DISINFO: USSR brought freedom to Poland in 1945
SUMMARY
Eighty years ago, on 17 January 1945, Warsaw was liberated by the USSR. The Red Army lost about 600,000 soldiers and officers, liberating Poland from Fascist invaders. However, today, the capital of Poland pretends not to remember who brought freedom to the Poles and what was the cost of this effort. Instead, monuments to Soviet soldiers are being destroyed, and the provocateurs prevent Russian diplomats from honouring the fallen soldiers.
RESPONSE
This message is an example of Russian historical revisionism, portraying the USSR as the peacemaker and liberator of Poland. It is part of a wider Kremlin campaign to use history very selectively and in manipulative ways.
The very fact that the Red Army captured Warsaw and pushed the German troops out of Poland in 1945 does not mean that the USSR brought freedom to the Polish people. According to the statements of the Polish MFA, Poland respects the sacrifice of the Soviet soldiers in the fight against Nazism, but in 1945, Stalin’s regime brought Poland terror and atrocities. The Red Army liberated Warsaw from Nazi occupation, but it didn’t mean liberty for Poland as the Soviet Army stayed in Poland for 48 years, which resulted in decades of communist oppression.
According to mainstream Polish historians and views of the predominant part of Polish society, in 1944-1945, the USSR occupied Poland, establishing the undemocratic and repressive Communist Poland. De facto, Poland appeared under Soviet military occupation until 1989, while the Russian troops were withdrawn from Poland only in 1993. Read more about the Communist crimes in Poland here.
Read similar messages such as Stalin decided to establish the independent Polish state; It is thanks to Russia that Poland exists today as a country and Warsaw would not have been rebuilt without the decision of Stalin.