Russian foreign minister says EU, NATO connive with efforts to rewrite history

AP ^ | May 7, 2007

[Tailgunner Joe]

Estonian authorities late last month removed a monument to Soviet soldiers who died in the war from a central square in the Baltic nation's capital, prompting riots by members of the Russian-speaking minority and heated criticism from Russian officials and politicians.

Russians regard the monument as a tribute to the millions of Soviet soldiers who died fighting the Nazis — and, in Russia's view, liberating nations such as Estonia — while many Estonians regard it as a symbol of Soviet repression and a half-century of occupation.

The heightened tension comes ahead of Russian celebrations Wednesday of the anniversary of the Allied victory over Nazi Germany. The immensely costly victory is one of the proudest moments in Russian history, and Russian officials have repeatedly stressed that their view of the past is indisputable.

"Attempts to make a mockery of history are becoming an element and an instrument of the foreign policy of certain countries," Lavrov said ...at a ceremony honoring Russian diplomats who died during the war. "Unfortunately certain organizations such as NATO and the EU connive with these attempts."

"The memory of the victors does not fade, this memory is sacred to us, and attempts to relate to this memory blasphemously, to commit outrages against it, to rewrite history, cannot fail to anger us," Lavrov said...

Putin stressed Russia's losses in the war but said that on Victory Day Russia honors the memory of victims of fascism worldwide.

"Unfortunately, not everybody in the world understands that Russia lost more people in this war than the whole rest of the world," the RIA-Novosti news agency quoted him as saying. "That's the way it is, but we pay tribute to the memory of all victims of Nazism. This includes anti-fascists in Germany itself. It includes our allies in the second world war."

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Which fascism would that be, Puty ?

[MARKUSPRIME]

Russia,shut up paranoid fools.

[1rudeboy]

Jeepers. The Russians have the worst case of geopolitical penis-envy on the face of the Planet.

[the_Watchman]

Russians regard the monument as a tribute to the millions of Soviet soldiers who died fighting the Nazis — and, in Russia's view, liberating nations such as Estonia

Russia and Germany were allies at the start of the war. Russia invaded Estonia while they were still allied with Germany. Both countries also collaborated in the invasion of Poland.

"liberated" my foot!

[monday]

“Unfortunately, not everybody in the world understands that Russia lost more people in this war than the whole rest of the world,” the RIA-Novosti news agency quoted him as saying. “That’s the way it is, but we pay tribute to the memory of all victims of Nazism.”

Lavrov is a moron. Soviet Communists killed twice as many people as the Nazi Fascists.

[onedoug]

They shouldn’t have been commies.

[MARKUSPRIME]

Its called selective revisionist history. Alot of the russian youth are dumb enough to believe their state controlled media and outright lies.

[billybudd]

F-— the Russians.

[VeniVidiVici]

prompting riots by members of the Russian-speaking minority

Weren't many Russians moved forceably to the Baltics by Stalin?

[gr8eman]

By most accounts, the Soviets engineered provocations to send troops into Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in June 1940, then installed puppet governments, supposedly elected by margins of up to 99 percent of the population, which then asked to join the Soviet Union.