DISINFO: The Eastern European anti-Communism opens the way for Fascism
SUMMARY
In recent years, we have observed in Ukraine and the Baltic states the connection of anti-communism with the rehabilitation of Fascism. Now, Fascism may triumphantly enter the stage while its greatest critic, Communism, is no longer present. Anti-communism is a hate disease which has struck many Eastern European countries. This disease leads us on a straight path to Fascism and the revision of the post-war order. This hateful attitude [to Communism] is supposed to whitewash Fascism. If Communism is such an absolute evil, which had destroyed Fascism, maybe this Fascism was not so bad since it was the first to oppose this Communism.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin narrative attempting to link the Baltic countries and Ukraine with Nazism, Fascism, aimed at discrediting the EU/West as a whole. The accusation of Nazism is a popular propaganda technique used by pro-Kremlin outlets. Read more: Nazi east, Nazi west, Nazi over the cuckoo's nest.
Many countries of Eastern and Central Europe, including Poland, Ukraine and the Baltic states, ban the Communist and the Nazi ideology because of their totalitarian and inhumane character. The Communists, alongside the Nazis, are responsible for the deaths of tens of millions of innocent people all over the world.
The myth of Nazi-ruled Ukraine has become a cornerstone in the pro-Kremlin disinformation and appeared during the Euromaidan protests in late 2013 - early 2014, when the then-president Viktor Yanukovych was toppled and later fled to Russia. The Kremlin has been using this myth actively since then to discredit Kyiv’s shift towards Euro-Atlantic policy.
A law passed in Ukraine in 2015 bans Nazi and Communist ideologies. The law prohibits the public use and propaganda of Nazi and Communist symbols.
See earlier disinformation cases alleging that Europe supports the revival of Fascism, that “fake history” became a norm in the Western World, that Western countries revise WWII history to evade responsibility for allowing Hitler to gather strength for the attack on the USSR, and The European Parliament resolution on the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact is aimed at the demonisation of Russia.
Technical remark: This disinformation was broadcast via Sputnik PL on 29 May 2022. Due to the EU decision to temporarily restrict the spread and dissemination of RT and Sputnik inside the EU, access to the Sputnik link may not work inside the EU.