DISINFO: The West supports Kazakhstan’s attempts to glorify Nazis and destroy its Soviet legacy
SUMMARY
Today, with the support of Western countries, attempts are being made in the post-Soviet space to promote a distorted version of history, rehabilitate, and glorify past Nazi criminals. In the EU, the Soviet Union is equated with Nazi Germany. As a result, there are attempts in Kazakhstan to rehabilitate veterans of the Turkestan Legion of the Wehrmacht and SS, as well as to glorify Nazi collaborators, abandon the symbols of Victory and Soviet symbols, falsify the history of World War II, and there is a rise in Nazism.
RESPONSE
A mix of pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives claiming that the West is waging a hybrid war against Russia. This narrative fits into the broader disinformation theme about the West’s allegedly belligerent and hostile agenda against Russia, and about its alleged plans to destabilise and encircle Russia. The article promotes a recurring disinformation narrative about alleged promotion of Russophobia in Central Asia. This claim was also made by the Russian Embassy in Kazakhstan.
Over the years, the government of Kazakhstan has supported various projects related to political repression during the Soviet era and the legacy of this violence. This is crucial for understanding the effects of Soviet regime to Kazakh society, as well as for forming a comprehensive evaluation of that period. An independent view of one's own history is a vital process for every country.
Since 1997, 31 May has been designated as the Day of Remembrance for the victims of political repression and famine in Kazakhstan. In 2020, Kazakhstan established a government Commission dedicated to the complete rehabilitation of individuals who were victims of mass political repressions of 1920s-1950s of the 20th century. The work of this Commission is based on in-depth historical research and archival investigations. The Commission included 425 scholars and researchers, including 260 specialists who worked in regional Commissions. in the process of rehabilitation, the Commission exonerated 311,000 people and published a 72-volume work based on its findings. More than 2.6 million documents and materials were analyzed and declassified.
See further false claims of pro-Kremlin media related to WWII.
Similar cases claiming that West attempts to manipulate Soviet history in Kazakhstan, that West increases pressure on CIS countries to break old ties, that the West caused the Ukraine coup, Belarus colour revolution and that Ukrainian authorities constantly oppress and infringe Russian-speaking people.