Events in Russia

Я думал стоит или не стоит сообщать об этом и пришел к выводу, что сообщить об этом здесь, в каком то смысле важнее, чем об открытии Крымского моста, например, потому что об открытии столь крупного объекта сообщат все, а вот о подобном событии, возможно, никто из тех кто формирует медиа пространство на западе и не пискнет. Итак очередной пик торжества "Европейских ценностей", в частности- свободы слова и свободы распространения информации в комментариях Марии Захаровой.

Захарова назвала действия властей Эстонии против Sputnik травлей
15:35 26.12.2019 (обновлено: 17:54 26.12.2019)



I thought about whether or not to report it and came to the conclusion that to report it here, in some sense, is more important than the opening of the Crimean bridge, for example, because the opening of such a large object will be reported by everyone, but about such an event, perhaps, none of those who form the media space in the West and do not squeak. So another peak of the triumph of "European values", in particular-freedom of speech and freedom of dissemination of information in the comments of Maria Zakharova.

Zakharova called the actions of the Estonian authorities against Sputnik harassment
15: 35 26.12.2019 (updated: 17:54 26.12.2019)
MOSCOW, 26 Dec-RIA Novosti. The official representative of the Russian foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova called the actions of the Estonian authorities against the journalists of Sputnik Estonia - "they did not violate any laws of the country or professional ethics".
Zakharova held another weekly Department briefing on current foreign policy issues in a yellow vest on Thursday, joining a flash mob in support of Sputnik Estonia.
"This bullying, real bullying, which is now being conducted against not only the organization Sputnik Estonia, but specifically, every employee who goes to work - it is not allowed. Try everything on yourself, as you are trying on these vests with the inscription Sputnik today, " Zakharova said at the briefing.
"What is it like to be in the place of employees who, instead of preparing for the holidays and performing their work efficiently, think about their future, without violating, I emphasize, without violating any law-neither the host country nor related to professional ethics," the representative of the Department added.
Executive Director of MIA "Russia today" Kirill Vyshinsky previously launched a flash mob in support of the portal Sputnik Estonia. The symbol of the flashmob # Sputniksila was painted in the company's yellow weight, which is written in English "Got You Covered!"("You can count on us!") and a yellow vest. The action has been joined by a member of the international Affairs Committee of the state Duma of the Russian Federation Yevgeny Primakov, journalist Armen Gasparyan, head of the Foundation to protect national values and the head of the Commission of Public chamber of the Russian Federation on development of information community, media and mass communications Alexander Malkevich.
Employees of Sputnik Estonia have previously received letters from the heads of the police Department and the border guard of the country with direct threats to initiate criminal cases against them if they do not stop working relations with the parent organization - the international news Agency "Russia today"before January 1, 2020. As a justification for these actions, the sanctions imposed by the European Union on March 17, 2014 against a number of individuals and legal entities in the light of the events in Ukraine are called. The editor-in-chief of MIA "Russia today" and RT TV channel Margarita Simonyan appealed to the President of Estonia Kirsti Kaljulaid, urging not to allow the arrest of journalists.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, commenting on the situation around Sputnik Estonia, said that the Russian authorities will do everything to support Sputnik when working in other countries. A senior source in Moscow earlier told RIA Novosti that the actions of the Estonian authorities are related to the British curators, this will be taken into account for the adoption of symmetrical measures in the near future against the British media in Russia.
Захарова назвала действия властей Эстонии против Sputnik травлей
 
Russians have chosen President Vladimir Putin as the politician of the year, according to a public opinion survey.

Russians name Putin politician of the year — poll (2019)
https://tass.com/society/1103689

Among the main domestic events of the outgoing year, Russians named the pension reform and the launch of the Crimean Bridge’s railway section

"Vladimir Putin, mentioned by 46% of respondents, remains the politician of the year for Russians. He is followed by [Foreign Minister] Sergey Lavrov (15%), [Defense Minister] Sergei Shoigu (10%), [LDPR party leader] Vladimir Zhirinovsky (7%), [Prime Minister] Dmitry Medvedev (6%)," the survey says.

(Of Note: Sergey Lavrov has always followed in second place in these polls.)

* Russians name Putin politician of the year in poll (2018)
Russians name Putin politician of the year in poll

* Russians name Putin politician of the year in poll (2017)
Russians name Putin politician of the year - Poll - Fort Russ

* Russians name Putin politician of the year in poll (2016)
新华网_让新闻离你更近

* Most Russians Consider President Putin ‘Person of the Year’ – Poll (2015)
*
Putin’s approval rating hits historic high at 89 percent (2015)

* No Surprise Here: Putin Named Russia's 'Man of the Year' for 15th Year (2014)

* Russian public names Putin ‘Man of the Year’ – fresh poll (2014)

~~~~
Sergey Lavrov: Russia hopes for the better
Sergey Lavrov: Russia hopes for the better

In his interview to TASS, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke about main results and major events of the outgoing year, including the Ukrainian crisis and the Normandy Quartet meeting in Paris, Russian-US relations and the future of the New START treaty, as well as turbulence in Latin America and Caribbean nations.

1245337.jpg
© Sergei Malgavko/TASS

Dear angelburst29, the link you gave contains absolutely incorrect, from my point of view definition. I in any case do not want to enter into a political dispute, just in our opinion - cuts the ear. Here are the formulations that we use to describe this event. Previously declared independence from Ukraine, the Republic of Crimea, as a result of a referendum, became part of the Russian Federation or simply Crimea, Crimea, which was part of Russia for 200 years, returned home.

Sorry for the error in the report, Youlik. My mistake. :-)

Apparently, some in Ukraine and the EU - are not too happy with the Crimea Bridge and Putin's success?

First passenger train from Moscow arrives in Crimea’s Simferopol
https://tass.com/economy/1103707

SIMFEROPOL, December 25. /TASS/. The first double-decker passenger train from Moscow arrived in the Crimean city of Simferopol on Thursday morning, a TASS correspondent reported.

The train departed from Moscow’s Kazansky Railway Station at 23:45 local time (20:45 GMT) on December 23, crossed the Crimea Bridge overnight into Thursday and arrived at its final destination in Simferopol at 08:47 local time (05:47 GMT). The journey took 33 hours.

Ukraine opens criminal case over Russian passenger train crossing Crimean Bridge

https://tass.com/world/1103423

KIEV, December 25. /TASS/. The so-called Crimean prosecutor’s office, an entity within the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office, has opened a criminal case in relation to the first passenger train from St. Petersburg to Sevastopol crossing the Kerch Strait over the Crimean Bridge and arriving in Crimea on Wednesday, the prosecutor’s office informed on its Telegram channel.

"The prosecutor’s office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea has opened a criminal case in relation to the illegal crossing of Ukraine’s state border by a passenger train from St. Petersburg to Simferopol (a city in Crimea, a stop on the way to Sevastopol - TASS) over the "Kerch Bridge,"" the message informed.

EU condemns launch of rail traffic across Kerch Strait
EU condemns launch of rail traffic across Kerch Strait

BRUSSELS, December 23, 2019 -The European Union has rebuked the launch of railroad traffic across the Kerch of Strait via the Crimean Bridge as a violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty, the EU Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy said in a statement issued in Brussels on Monday.


China has also celebrated a landmark in bridge construction and railway expansion:
China's first suspension bridge integrating expressway, railway completes main body
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-12/26/c_138659736_2.htm

Aerial photo taken on Dec. 26, 2019 shows the closure of Wufengshan Yangtze River Bridge, China's first suspension bridge that integrates an expressway and a railway, in east China's Jiangsu Province. The double-deck bridge linking Yangzhou and Zhenjiang in Jiangsu completed its main body here on Thursday. With a main span of 1,092 meters, the bridge boasts an eight-lane expressway on the upper deck and a high-speed railway on the lower deck.
 

Opposition activist Alexei Navalny detained in Moscow
https://tass.com/politics/1103831

MOSCOW, December 26, 2019 - Law enforcers are searching the Moscow office of the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) and have detained its founder, Alexei Navalny, Navalny’s spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh told the media.

"The FBK is being searched. Navalny has been detained. The other staffers were allowed to leave for now," she said

On October 9, the Justice Ministry included the FBK in the list of NGOs operating as foreign agents. The Justice Ministry said the fund was involved in political activities and received foreign funding.

Russian authorities raid Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny's Moscow office
FILE PHOTO: Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny delivers a speech during a rally to demand the release of jailed protesters, who were detained during opposition demonstrations for fair elections, in Moscow, Russia September 29, 2019. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov
Russian authorities raided the Moscow headquarters of opposition politician Alexei Navalny on Thursday, using power tools to gain entry before dragging Navalny out by force and confiscating technical equipment such as laptops.

Russian court extends detention of ex-Marine Moscow calls a spy
FILE PHOTO: Former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who was detained and accused of espionage, stands inside a defendants' cage during a court hearing on extending his pre-trial detention, in Moscow, Russia October 24, 2019.  REUTERS/Tatyana Makeyeva
A Russian court on Tuesday extended by three months the detention of Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine accused by Moscow of spying, a decision his family and U.S. officials condemned as unjust.
 
Earlier there was on SOTT
Poland wanted to 'erect magnificent monument' to honor Hitler's plan to send Jews to Africa - Putin cites WWII archives
And on the Russian Channel 1 Владимир Путин показал архивные документы об истинном раскладе сил в Европе накануне Второй мировой войны. Новости. Первый канал

Kirill Kleimenov
You see this picture? You know what's on it? This eagle nest. The rate of the Fuhrer in the Bavarian Alps. Beautiful place. Romantic. And this is exactly learn, even from the back — the owner of the Nest. Eagle. As then many thought. And it is here, on the stairs, below the eagle, in a conciliatory pose. What kind of man? And this is the then Prime Minister of England. Lord Chamberlain. He came to negotiate with Hitler. To beg for peace.

And interestingly, this photograph and this meeting, of course, in 1938, long before the famous meeting of the Molotov — Ribbentrop Pact. Moreover, such photos of Hitler and Stalin never had. And it could not be. Interesting, isn't it? Today in St. Petersburg, our President is a lot more interesting things he told his colleagues at the EurAsEC, and at the same time we are with you.


White gloves, the head of Rosarkhiv leafing through the report of the commander of the Polish army group "Silesia" — the same one that was created specifically to work together with the Nazi Germany part of Czechoslovakia. Just one of the many documents, which in modern Europe prefer not to remember. Instead, the European Parliament adopts a resolution demanding that Russia stop the distortion of historical facts.
But the exhibition at the presidential library in St. Petersburg, on the contrary, helps to refresh the memory, restoring the chronology of events before the Second world war. The exhibition was able to appreciate the leaders of the CIS countries is a good example. The theoretical part of history — a roundtable, which brought together the descendants of those who freed the world from fascism. And no matter that it is now several independent States. The past is still common.
"I want to emphasize again, this applies to all of us because we, to a certain extent the heirs of former Soviet Union. When talking about the Soviet Union, we talk about what is written? According to this paper, the Pact, called the Molotov — Ribbentrop Pact, remember that it is the Minister of foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union and fascist Germany, Ribbentrop, as written further divided Europe and the territories of independent States between the two totalitarian regimes that paved the way to the beginning of the Second world war", — said the President of Russia.
The text of the European Declaration, said Vladimir Putin, surprised and touched. It was then, according to the head of state, he asked to raise the archives. And that's what agreement there was. In order. 1934 — Declaration of non-use of force between Germany and Poland, or else the Pact of Pilsudski — Hitler. 1935 — Anglo-German naval agreement, then the Munich agreement — the Nazi Germany, England, France and Italy, it's September 1938, and in December the Franco-German Declaration. In March 1939, the Third Reich signed a joint document with Lithuania, and in June — with Latvia.
"Thus the Treaty between the Soviet Union and Germany was the last among those which have been signed by other European countries, as if interested in the preservation of peace in Europe. Note that the Soviet Union signed this document only after exhausting all possibilities and was rejected all the proposals of the Soviet Union on creation of a unified security system, anti-fascist coalition, in fact, in Europe," — said Vladimir Putin.
Europe was engaged in appeasement of Germany, obviously thirsting for revenge after the infamous Treaty of Versailles following the First world war. In the process someone tried to grab a piece. In the case of Poland — a piece of Czechoslovakia.
"This is a recording of the interview of the German Ambassador in Poland, Mr. Moltke with the Minister of foreign Affairs of Poland, Mr. Beck. In this document the Minister of foreign Affairs of Poland, Mr. Beck expressed the hope that, quote: "In the areas which Poland claims, he says it will not have conflicts with German interests", that is, the division of the Czechoslovak territory," — said Vladimir Putin.
About the plans of Berlin and Warsaw warned the French Ambassador in Poland, the Lion Nuel'. In his reports he shared a conversation with the Polish leaders of the time.
"Quote: "If the Germans remain the enemy, he nevertheless European and people of order." Poland will soon know what "European" and "man of order". From 1 September ' 39 it's all feel. Well, then. "Russian for poles barbarian, Asian, destructive and corrupting element with which any contact is dangerous, any compromise is fatal." And here we can say as a comment: this is a typical example of racism. And, you know, in this regard, of course, I see that in some countries of Europe occurs with Russophobia, anti-Semitism and so on. All this is for me something very similar. Aggressive nationalism is always blinding, erases any moral edge, embarked on this path does not stop at nothing. But in the end it gets them. And it was not time", — said the Russian leader.
But if you now about this, few people think, then even more so. But Poland and Germany had other common interests other than Czechoslovakia. About them was said by Hitler in conversation with the Polish Minister of foreign Affairs in 1939.
"It's the Fuhrer says: "a Further question in which Germany and Poland have common interests, is a "Jewish problem", he, the Fuhrer, is firmly committed to throw out Jews from Germany, now they will still be allowed to seize a part of their property, they certainly will take with me from Germany more than they had when he settled in this country. But the more they delay the migration, the less property they will be able to take with you."
Well, what is that anyway? Well, what kind of people? Who are they? And I have the impression that not only don't want to know in today's Europe, and that it was deliberately suppressed, trying to shift the guilt for the outbreak of the Second world war with the Nazis to the Communists. Yes, we know who Stalin was, we gave him his grades, but I do think that the fact remains the fact that Nazi Germany invaded on 1 September 1939, Poland, June 22 — the Soviet Union", — said Vladimir Putin.
And the Molotov — Ribbentrop Pact, which they so love to talk of European politics, only the possibility of short delays, which the Soviet Union got caught in the reality of the Munich agreement. No wonder it is called the "Munich Pact". British Prime Minister Chamberlain said, "I brought you peace". And only Winston Churchill, at that time the future head of the government, found the courage to answer: "We have just suffered a complete defeat and unconditional, it's over." And though history does not tolerate subjunctive mood — the same documents say about missed opportunities.
"In 1938 Hitler was still possible to stop the collective efforts of the European States. It was recognized by Western leaders. Here again the link to the document. This is a recording of conversations between representatives of the French and the Polish command about the prospects of war in Europe between Italo-German and Polish-French coalitions. On may 17, 1939.
"At the meeting with the Minister of military Affairs of Poland, the chief of the French General staff said that in September 1938, the General situation presented far more opportunities than now, for intervention against Germany."
That is, he was talking about: what if I reacted in time, war could have been avoided. But already during the Nuremberg trial of war criminals to the question, would Germany attack Czechoslovakia in 1938 if the Western powers had supported Prague, field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel said: "No, we were not strong enough from a military point of view. The purpose of Munich was to oust Russia from Europe, to gain time and to complete the armament of Germany," — said Vladimir Putin.
What happened next — all I know. War and millions of lives of soldiers of the red army, given for the Victory. The victory that the Soviet Union shared with its allies, and Russia never denied. So why, why would someone in the West would want to argue with those who contributed to the defeat of the Nazis a decisive contribution?! Revered be all the same of Churchill, not just today quoted Vladimir Putin. "I'd like to note, in connection with the resolution, which was adopted recently by our colleagues in the European Parliament. Future generations recognize their duty to the red army as unreservedly as do we who have lived to witness these magnificent achievements. Well, we see how responsive the current generation of politicians in Europe", — said the President of Russia.
For example, are urged not to rake up the past. Who would argue. But to turn the past upside down is also useless, because the history in such cases tends to repeat itself.
Kirill Braynin
Notes: For Independent Operational Group Silesia - Wikipedia
was an Operational Group of the Polish Army, created in September 1938 to annex Zaolzie from Czechoslovakia.

The Group was commanded by General Władysław Bortnowski and comprised several Army units and five air squadrons. Altogether, 35,966 Polish officers and soldiers participated in the annexation of Zaolzie.

The Group comprised mostly units of the 4th Infantry Division, as well as regiments of the 14th Infantry Division, 15th Infantry Division, 16th Infantry Division, 23rd Infantry Division, 25th Infantry Division, and 21st Mountain Infantry Division. Additionally, a cavalry regiment was created, comprising units of the Wielkopolska Cavalry Brigade and the Pomeranian Cavalry Brigade.

After its creation, the military unit was stationed near the border of Poland and Czechoslovakia.

As a result of Munich crisis, Czechoslovak government yielded to the Polish pressure and gave up a part of Cieszyn Silesia region (namely Zaolzie) to Poland (as demanded by Poland under a threat of military action). The Independent Operational Group Silesia was carrying out the annexation from 2 to 11 October 1938.

Field Marshall Wilhelm Keitel was one of those convicted at the Nuremberg trials after WW II: Wilhelm Keitel - Wikipedia See also his memoirs. There was quite a lot of politics involved in the trial which defeated itself by the criminal way they executed those convicted:
The trap door was small, causing head injuries to Keitel and several other condemned men as they dropped.[43]Many of the executed Nazis fell from the gallows with insufficient force to snap their necks, resulting in a suffocating death struggle that in Keitel's case lasted 24 minutes.[41]
Themes in history do seem to repeat themselves.
 

(Putin cites WWII archives) Thanks for the additional information, Thorbiorn. :-)

Putin often quotes History in his discussions, especially during his extended hourly marathon - "Question and Answer" yearly Sessions. It's amazing to listen to him. I can only imagine the information - on true History - that are contained in these six volumes?

“World History in Six Volumes”

Trump, Putin discussed Russia attack, arms control, relations: White House
FILE PHOTO: Russia's President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump shake hands during a bilateral meeting at the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, June 28, 2019.  REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the state of relations between their two countries in a phone call by Putin, the White House said on Monday.

Trump, on a two-week working vacation at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, has longed for strong U.S. relations with Russia and complained that a U.S. probe into whether his 2016 presidential campaign colluded with Russia had stymied him.

The Trump-Putin call came as the State Department announced Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will travel to Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Cyprus from Jan. 3-7.
 
Эта история имеет показательное и вполне содержательное продолжение со стороны Польши и США. Хорошее название придумал Вадим Бухарский, я бы взял его, чтоб озаглавить этот пост. "Антисемитская свинья хорошо колыхнула польское болото".
В Польше высказались многие, от журналистов, до министров и премьер-министра. Журналист назвал слова Путина вмешательством во внутренние дела.
Польский журналист объяснил слова Путина о после-свинье

Это наверно, чтоб американцам было понятнее- там Россия все время вмешивается. Хотя, по трезвому размышлению, заявление посла страны на встрече с лидером другой страны по поводу планов о переселении народа на другой континент и внутренние дела...?? Ну не знаю, то ли ничего умнее не пришло ему на ум, то ли то что я написал выше.
Министр назвал слова Путина истерикой.
«Истеричная атака»: в правительстве Польши впервые ответили Путину

Что же - его право так считать, хотя истерикой как раз выглядит реакция польских деятелей, а со стороны Путина это была попытка назвать вещи своими именами. Может пора уже начать так делать, а то мы все время слышим: "наши западные партнеры". Чтобы они не делали и не говорили- все "наши партнеры". Уинстон Черчилль,например, когда еще не стеснялся называть Польшу гиеной Европы.
Польский премьер без затей обвинил Путина во лжи.
Премьер-министр Польши Матеуш Моравецкий обвинил президента России в сознательной лжи

Вообще не возможно прокомментировать- ведь есть же документы.
Американцы четко в своем репертуаре.
Посол США указала Путину на виновников начала Второй мировой войны

Посол США в Польше назвала фактом совместную ответственность Германии и СССР в начале Второй мировой войны. Вот так вот- факт и все!. Ну что же, таких фактов мы в последнее время видели множество. Агрессия России в Грузии- факт. Аннексия Крыма- факт. Сбитый российскими силами МН-17- факт. Отравление Скрипалей сотрудиками ФСБ- факт. Ну и конечно милое сердцу американских властей российское вмешательство в выборы- факт. Вот такие вот факты без единого доказательства. Владимир Владимирович Путин, кстати, пообещал написать статью о событиях, приведших к началу Второй мировой войны, на основе рассекреченных документов.

Translation

This story has a significant and quite meaningful continuation on the part of Poland and the United States. A good name came up with Vadim Bukharsky, I would take it to title this post. "An anti-Semitic pig has well stirred the Polish swamp."
The words of Russian President Vladimir Putin about the guilt of pre-war Poland in the partition of Czechoslovakia and the anti-Semitic statement of the then Polish Ambassador in Berlin — " Bastard! Anti-Semitic pig!"- caused in Poland the effect of an exploded bomb.

Putin is accused of lying, however, what he lied, do not specify. Then they remember everything they can-September 1939, Katyn, Kaczynski's plane, and so on with all the stops. The prize for the most" intellectual " response to Putin can be awarded to the Prime Minister of Poland Mateusz Morawiecki, who explained Putin's speech on the Polish topic by the need to distract the attention of Russians from the delay in the construction of the Nord stream — 2 gas pipeline and the disqualification of Russian athletes by the world anti-doping Association. As they say, " this is five."

In General, Putin threw a good bundle of firewood into the blazing fire in Poland Russophobic and anti-Soviet hysteria. Nothing seems to have changed except the intensity of hysteria, but no. You may notice some qualitative changes.

The first problem is that there will be presidential elections in Poland next year. The election date has not yet been set and the candidates have not been officially named, but the election campaign has, in fact, already begun. It is highly likely that the current President Andrzej Duda will run for a second term. He represents the ruling right-liberal party "Law and Justice" (Pis), although he left it in accordance with the law.

The candidate of the opposition Pro-European left-liberal "Civil coalition" is likely to be the former speaker of the Sejm (lower house of Parliament) Malgorzata Kidava-Blonska.

In the confrontation between the right and left liberals in Poland, everything is very serious. PIs relies on conservative attitudes in Polish society, relies on the Church. The current leadership of Poland is pursuing a Pro-American policy in the hope of becoming the center of the "new EU" project "Mezhdumorye", or "Intermarium". It is assumed that" old Europe " will soon completely weaken and Islamize, and then the millennial dreams of the Polish elite will come true. With the help of overseas partners, of course.

The opposition Civil coalition is trying to return Poland to the status of the periphery of the left-liberal European Union with all its "refugees", gay parades and other tolerasty. The opposition carries out harsh attacks on the Church and on any manifestations of conservatism.

It would seem that the Polish elite is United in relation to Russia. But the temptation to use the situation in the election fight still prevailed. On Sunday, December 29, Malgorzata Kidava-Blonska accused the government and the President of inaction in the face of Putin's "offensive" statements and demanded immediate action:

"In recent days, we have witnessed a Russian propaganda offensive that slanders Poland and tries to change its role in history. I am surprised to see the passivity and helplessness of the government. I call on President Andrzej Duda to take urgent action. Where Are you, Mr. President?"—she wrote in his Twitter.

It is unclear what measures the President should take. The Russian Ambassador has already been summoned to the Polish foreign Ministry. There with it correctly talked as to cover, in General, there is nothing, - Putin a circle of the rights. Then, when the Ambassador left, the press launched a lie that the Ambassador "strictly pointed out" something. Ugly, but "Patriotic". What's next? Break off diplomatic relations or immediately bomb Moscow? Relations between the two countries are already worse than ever. Worse-only the war, but this permission from Washington yet, and what it will result for Warsaw-it is clear, it is not necessary to count even up to three.

Former Polish Prime Minister and President of the European Council Donald Tusk, who supports the left-liberal Pro-European opposition, immediately realized that the process went wrong, and made an attempt to extinguish the hotbed of disagreement. "The bold lies of President Putin and Russian propaganda need a common position of the Polish authorities and the opposition. There is no place or time for an internal dispute, " he tweeted.

On Sunday afternoon, Polish media reported that President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki had "decided on a joint position" on Putin's remarks. It turned out to extinguish the pre-election quarrel or not-in the near future we will see.

Now back to what Putin said. Or rather, why he said it. Poland's participation in the partition of Czechoslovakia together with Nazi Germany is simply stupid to deny, it is, as they say, a medical fact. The Polish Ambassador's statement about Jews is also true. In General, before the Second world war, disparaging and hostile statements about Jews were not particularly bad manners around the world. And in Poland — even more so, and still Jews remain one of the favorite topics of the poles.

In interwar Poland, despite the declared equality, not only Jews were oppressed, but also the non-Polish population Of the Kres of the Eastern suburbs-Russians (Belarusians and Ukrainians), Galicians and Lithuanians.

Only with the Jews it was a little more difficult, because among them there were many too rich and too educated. They couldn't just be left on the sidelines of life. Therefore, they were secretly purged from public offices, even from the railway. Quotas were introduced for Jews in Polish universities, and even in classrooms, Jewish students had to sit separately from others.

Since 1937, Jews were expelled from professional associations of doctors and lawyers, and radical nationalists openly called for a boycott of Jewish trade. Interestingly-the current Polish leadership did not know about it or forgot?

If you read the statements of Polish politicians of the interwar period, disparaging statements about Jews there were in the order of things. For example, Jozef Pilsudski's detractors started a rumor that he was a Jew, and he indignantly denied it.

When Poland was occupied by Nazi Germany, pogroms and murders of the Jewish population began quite quickly. Of course, with the connivance of the Germans, but the poles did it. The first mass murder of Jews by poles took place in the village of edvabne on July 10, 1941. This is recognized even by the Polish court, disagreements exist only on the number of dead, but even at the most modest estimates, at least 350 people were killed.

There were many such facts, some of them were also established by the Polish court. Moreover, the facts of pogroms and murders of Jews by poles were noted after the war, in 1945-46. Of course, there were poles who hid Jews from murderers and rioters. But this does not change the overall picture.

After the war, Jewish organizations based mainly in the United States began to demand compensation from Poland for the property of Polish Jews who died or were forced to leave their homes during the Nazi occupation. But to demand this from the Polish people's Republic was somehow out of hand, since the steamship factories and apartment buildings were nationalized. But now, in "free" capitalist Poland-the time is right.

On may 9, 2018, President Donald trump signed into law 447"Justice for survivors without compensation". The law guarantees assistance to Jewish public organizations in recovering the value of lost property in any country to the heirs of Holocaust victims. The volume of such claims to Poland is estimated at about 300 billion dollars. Western Ukraine is not forgotten there either.

In General, Poland's relations with Jewish organizations and Israel leave much to be desired. And Putin's story about the" arts " of pre-war Polish politicians has put modern Polish politicians in a dilemma: either they apologize for the anti-Semitic statements of those whose heirs today's Poland thinks itself, or relations with Jews are severely deteriorating. And the Jewish lobby is very strong in the United States, in the country on which Poland now has everything.

December 30, 2019
Vadim Bukharsky
Антисемитская свинья хорошо колыхнула польское болото
In Poland, many people spoke out, from journalists to Ministers and the Prime Minister.
The journalist called Putin's words interference in internal Affairs.
Polish journalist explained Putin's words about the after-pig
Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling the Polish Ambassador to the Third Reich Jozef Lipsky a bastard and an anti-Semitic pig, tried to disgrace Poland and expose it as a Russophobic country, says journalist Marek Świerczyński. He wrote about this in an article published on the website of the Warsaw analytical center Polityka Insight.

According to Vertinskogo, the statements of the Russian leader are also interference in the internal Affairs of Poland. At the same time, the analyst found it difficult to explain what Putin and his aides are directly guided by.

The words of the head of state, according to the journalist, require a reaction based on facts and sources, containing a message that would reflect the conditions of coexistence of Poland and Russia. At the same time, he stressed that the Polish authorities, responding to the Russian President, should not try to whiten the "dark pages of their own history".

In General, Putin's statements are part of a long campaign to discredit Poland in order to make the poles "the leading Russophobes in Europe," schverchinsky is convinced. To do this, Moscow can use the memorable dates and events coming in 2020, explains the analyst: the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, preparation for the exercise Defender Europe with the participation of the US military, the 10th anniversary of the disaster at Smolensk with the plane of President Lech Kaczynski, the 75th anniversary of the Victory in the great Patriotic war, the centenary of the battle of Warsaw and others.

"Stalin was sure of the inevitability of war»
Who actually allowed Hitler to unleash world war II
In December, Vladimir Putin several times touched upon the pre-war policy of a number of European States and, in particular, mentioned the activities of Jozef Lipsky, who when he was Polish Ambassador to the Third Reich spoke approvingly about the idea of Adolf Hitler to expel Jews from the Old world to Africa. In one of his speeches, the President called Lipsky a bastard and an anti-Semitic pig. Because of the statements of the head of state, the Russian Ambassador in Warsaw, Sergei Andreev, was summoned to the Polish foreign Ministry, where, according to the diplomat, a tough conversation took place.

Shortly before that, the Russian leader admitted that he was offended by the European Parliament resolution adopted in September, which claims that the Second world war was provoked by Germany and the Soviet Union, who signed the Molotov — Ribbentrop Pact. He also promised to write a historical article for the 75th anniversary of the Victory in the great Patriotic war.
Польский журналист объяснил слова Путина о после-свинье
This is probably to make it clearer to the Americans-Russia is always interfering there. Although, on sober reflection, the statement of the country's Ambassador at a meeting with the leader of another country about plans to relocate people to another continent and internal Affairs...?? Well, I do not know whether anything smarter did not come to his mind, or what I wrote above.
The Minister called Putin's words hysterical.
"Hysterical attack": the Polish government for the first time responded to Putin
The Polish government for the first time commented on the statement of Russian President Vladimir Putin about the historical responsibility of Poland for the outbreak of the Second world war. Five days later, Deputy Prime Minister Yaroslav Govin did so on his microblog.

The Polish politician called Putin's words "a hysterical attack".

"President Putin's hysterical attack on Poland is a manifestation of the helplessness caused by the recent success of Polish historical policy, including a European Parliament resolution clearly indicating German-Soviet aggression against our country as the cause of world war II, "Govin wrote on Twitter.
This is the first such statement from the government on the background of recent statements by Vladimir Putin, said the portal Wirtualna Polska. EADaily recalls that on the eve of the Russian Ambassador in Warsaw, Sergei Andreev was summoned to the Polish foreign Ministry. The Ministry said that during the conversation on behalf of the Polish authorities was expressed " strong opposition to historical insinuations, which in recent days have been repeatedly made by representatives of the highest authorities of the Russian Federation, including President Vladimir Putin and Chairman of the state Duma Vyacheslav Volodin."

"Recent statements by the highest representatives of the Russian authorities show that the Stalinist historical narrative is deliberately and aggressively trying to penetrate the Russian historical imagination. These statements, based on the propaganda of the claims of a totalitarian state, are in serious contradiction with the international obligations of the Russian Federation, and are also a mockery of the millions of victims of Stalin's actions," said Polish Deputy foreign Minister Marcin Przidac.
In turn, Andreev said RIA "Novosti" that " the conversation was tough, but quite correct."

"He (Director of the Eastern Department of the Polish foreign Ministry Jan Hofmokl. - EADaily) stated the position of the Polish side, I-the position of the Russian side. It was about the speech of Russian President Vladimir Putin, first at the CIS summit, then at the Board of the defense Ministry. We will not allow anyone to read us a lecture. We have something to say, including on the subject of historical politics, " the Ambassador said.
EADaily recalls that the Russian President, speaking recently at the expanded Board of the defense Ministry, called "a bastard and an anti-Semitic pig" the Polish Ambassador to Nazi Germany, Jozef Lipsky, who supported the idea of war criminal Adolf Hitler to send Polish Jews to Africa "to extinction and destruction."
«Истеричная атака»: в правительстве Польши впервые ответили Путину: EADaily
Well-it is his right to think so, although the reaction of Polish figures just looks hysterical, and on the part of Putin it was an attempt to call a spade a spade. Maybe it's time to start doing this, because we always hear: "our Western partners". Whatever they do and say-all "our partners". Winston Churchill, for example, when he did not hesitate to call Poland the hyena of Europe.
The Polish Prime Minister without fuss accused Putin of lying.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki accused the Russian President of deliberately lying
According to the Prime Minister, this happens when Russia feels international pressure.

The Polish Prime Minister's statement was a response to Vladimir Putin's remarks at the annual press conference on December 19. The President, in particular. he said that the USSR was the last country to sign a non-aggression Pact with Germany. Putin also noted that at the time of the entry of Soviet troops into Poland, the Polish government had already fled from Warsaw.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that he considers the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany as the two countries that started the Second world war, RIA reminds. According to him, the Russians, as the people most affected by the Stalinist regime, deserve the truth.
Премьер-министр Польши Матеуш Моравецкий обвинил президента России в сознательной лжи
It is not possible to comment at all - after all, there are documents.
The Americans are clearly in their repertoire.
The us Ambassador pointed out to Putin the culprits of the beginning of the Second world war
Reacting to Putin's comparison of the Polish Ambassador in the Third Reich to a pig, the us Ambassador in Warsaw pointed out to him that Hitler and Stalin had started the Second world war

The American Ambassador in Warsaw, Georgette Mosbacher, commenting on the statement of Russian President Vladimir Putin about the history of Poland since the 1930s, said that the Fuhrer of Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler and the leader of the USSR Joseph Stalin were the instigators of the Second world war, the victim of which was Poland.

"Dear President Putin, it was Hitler and Stalin who agreed to start world war II. This is a fact. Poland has become a victim of this terrible conflict, " she wrote on Twitter.

In response to this report, the Russian Embassy in Poland questioned whether the American Ambassador properly knows the story. "Dear Madam Ambassador, do you really think you know more about history than you do about diplomacy?"- said the diplomatic mission.

The Polish foreign Ministry summoned the Russian Ambassador because of Putin's words about an anti-Semitic pig
Similarly, Mosbacher commented on Putin's statement about Poland's participation in the Third Reich in the 1930s, Jozef Lipsky, which he made during a meeting of the Board of the defense Ministry last week. Then the Russian leader recalled that Lipsky promised Hitler to erect a monument in Warsaw for the expulsion of Jews to Africa. "You bastard, you anti-Semitic pig, there is no other way to say it," the President said.
Посол США указала Путину на виновников начала Второй мировой войны
The us Ambassador to Poland called the joint responsibility of Germany and the USSR at the beginning of the Second world war a fact. Here is so here is - fact and all!. Well, we've seen a lot of such facts lately. Russia's aggression in Georgia is a fact. The annexation of Crimea is a fact. Shot down by Russian forces MN-17-fact. The poisoning of the Skripals by FSB officers is a fact. And of course, the Russian interference in the elections, which is dear to the heart of the American authorities, is a fact. Here are the facts without a single proof.
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, by the way, promised to write an article about the events that led to the beginning of the Second world war, based on declassified documents.
 
The prelude to this event was at the yearly Q and A conference:
Kira Latukhina, Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

I would like to return to the issue of our Victory in the Great Patriotic War. Next year we will celebrate the anniversary – the 75th anniversary, the Year of Memory and Glory. But at the same time, in September this year, the European Parliament adopted a resolution stating that Nazism and fascism are equated with the Soviet regime, having timed it with the anniversary of the outbreak of World War II. They are calling it totalitarianism and suggesting introducing a new international holiday to celebrate the day of heroes of the fight against totalitarianism on May 25. What do you think about it? What is your opinion?

Vladimir Putin: There is nothing good about totalitarianism, it is worthy of condemnation, without any doubt.

I know about the European Parliament’s decision. I consider it absolutely unacceptable and wrong, because you can condemn Stalinism and totalitarianism as a whole, and in some ways these will be well-deserved reproaches. Our people were the biggest victims of totalitarianism. We condemned it and the personality cult and so on.

But to equate the Soviet Union or to put the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany on one level is incredible cynicism. This means that people do not know history; they cannot read or write. Let them read the documents of that time, let them see how the so-called Munich Agreement was signed in 1938, when the heads of the leading countries – France, Great Britain – signed an agreement with Hitler on the partition of Czechoslovakia.

How did Poland behave in this situation, which, as one diplomat wrote at the time, “did everything possible to participate in the partition of Czechoslovakia?” How did the Soviet Union behave then, proposing to all participants in international life to create a united anti-Nazi front?

And how, by not creating it, they were really trying to push Hitler to aggression to the East, not realising then that Nazi Germany was interested not in Polish-German relations, but in expanding their living space to the East, that is, war against the Soviet Union.

You see, I mean to write an article about this event. I will definitely have it published because I asked my colleagues to select archive materials for me. When I read some of them, everything becomes clear: everything in the process of appeasing Hitler is sorted out by year, month, and almost by day.

Stalin did not stain himself with direct contact with Hitler whereas the French and British leaders met with him and signed some documents. Yes the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and the secret protocols to it were signed.

Is it good or bad? I draw your attention to this – it is crucial – that the Soviet Union was the last country in Europe to sign a non-aggression pact with Germany. All the others had signed it earlier. And what was the Soviet Union supposed to do? Face it alone?

Yes, they say there were secret protocols, the division of Poland. Poland itself joined in dividing Czechoslovakia. It entered two regions – Tesin and another one. And that’s it. Poland took them over. They in fact gave an ultimatum and set up an entire group for the aggression. But it was not needed because Czechoslovakia surrendered under pressure and gave those territories away. But the Poles did the same.

By the way, yes, Soviet troops entered Poland under the protocols. I draw your attention to the following circumstance: the troops did enter but only after the Polish government lost control over their armed forces and over the developments in Poland while the government itself was somewhere near the Polish-Romanian border. There was no one to talk to about it. Do you see this?

Moreover, we talk about the heroic defenders of the Brest Fortress. Nazi troops captured Brest-Litovsk and then just abandoned it, and the Red Army moved in. Do you understand this or not? This is what I want to ask all those who adopt such resolutions in the European Parliament.

That means the Red Army did not invade those territories in Poland. German troops entered them and then left, and after that the Soviet troops entered. Does this mean anything? So I will definitely let you know about that. By the way, we are holding a CIS format meeting tomorrow, and I want to show my CIS colleagues some of our archival documents. Anyone interested is welcome to come and listen.
Regarding what Winston Churchill should have said about Poland, there were some answers on
While it is easy to find answers from Poland here is one from a possible descendant of those who had to live with it:
, lives in Czechia
Answered May 17, 2019 · Author has 2.1k answers and 3.2m answer views

Churchill didn’t write that Poland was a hyena – or greedy hyena. He only wrote that Poland had the “hyena appetite”. Source: Second World War: the Grand Alliance, his book. Also: The Gathering Storm
URL: The Second World War - page 144
URL: The Gathering Storm - page 311
[...]
I found The Gathering Storm and below are a series of excerpts that put the case into perspective:
From page 348:
Mr. Churchill to Lord Halifax 3.IX.38. I have received privately from an absolutely sure source the following information, which I feel it my duty to report to you, although I was not asked to do so. Yesterday, September 2, the French Chargé d’Affaires in Moscow (the Ambassador being on leave) called upon M. Litvinov and, in the name of the French Government, asked him what aid Russia would give to Czechoslovakia against a German attack, having regard particularly to the difficulties which might be created by the neutrality of Poland or Rumania. Litvinov asked in reply what the French would do themselves, pointing out that the French had a direct obligation, whereas the Russian obligation was dependent on the action of France. The French Chargé d’Affaires did not reply to this question. Nevertheless, Litvinov stated to him, first, that the Russian Soviet Union had resolved to fulfil their obligations. He recognised the difficulties created by the attitude of Poland and Rumania, but he thought that in the case of Rumania these could be overcome.
From page 380:
The heroic characteristics of the Polish race must not blind us to their record of folly and ingratitude which over centuries has led them through measureless suffering. We see them, in 1919, a people restored by the victory of the Western Allies after long generations of partition and servitude to be an independent Republic and one of the main Powers in Europe. Now, in 1938, over a question so minor as Teschen, they sundered themselves from all those friends in France, Britain, and the United States who had lifted them once again to a national, coherent life, and whom they were soon to need so sorely. We see them hurrying, while the might of Germany glowered up against
Which continues on page 381:
them, to grasp their share of the pillage and ruin of Czechoslovakia. During the crisis the door was shut in the face of the British and French Ambassadors, who were denied even access to the Foreign Secretary of the Polish State. It is a mystery and tragedy of European history that a people capable of every heroic virtue, gifted, valiant, charming, as individuals, should repeatedly show such inveterate faults in almost every aspect of their governmental life. Glorious in revolt and ruin; squalid and shameful in triumph. The bravest of the brave, too often led by the vilest of the vile! And yet there were always two Polands; one struggling to proclaim the truth and the other grovelling in villainy. We shall yet have to recount the failure of their military preparations and plans; the arrogance and errors of their policy; the awful slaughters and miseries to which they doomed themselves by their follies. Yet we shall never seek in vain for their perennial impulse to strike against tyranny and to suffer with invincible fortitude all the agonies they perpetually draw upon themselves.
Page 391 one finds:
On November 1, a nonentity, Doctor Hacha, was elected to the vacant Presidency of the remnants of Czechoslovakia. A new Government took office in Prague. “Conditions in Europe and the world in general,” said the Foreign Minister of this forlorn administration, “are not such that we should hope for a period of calm in the near future.” Hitler thought so too. A formal division of the spoils was made by Germany at the beginning of November. Poland was not disturbed in her occupation of Teschen. The Slovaks, who had been used as a pawn by Germany, obtained a precarious autonomy. Hungary received a piece of flesh at the expense of Slovakia. When these consequences of Munich were raised in the House of Commons, Mr. Chamberlain explained that the French and British offer of an international guarantee to Czechoslovakia, which had been given after the Munich Pact, did not affect the existing frontiers of that State, but referred only to the hypothetical question of unprovoked aggression.
Later on page 402-403 it is explained how Poland acted:
German troops, marching into Prague, assumed absolute control of the unresisting State. I remember sitting with Mr. Eden in the smoking-room of the House of Commons when the editions of the evening papers recording these events came in. Even those who, like us, had no illusions and had testified earnestly were surprised at the sudden violence of this outrage. One could hardly believe that with all their secret information His Majesty’s Government could be so far adrift. March 14 witnessed the dissolution and subjugation of the Czechoslovak Republic. The Slovaks formally declared their independence. Hungarian troops, backed surreptitiously by Poland, crossed into the eastern province of Czechoslovakia, or the Carpatho-Ukraine, which they demanded. Hitler, having arrived in Prague, proclaimed a German Protectorate over Czechoslovakia, which was thereby incorporated in the Reich.

On March 15, Mr. Chamberlain had to say to the House: “The occupation of Bohemia by German military forces began at six o’clock this morning. The Czech people have been ordered by their Government not to offer resistance.” He then proceeded to state that the guarantee he had given Czechoslovakia no longer in his opinion had validity. After Munich, five months before, the Dominions Secretary, Sir Thomas Inskip, had said of this guarantee: “His Majesty’s Government feel under a moral obligation to Czechoslovakia to keep the guarantee [as though it were technically in force]…. In the event, therefore, of an act of unprovoked aggression against Czechoslovakia, His Majesty’s Government would certainly be bound to take all steps in their power to see that the integrity of Czechoslovakia is preserved.” “That,” said the Prime Minister, “remained the position until yesterday. But the position has altered since the Slovak Diet declared the independence of Slovakia. The effect of this declaration put an end by internal disruption to the State whose frontiers we had proposed to guarantee, and His Majesty’s Government cannot accordingly hold themselves bound by this obligation.”
Page 406-408 continues:
This was no time for recriminations about the past. The guarantee to Poland was supported by the leaders of all parties and groups in the House. “God helping, we can do no other,” was what I said. At the point we had reached, it was a necessary action. But no one who understood the situation could doubt that it meant in all human probability a major war in which we should be involved.

In this sad tale of wrong judgments formed by well-meaning and capable people, we now reach our climax. That we should all have come to this pass makes those responsible, however honourable their motives, blameworthy before history. Look back and see what we had successively accepted or thrown away: a Germany disarmed by solemn treaty; a Germany rearmed in violation of a solemn treaty; air superiority or even air parity cast away; the Rhineland forcibly occupied and the Siegfried Line built or building; the Berlin-Rome Axis established; Austria devoured and digested by the Reich; Czechoslovakia deserted and ruined by the Munich Pact; its fortress line in German hands; its mighty arsenal of Skoda henceforward making munitions for the German armies; President Roosevelt’s effort to stabilise or bring to a head the European situation by the intervention of the United States waved aside with one hand, and Soviet Russia’s undoubted willingness to join the Western Powers and go all lengths to save Czechoslovakia ignored on the other; the services of thirty-five Czech divisions against the still unripened German Army cast away, when Great Britain could herself supply only two to strengthen the front in France – all gone with the wind.

And now, when every one of these aids and advantages has been squandered and thrown away, Great Britain advances, leading France by the hand, to guarantee the integrity of Poland – of that very Poland which with hyena appetite had only six months before joined in the pillage and destruction of the Czechoslovak State. There was sense in fighting for Czechoslovakia in 1938 when the German Army could scarcely put half a dozen trained divisions on the Western Front, when the French with nearly sixty or seventy divisions could most certainly have rolled forward across the Rhine or into the Ruhr. But this had been judged unreasonable, rash, below the level of modern intellectual thought and morality. Yet now at last the two Western Democracies declared themselves ready to stake their lives upon the territorial integrity of Poland. History, which we are told is mainly the record of the crimes, follies, and miseries of mankind, may be scoured
The above quote "Poland which with hyena appetite had only six months before joined in the pillage and destruction of the Czechoslovak State." is not made up. Here is the screen print
1577868746254.png
The above continues on page 408:
and ransacked to find a parallel to this sudden and complete reversal of five or six years’ policy of easy-going placatory appeasement, and its transformation almost overnight into a readiness to accept an obviously imminent war on far worse conditions and on the greatest scale. Moreover, how could we protect Poland and make good our guarantee? Only by declaring war upon Germany and attacking a stronger Western Wall and a more powerful German Army than those from which we had recoiled in September, 1938. Here is a line of milestones to disaster. Here is a catalogue of surrenders, at first when all was easy and later when things were harder, to the ever-growing German power. But now at last was the end of British and French submission. Here was decision at last, taken at the worst possible moment and on the least satisfactory ground, which must surely lead to the slaughter of tens of millions of people. Here was the righteous cause deliberately and with a refinement of inverted artistry committed to mortal battle after its assets and advantages had been so improvidently squandered. Still, if you will not fight for the right when you can easily win without bloodshed; if you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than live as slaves.
The issues with Poland have a history and is not new, it is brought up every so often:
2013: The Polish Guarantee - Churchill Speaks - Mail Online - Peter Hitchens blog
2015: No Doubts: Poland Partially Responsible for Beginning WWII
The coercion of Czechoslovakia was carried out at the behest of Western democracies, but there was still the Soviet Union capable of upsetting the plans of the Munich Four, since it was bound to Czechoslovakia by a treaty of mutual assistance. Implementing the treaty was reliant on one important condition, however – that Red Army forces would be able to pass through Poland. Poland categorically rejected the request to let troops pass through, which was brought to the attention of all the governments concerned. Thus the Polish ambassador in Paris, Juliusz Łukasiewicz, assured his US colleague, William Bullitt, that his country would immediately declare war on the Soviet Union if it tried to send troops through Poland to the borders of Czechoslovakia.

Not everyone in Europe was so naive as to not understand that territorial concessions by Western democracies at the expense of third party countries were only likely to whet Germany’s appetite for new acquisitions, and that a barrier needed to be put in front of Hitler in the form of an agreement with Moscow. On 21 March 1939, British ambassador William Seeds presented the Soviet Commissar for Foreign Affairs Maxim Litvinov with a draft declaration by Great Britain, the USSR, France and Poland, in accordance with which the governments of the four countries undertook to «hold a consultation on those steps which must be undertaken for the general opposition» to any actions «constituting a threat to the political independence of any European state» and affecting peace and security in Europe. Although the draft was extremely vague and did not propose any effective action to stop aggression, the Soviet government agreed to sign it on 23 March. Poland, however, reacted negatively to the draft declaration and London, referring to Poland’s position, rejected its own initiative a week later.

Warsaw’s short-sightedness had a disastrous impact on the fate of the military convention between the USSR, Great Britain and France which never materialised and which, if it had been signed, would have allowed for the creation of such a military fist that it would have stopped Hitler in his tracks. Talks in Moscow on the signing of the agreement took place in August 1939. The capacity of the document largely depended on a positive solution to the ‘crucial question’, which is how the issue of getting the consent of Poland and Romania to allow Red army troops to pass through their territory was defined in diplomatic correspondence.

2013, 2015 and now 2020 we find on page 196 of
© 2020 Baltic-Black Sea Regionalisms Patchworks and Networks at Europe's Eastern Margins
Editors: Bogdanova, Olga, Makarychev, Andrey (Eds.)
1577875782538.png
The above scholarly publication will try to convince us all accusations are groundless. Do they think it is unfair to critizise Poland, because Russia lost 26 million people because Poland could not think clearly in the hour of need which was in 1938 at the time of the division of Chechoslovakia (of which it wanted a piece) and wouldn't dare to allow the Red Army to pass through Poland to defend Chechoslovakia. What could Poland have risked? At the end of the war Poland itself had lost more than 5 million people. No wonder Polish politicians will not address pre WWII blunders, and have been successfully claiming victimhood ever since, but are they trying to beat their own record with the policies of today? After all the weapons now available are more efficient than those of WW2.

One thing that may be overlooked is that Winston Churchill had fought in Africa and possibly was familiar with the characteristics of its animals. What concepts he had of a hyena, I don't know, but here is something to consider on Hyena - Wikipedia No matter how one turns it, the minimum one can say is that a hyena is a predator and that one species like the striped hyena is mainly a scavenger. One could argue that with regard to Chechoslovakia Germany took the Lion's share.

Perhaps it would help the dialogue if the behaviour of Poland that led Winston Churchill to use the word hyena became a focus of attention:
Now, in 1938, over a question so minor as Teschen, they sundered themselves from all those friends in France, Britain, and the United States who had lifted them once again to a national, coherent life, and whom they were soon to need so sorely. We see them hurrying, while the might of Germany glowered up against them, to grasp their share of the pillage and ruin of Czechoslovakia. During the crisis the door was shut in the face of the British and French Ambassadors, who were denied even access to the Foreign Secretary of the Polish State.
[...]
And now, when every one of these aids and advantages has been squandered and thrown away, Great Britain advances, leading France by the hand, to guarantee the integrity of Poland – of that very Poland which with hyena appetite had only six months before joined in the pillage and destruction of the Czechoslovak State.
The situation with the rephrasing of the expression of Churchill to mean Poland is the hyena of Europe is definitely the minor issue. That apparently so many in power in Poland are unable to look at the past and their own contribution in more objective terms actually just underscores what Churchill also wrote:
It is a mystery and tragedy of European history that a people capable of every heroic virtue, gifted, valiant, charming, as individuals, should repeatedly show such inveterate faults in almost every aspect of their governmental life. Glorious in revolt and ruin; squalid and shameful in triumph. The bravest of the brave, too often led by the vilest of the vile! And yet there were always two Polands; one struggling to proclaim the truth and the other grovelling in villainy. We shall yet have to recount the failure of their military preparations and plans; the arrogance and errors of their policy; the awful slaughters and miseries to which they doomed themselves by their follies.
Yet it continues to this day, doesn't it? What about the Polish support for the Ukraine Maidan that with the help from the US has caused Ukraine to break up, what about the belief in American Freedom Gas, what about Poland hosting US military bases? Or is the real issue Kaliningrad, which like a piece of Czechoslovakia before WWII could look like a nice addition, Uncle Sam willing.

In all the above there is one phrase which caught my attention in earnest:
One could hardly believe that with all their secret information His Majesty’s Government could be so far adrift.
Indeed, and what if Churchill is saying something true. What if at a deep level His Majesty's Government knew what they were doing? But Polish politicians have so far no turned their guns in that directions.
In the previous post there was:
Which in translation contained these sections:
Europe was engaged in appeasement of Germany, obviously thirsting for revenge after the infamous Treaty of Versailles following the First world war. In the process someone tried to grab a piece. In the case of Poland — a piece of Czechoslovakia.
"This is a recording of the interview of the German Ambassador in Poland, Mr. Moltke with the Minister of foreign Affairs of Poland, Mr. Beck. In this document the Minister of foreign Affairs of Poland, Mr. Beck expressed the hope that, quote: "In the areas which Poland claims, he says it will not have conflicts with German interests", that is, the division of the Czechoslovak territory," — said Vladimir Putin.
[...]
And But already during the Nuremberg trial of war criminals to the question, would Germany attack Czechoslovakia in 1938 if the Western powers had supported Prague, field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel said: "No, we were not strong enough from a military point of view. The purpose of Munich was to oust Russia from Europe, to gain time and to complete the armament of Germany," — said Vladimir Putin.
From one perspective the Poles prior to WW2 were just politically incompetent villains being used by more competent villains. Now Poland insisting on being an innocent victim squeezed by major players only helps to drag all who believe in this narrative onto the same level. And we see the results. What Churchill said about Poland could be said about many other European Nations that "with hyena appetite had ... joined in the pillage and destruction of" Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Ukraine, Syria, ... and counting. How many of these predatorial and hyena like NATO campaigns did Poland along with its other NATO partners participate in? None?
 
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All of that information are interesting but I hope, that this is just a game from the Putin side and in himself he's got larger image about history. I hope this is some sort of "ping pong": Poland will say this and Putin will say that.
 
All of that information are interesting but I hope, that this is just a game from the Putin side and in himself he's got larger image about history. I hope this is some sort of "ping pong": Poland will say this and Putin will say that.

Kmicic. Forgive me if I have misunderstood your meaning above. The information is interesting as you say but it is also the devastating truth of millions of lives lost and examples of idiotic decisions taken by irresponsible individuals at THAT time.
The information is interesting also because irresponsible individuals in Europe, at THIS time, are trying to change the details of the truth. They are trying to create a lie and alter the details of history. Poland and others will say this but Putin is stating facts.

I've read your comment as being flippant and if I am wrong I do apologise.
 
The prelude to this event was at the yearly Q and A conference:

Regarding what Winston Churchill should have said about Poland, there were some answers on
While it is easy to find answers from Poland here is one from a possible descendant of those who had to live with it:
Luboš Motl - Quora
I found The Gathering Storm and below are a series of excerpts that put the case into perspective:
From page 348:

From page 380:
Which continues on page 381:

Page 391 one finds:

Later on page 402-403 it is explained how Poland acted:

Page 406-408 continues:

The above quote "Poland which with hyena appetite had only six months before joined in the pillage and destruction of the Czechoslovak State." is not made up. Here is the screen print
View attachment 32988
The above continues on page 408:

The issues with Poland have a history and is not new, it is brought up every so often:
2013: The Polish Guarantee - Churchill Speaks - Mail Online - Peter Hitchens blog
2015: No Doubts: Poland Partially Responsible for Beginning WWII


2013, 2015 and now 2020 we find on page 196 of
© 2020 Baltic-Black Sea Regionalisms Patchworks and Networks at Europe's Eastern Margins
Editors: Bogdanova, Olga, Makarychev, Andrey (Eds.)
View attachment 32990
The above scholarly publication will try to convince us all accusations are groundless. Do they think it is unfair to critizise Poland, because Russia lost 26 million people because Poland could not think clearly in the hour of need which was in 1938 at the time of the division of Chechoslovakia (of which it wanted a piece) and wouldn't dare to allow the Red Army to pass through Poland to defend Chechoslovakia. What could Poland have risked? At the end of the war Poland itself had lost more than 5 million people. No wonder Polish politicians will not address pre WWII blunders, and have been successfully claiming victimhood ever since, but are they trying to beat their own record with the policies of today? After all the weapons now available are more efficient than those of WW2.

One thing that may be overlooked is that Winston Churchill had fought in Africa and possibly was familiar with the characteristics of its animals. What concepts he had of a hyena, I don't know, but here is something to consider on Hyena - Wikipedia No matter how one turns it, the minimum one can say is that a hyena is a predator and that one species like the striped hyena is mainly a scavenger. One could argue that with regard to Chechoslovakia Germany took the Lion's share.

Perhaps it would help the dialogue if the behaviour of Poland that led Winston Churchill to use the word hyena became a focus of attention:

The situation with the rephrasing of the expression of Churchill to mean Poland is the hyena of Europe is definitely the minor issue. That apparently so many in power in Poland are unable to look at the past and their own contribution in more objective terms actually just underscores what Churchill also wrote:

Yet it continues to this day, doesn't it? What about the Polish support for the Ukraine Maidan that with the help from the US has caused Ukraine to break up, what about the belief in American Freedom Gas, what about Poland hosting US military bases? Or is the real issue Kaliningrad, which like a piece of Czechoslovakia before WWII could look like a nice addition, Uncle Sam willing.

In all the above there is one phrase which caught my attention in earnest:

Indeed, and what if Churchill is saying something true. What if at a deep level His Majesty's Government knew what they were doing? But Polish politicians have so far no turned their guns in that directions.
In the previous post there was:

Which in translation contained these sections:

From one perspective the Poles prior to WW2 were just politically incompetent villains being used by more competent villains. Now Poland insisting on being an innocent victim squeezed by major players only helps to drag all who believe in this narrative onto the same level. And we see the results. What Churchill said about Poland could be said about many other European Nations that "with hyena appetite had ... joined in the pillage and destruction of" Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Ukraine, Syria, ... and counting. How many of these predatorial and hyena like NATO campaigns did Poland along with its other NATO partners participate in? None?

Thank you Thorbiorn for a glimpse into those documents. I can still hear my History teacher talking about the German tanks rolling through the Danzig Corridor into Poland. So many lies were inculcated into our young minds which we now have to try and abandon and replace with a much more nuanced story. This forum has helped enormously to do this and I suppose this will be an ongoing process. Things I've learned and forgotten about but are still lurking in the recesses need to be dug up and thrown out. Your documents help to do this.
 
All of that information are interesting but I hope, that this is just a game from the Putin side and in himself he's got larger image about history. I hope this is some sort of "ping pong": Poland will say this and Putin will say that.

President Putin is quoting from facts - historical, Documented facts.

Europe was engaged in appeasement of Germany, obviously thirsting for revenge after the infamous Treaty of Versailles following the First world war. In the process someone tried to grab a piece. In the case of Poland — a piece of Czechoslovakia.

"This is a recording of the interview of the German Ambassador in Poland, Mr. Moltke with the Minister of foreign Affairs of Poland, Mr. Beck. In this document the Minister of foreign Affairs of Poland, Mr. Beck expressed the hope that, quote: "In the areas which Poland claims, he says it will not have conflicts with German interests", that is, the division of the Czechoslovak territory," — said Vladimir Putin.

Some of the information that Thorbiorn presented was also discussed here:

Poland

The Soviet Union/Russia never-ever invaded Poland! Nor did the Soviet Union/Russia invade Poland in September of 1932.

The Soviets Wanted to Protect the USSR – and therefore to Preserve Independent Poland.

[For the text of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact see m-rpact.html ]

It is conventionally stated as fact that the Nonaggression Pact between the USSR and Germany (often called the "Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact" or "Treaty" after the two foreign ministers who signed it) was an agreement to "partition Poland", divide it up.

This is completely false ... see "The Secret Protocols to the M-R Pact Did NOT Plan Any Partition of Poland".

No doubt a big reason for this falsehood is this: Britain and France did sign a Nonaggression Pact with Hitler that "partitioned" another state -- Czechoslovakia. That was the Munich Agreement of September 30, 1938.

Poland too took part in the "partition" of Czechoslovakia too. Poland seized a part of the Cieszyn area of Czechoslovakia, even though it had only a minority Polish population. This invasion and occupation was not even agreed upon in the Munich Agreement. But neither France nor Britain did anything about it.

Hitler seized the remaining part of Czechoslovakia in March 1939. This had not been foreseen in the Munich Agreement. But Britain, France, and Poland did nothing about it.

So the anticommunist "Allies" Britain, France, and Poland really did participate in the partitioning of a powerless state! Maybe that's why the anticommunist "party line" is that the USSR did likewise? But whatever the reason for this lie, it remains a lie.

The Soviet Union signed the Nonaggression Pact with Germany not to "partition Poland" like the Allies had partitioned Czechoslovakia, but in order to defend the USSR.

The Treaty included a line of Soviet interest within Poland beyond which German troops could not pass in the event Germany routed the Polish army in a war.

The point here was that, if the Polish army were beaten, it and the Polish government could retreat beyond the line of Soviet interest, and so find shelter, since Hitler had agreed not to penetrate further into Poland than that line.
From there they could make peace with Germany. The USSR would have a buffer state, armed and hostile to Germany, between the Reich and the Soviet frontier.

Rumania was neutral in the war. By crossing into neutral Rumania, the Polish government became prisoners. The legal word is "interned". They could not function as a government from Rumania, or pass through Rumania to a country at war with Germany like France, because to permit them to do that would be a violation of Rumania’s neutrality, a hostile act against Germany.

Poland says Putin's presence on WWII anniversary inappropriate
Poland says Putin's presence on WWII anniversary inappropriate

Post #194 ... Putin should be in Poland on 80th anniversary of WWII outbreak, says ex-president
The former president believes that by not inviting Russia, Poland will only make the relations worse.

This year, the main events to mark the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of WWII will be held in Warsaw. Poland sent invitations to the NATO, EU and Eastern Partnership member-countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine). As many as 250 guests from 40 countries, including US President Donald Trump, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, are expected to arrive.

The Polish administration decided not to invite Russia to the events, claiming that the Soviet Union was not involved in WWII on September 1, 1939. Warsaw also stated that it wanted to mark the anniversary with the countries it now closely cooperates with.

For his part, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that "any memorial events in any countries dedicated to the anniversaries of the Great Patriotic War or World War II cannot be considered full-fledged without Russia's participation," because Russia’s role in the Victory over Nazism cannot be overestimated.

A total of 600,000 Soviet soldiers lost their lives while liberating Poland from the Nazis who invaded the country in 1939.

Certain states’ policies reveal that WWII lessons were not learned — Russian diplomat
"Regretfully, many unpleasant similarities with the events of the 1930s can be found in the modern world," Ivan Soltanovsky said.
 
January 8, 1942 marked the start of the Battles of Rzhev – some of the deadliest operations in the Great Patriotic War.

Despite the name, the Battles of Rzhev were a series of operations that involved a larger area than the city itself. Their goal was to destroy the main forces of the German group on the Rzhev-Vyazma axis 150 km away from Moscow. The fighting went not only in the Rzhev area, but also in the Moscow, Tula, Kalinin, and Smolensk Regions.

The Hitlerite command called the Rzhev-Vyazma foothold a gateway to Moscow and the cornerstone of the Eastern Front, and concentrated two-thirds of the Army Group Center troops on that site.

The Battles of Rzhev were four independent offensives – the Rzhev-Vyazma Strategic Offensive Operation in January – April 1942; the First Rzhev–Sychyovka Offensive Operation in August 1942; the Second Rzhev-Sychyovka Strategic Offensive (Operation Mars) in December 1942; and another Rzhev-Vyazma Offensive in March 1943.

As a result, Red Army managed to push Nazi forces farther from Moscow and ruin Hitler's plan for an early victory at the Eastern Front.
 

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