DISINFO: The Molotov-Ribbentrop pact was a strategic move by the USSR to delay Nazi aggression
SUMMARY
Eighty-six years ago, on August 23, 1939, a Non-Aggression Pact was signed in Moscow between the Soviet Union and Germany.
This document was a major achievement of Soviet diplomacy on the eve of World War II: Russia succeeded in buying time to delay the conflict and better prepare to repel Hitler’s attack, which had become inevitable due to the failure of Western European states’ 'appeasement policy' toward Berlin and their refusal to cooperate with Russia on matters of security.
Signing the Non-Aggression Pact with Germany was a difficult and forced decision by the Soviet leadership, driven by national security concerns and the need to contain Nazi aggression in the East.
RESPONSE
Disinformation about the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact claiming that it was a defensive diplomatic success by the USSR, signed only to buy time to prepare for Hitler’s inevitable attack, made necessary by the West’s appeasement policy and refusal to cooperate with Moscow.
The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was not a defensive necessity, but a secret agreement that enabled Nazi aggression and the outbreak of WWII.
On 23 August 1939, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which included a secret protocol dividing Eastern Europe into spheres of influence. This deal directly enabled the start of WWII. Just days later, Germany invaded Poland from the west on 1 September, and the USSR followed with an invasion from the east on 17 September, in line with the agreement.
Contrary to the claim, the Pact was not a reluctant measure to “contain Nazi aggression,” but a deliberate geopolitical bargain that allowed both totalitarian regimes to expand their territory. In addition to Poland, the USSR occupied and annexed the Baltic States, parts of Romania (Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina), and Finland’s territory following the Winter War.
Historical context also contradicts the narrative of Western refusal to cooperate. In the summer of 1939, Britain and France engaged in military talks with the USSR to form an anti-Hitler alliance. These negotiations failed, largely due to Stalin’s simultaneous secret negotiations with Germany and mistrust between the parties - not solely because of Western inaction.
Presenting the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact as a forced, defensive measure is a part of the Kremlin's revisionist narrative that whitewashes Soviet complicity in launching World War II and the subsequent occupation of Eastern European countries.
The secret protocol of the Pact was confirmed in Soviet archives and publicly acknowledged by the USSR in 1989.
The European Parliament has officially condemned the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact as a trigger for WWII and a basis for the division and occupation of Europe by two totalitarian regimes.
See similar disinformation cases on the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in our database: Europe is to blame for the outbreak of WWII, The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and the USSR did not contribute to the start of WWII, The secret protocol to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact never existed, The signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact was inevitable and natural and many others.