 16, 2022.
Lithuania
In 2022 the Republic of Lithuania, in a rush of historical revisionism decided to demolish monuments to Soviet soldiers located in places of burial of the Red Army soldiers across the country.
On April 26, 2022, a monument to the Soviet soldiers who perished during the Great Patriotic War was torn down in Kaunas.
On July 4, 2022, the destruction of a memorial complex of Red Army soldiers began in Klaipeda.
On December 9, 2022, a memorial to Soviet soldiers was demolished in Antakalnis Cemetery in Vilnius.
5. Western politicians comparing Vladimir Putin to Adolf Hitler {read full}
March 2014, Time Magazine: At a charity event in California, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton compared Putin's actions to Hitler-led Nazis. Clinton said that Russia handing out Russian passports in Crimea was very much like Germany offering protection to ethnic Germans who resided in other countries. «Now if this sounds familiar, it's what Hitler did back in the '30s. Hitler kept saying that they (ethnic Germans) “were not being treated right. I must go and protect my people, and that's what's gotten everybody so nervous”» Long Beach Press-Telegram quoted her as saying. However, the very next day, speaking at UCLA, Hillary Clinton denied that she was comparing Russia to Germany. “I’m not making a comparison certainly, but I am recommending that we perhaps can learn from this tactic that has been used before.”
Daily Mail, May 2014. On a visit to Canada, Prince Charles compared Russian President Vladimir Putin to Adolf Hitler. During a tour of Canada Prince of Wales made an off-the-cuff remark in a private conversation regarding Russia's policy towards Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea: “Now Putin is doing just about the same as Hitler.”
July 2015. Former National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski gave an interview to Spiegel about similarities between President Vladimir Putin and Adolf Hitler. The political scientist said that interest in riches was among the Russian leader’s dangerous personal qualities.
“They have common features and differences. Hitler, for example, was never interested in personal enrichment. And Putin is very interested in this,” Brzezinski said.
March 2018. According to Boris Johnson, Vladimir Putin used the FIFA World Cup in the same way Adolf Hitler used the 1936 Olympics to boost his country's image. The head of the British Foreign Office made this statement at a Parliament meeting to discuss the UK’s participation in the FIFA World Cup in Russia.
December 2021. Former Ukrainian leader Pyotr Poroshenko claimed on Facebook that President Putin talked about Ukraine the way “Hitler talked about the Sudetenland,” commenting on a major news conference by the Russian leader where Kiev was discussed. “Putin has once again made it clear that he cannot reconcile to existence of an independent Ukrainian state and continues to talk about Ukraine the way Hitler talked about the Sudetenland. Again, about the ‘originally Russian territories,’ this time in Donbass.”
June 2022. Polish President Andrzej Duda criticised his European colleagues, including French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for holding talks with President Vladimir Putin on Ukraine. In an interview with the newspaper Bild, the Polish president said that he did not understand why the leaders of Germany and France were reaching out to Putin. “I am stunned to see Chancellor Scholz and President Emmanuel Macron talk to Putin. These talks yield no results. What are they trying to accomplish? All they are doing is legitimising someone who is responsible for the Russian army’s crimes in Ukraine,” Duda said. The head of the Polish state drew a parallel between Putin and Adolf Hitler and the way leaders of other countries communicated with Hitler during WWII. According to him, no one tried to pursue a course that was not humiliating for Hitler so that he could “save face.” “Did someone say back then that Adolf Hitler should save face? That we must act in a way that would not be humiliating for Adolf Hitler? I have not heard of such things,” Duda said.
6. Examples of Russophobic statements by members of the Western political establishment and evidence of Russophobia in the digital environment {read full}
Prime Minister of Estonia Kaja Kallas
August 9, 2022
“Stop issuing tourist visas to Russians. Visiting #Europe is a privilege, not a human right. Air travel from RU is shut down. It means while Schengen countries issue visas, neighbours to Russia carry the burden (FI, EE, LV – sole access points). Time to end tourism from Russia now.”
***
Minister of Education and Research of Estonia Tõnis Lukas
August 3, 2022
“The predominance of Russian in Estonia as a second foreign language is not the way things should be. Schools must meet the parents’ preferences and find solutions themselves. The language itself is not to blame for anything, we are not waging a war against the language. It’s just that the choice [of languages] should be broader, and we must make sure that our children are not tied to a particular language.”
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President of Latvia Egils Levits
August 24, 2022
“We see that some of the Russian community is disloyal to our country… Our task is to deal with them, to isolate them… They should simply be isolated”
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Minister of Culture of Latvia Nauris Puntulis
February 26, 2022
“The activity of any artist supporting Russia’s aggression in Ukraine is immoral and unacceptable in Latvia. I call on the organisers of tours of such artists in Latvia to show civic responsibility and consider the option of canceling them. I would like the Foreign Ministry to consider the issue of blacklisting conductor Valery Gergiev. I call on our artists, as well as performers of academic music, to cancel concerts in Russia.”
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President of Lithuania Gitanas Nauseda
January 15, 2023
“Russia is a terrorist state. They bring destruction, death & immense suffering everywhere they go. Atrocities, mass killings, attacks on residential buildings – like today in Dnipro – will never be forgiven & forgotten. The time for accountability will come.”
“We must clearly define Russia as an explicit long-term threat to the entire Euro-Atlantic area. NATO policies must be adjusted accordingly. There is no place for passive hesitation and appeasement.”
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Minister of Culture of Lithuania Simonas Kairys
January 3, 2022
“Russia is deliberately weaponising culture, and on days that were important for the Lithuanian state, it sent its performers to us, mostly pop culture entertainers. I like the idea of imposing a mental quarantine on Russian culture and to say no to works that appeared acceptable to us.”
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In March 2022, Meta removed the ban on calls for violence against the Russian military on Facebook and Instagram:
As a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine we have temporarily made allowances for forms of political expression that would normally violate our rules like violent speech such as ‘death to the Russian invaders.’ We still won’t allow credible calls for violence against Russian civilians.
7. Cases of Russophobia involving Russians and their foreign-based property since March 2022 {read full}
1. The Lomonosov Russian-German school in Berlin was set on fire. Firefighters received a call about the entry door to the gym being on fire late at night. No casualties were reported.
The firefighters and local media said it was arson. “We do not rule out the possibility that it is related to the events in Ukraine, but we have been unable to confirm this so far,” the law enforcement agencies said.
2. On the night of March 7, a bottle filled with flammable liquid was hurled at the Rossotrudnichestvo office in Paris. Miraculously, no fatalities were reported. The French authorities remain silent.
3. The degree of madness is on the rise. In Ireland, a delusional person rammed the gates of the Russian embassy to the joyful cheer of the crowd. When arrested, he said it was time “for the rest of Ireland to do their bit.”
4. In Britain, vandals ransacked the Russian Orthodox St Nicholas the Wonderworker Church in Oxford. The thieves turned the place upside down and stole valuables and money that parishioners donated to help Ukrainian refugees.
5. This is what they do to Russian grocery stores in Germany: break windows and splatter the walls with paint.
6. Here’s what Inna from Canada writes: Personally, I have not seen anything of that sort. So far, they have just been hating all things Russian. For example, the doors of the Russian Orthodox Church were splattered with red paint.
7. You can lose your business over selling Russian-made products in Europe.
In early March, they showed one way to do so in the town of Oberhausen, North Rhine-Westphalia where a Kauver store (a chain of supermarkets) that took the risk of selling foods from Russia had its window smashed and its front wall splattered with paint.
This is not the first act of violence of that kind in this German town. The local media reported earlier that phrases like “Free Ukraine” and “Putin the Killer” were painted on the supermarket windows. Local police called these attacks “politically motivated crimes” which are being investigated by federal law enforcement.
8. Russians can now be hated on social media. Officially.
Facebook and Instagram made it possible for their users to issue open threats to the Russian military and call for their death. Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, said “we have temporarily made allowances for forms of political expression that would normally violate our rules like violent speech.”
The Russian Embassy in the United States has in turn accused the company of extremist activities.
9. “You will have your {throat cut}”
Truly harrowing words were spoken to a resident of the UK. The woman is originally from Latvia, and runs a small business, a Russian bathhouse, in the UK. Her clients are Russians and many Russian-speaking Brits. That is why she received this threat.
First, she started receiving phone calls. Then, a man left a voicemail saying she was going to get her throat cut because of her business. The woman was frightened and let the police know about the threat.
“My clients and me, we are angry because it's not acceptable,” she said. “There are many people in this country who speak Russian. You can't be so xenophobic. It really must be stopped.”