DISINFO: In 1919, Poland attacked Ukrainian and Belarusian lands, rejecting Soviet peace offerings
SUMMARY
The international situation at the beginning of 1919 was favourable for Poland, so it is not surprising that Warsaw initiated an effective attack on the Ukrainian and Belarusian lands.
The Polish successes in the spring and summer of 1919 forced the Soviet authorities to undertake peace initiatives at the end of the year, but the Polish leaders preferred to continue the war. Until May, the luck was on the side of Poland – that month, the Polish troops and the allied forces of the Ukrainian nationalists led by Symon Petliura entered Kyiv.
RESPONSE
This message is part of the Kremlin’s policy of historical revisionism – it presents Bolshevik Russia as a peaceful state, rejecting evidence about bloody conflicts between the Bolsheviks and the newly-born states in Eastern Europe. In addition, this message promotes a Russian imperialistic idea that Belarus and Ukraine naturally “belong” to Russia.
The Polish-Soviet War of 1919-1920 started in February 1919, soon after the end of WWI. As a result of the Soviet westward offensive of 1918–1919, the Bolshevik troops tried to advance as deep as possible into the territory of the former Western regions of the collapsed Russian Empire. In February 1919, the advancing Bolshevik forces entered into clashes with the units of the Polish Army. The Polish-Soviet War lasted until October 1920 – it resulted in the signing of the Peace of Riga (March 1921), in which Soviet Russia recognised the independence of the Polish state. The statement that the Polish authorities started the war with Bolshevik Russia in 1919 is a historical manipulation.
The Polish offensive on the Ukrainian direction in April 1920 was a part of this military conflict. This offensive was implemented together with the Armed forces of the Ukrainian People’s Republic led by Symon Petliura in order to push the Bolshevik forces out of Ukraine and improve the military positions of Poland in its war with Soviet Russia.
The Ukrainian and Belarusian People’s Republics that emerged in 1918 desperately resisted the Bolshevik conquest of these countries.
Read similar examples of the Russian historical revisionism concerning Poland - It is thanks to Russia that Poland today exists as a country, Nazi Germany considered Poland its best ally, USSR was forced and reluctant to sign the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact and the Polish legions of Pilsudski organized the Volyn tragedy.