The JTA reports that the Duma, or lower house of the Russian Parliament, has passed a law that would punish historians who deny Nazi war crimes committed during WWII.
The law is widely regarded in Russia as a response to what many Russians believe to be the “rehabilitation of Nazism,” or the resurgence of the Nazi political agenda in states bordering Russia. Many Russians believe, including President Vladimir Putin, that Ukraine’s new government is at least partially dominated by neo-Nazi fascist parties, a belief that has prompted Russia to take unusually aggressive diplomatic and military interventions in Ukraine including the recent unilateral annexation of the Ukrainian Crimean peninsula.
“For us, the rehabilitation of Nazism will always be a crime against our country and our people. Rehabilitation of Nazism is not only a shot fired at the past and mocking millions of victims. It is also… instigation for new crimes against peace and security,” said head of the Lower House Committee for Security Irina Yarovaya, one of the main sponsors of the bill.
The law still needs to be approved by the legislative upper house in order to take effect.
(Aliza Levine – YWN)
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2 Responses
1. Ukraine’s new government is hardly dominated by fascists. But it is a clever PR move by Putin.
2. Russia was the primary beligerent in World War II. Most Germans who died, died on the Eastern Front. Most soldiers who died fighting the Nazis, were Russians. Without Russian involvement, the British and Americans would have had a serious problem. The Soviets always emphasized the Nazi’s atrocities, but only differed from the west in down playing the “Jewish” aspect since from their perspective, the typical victim was more likely to be non-Jewish (whereas in Western Europe, where most countries rolled over and played dead, most casulties were Jewish).
Putin and his government are behind this to improve their image. It is as kosher as a chazir’s foot! The proof: Putin’s dream is to head a neo-Soviet Union with all that is implied for freedom of conscience and expression. He plans to achieve his ends through Nazi-style propaganda and suppression of dissenting voices. Note also that it is not a crime to deny or “revise” Lenin, Stalin, Khrushchev et al’s atrocities. Stalin alone killed far more of his own people than the Nazis. Yemach shmom!