A member of the Ukrainian parliament from the Opposition Platform for Life Party says that fascism is returning to Ukraine. Vadim Rabinovych’s quote was immediately picked up by scores of Russian media. Accusing Ukraine of being a fascist state is a staple of the Kremlin propaganda machine. Rabinovich’s accusation however, is not supported by any factual evidence. “Fascism has returned to our streets again. If the Prime Minister of Ukraine…
Comparing Ukraine to Nazi Germany is a beloved trope of the Russian disinformation machine. The latest fake to continue this tradition appeared on June 28 in pro-Kremlin Sputnik, Tsargrad and Novoross publications with stories claiming that Ukraine’s future Maidan Museum honoring the country’s Revolution of Dignity completely copies architectural projects of the Third Reich. These Russian publications cite social media comments, particularly that of pro-Kremlin journalist and radio host Armen…
Russian propagandist site RT (Formerly Russia Today) published a story claiming that the Ukrainian popular greeting – Glory to Ukraine! – is “a well-known slogan used by World War II Nazi collaborators”. This greeting in fact came into use well before WWII and it became popular again in Ukraine after the 2013-2014 Maidan protests. RT’s story appeared after German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel greeted Ukraine on its Independence Day in…
On March 24 Russia’s Life television channel, one of the country’s most Kremlin-friendly media outlets, declared that Ukrainian footballer Roman Zozulya was rejected by the country’s national team on the eve of the Ukraine-Croatia match. The story’s author Olesya Suchylkina, calls Zozulya a Nazi. Suchylkina is a staff writer for Life, a search of her byline yields many short tabloid pieces about sharks, drugs and zombies. “The reason why Ukraine’s…
Ukraine’s anti-communism laws have received much flak in foreign media, but not all of it is well-deserved. The legislation orders the removal of communist symbols such as monuments and street names, and one frequently made criticism is that it may also affect the remembrance of Soviet Army soldiers who fought against Nazi Germany. In fact, the law makes an exception for World War II, and some of the critical reporting is based…
Russian and Ukrainian media reported that Ukraine was placed on a map of “modern Nazism” in Europe. This information was published by Korrespondent, Vesti, Russkaya Vesna, Tribuna and others. However, they misrepresented what the map is in fact about. The reports stress that “A resource [named] Amazing maps has recognized the logo of the Azov retaliatory battalion and its coat of arms as a symbol of Ukrainian Nazism. The popular…
On June 30, the city of Kherson celebrated the 74th anniversary of the Declaration of Ukrainian Independence. At a small event in the city’s center, young people gathered to read the Declaration aloud and to sing the national anthem. The Declaration was written during a brief interval when many Ukrainians thought that Germany was going to liberate Ukraine from the Soviet Union and allow it to become an independent state.…
Manuel Ochsenreiter is not a household name either in the United States or in his native Germany. He’s the editor of “Zuerst! German News Magazine” whose promotional material says that it’s “committed only to the life and survival interests of the German people and the precious heritage of our European culture“, and describes other German media as being under the control of “foreign interests.” In a format familiar to readers of mainstream news magazines, Zuerst!…
It is becoming popular to post in social networks photos of punks presenting them as victims of the Ukrainian Army. For example, the public “Antibanderas Kharkov” published a photo of GG Allin, well-known among certain class of people American rocker, who smashed a microphone against his head. “Look what sadists and perverts of the Right Sector have done to those who does not agree with their neo-Nazi ideology”, it is…
Earlier this month, experts convened in Brussels for a conference titled ‘The Second Cold War: Heating Up?’ Even among the plethora of current ‘New Cold War’ themed events, this one stood out: the organiser, Latvian MEP Tatjana Zdanoka, has been accused of being a Russian agent of influence – a spy. Zdanoka, who is also chair of the EU Russian-Speakers Alliance, insists there is no truth to the allegations, adding…
