The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, evaluated the acts of glorification of nationalists and war criminals of the Great Patriotic War in the post-Soviet space, and also spoke about the possible results of such actions, aimed at rewriting our common history.
"As for the processes that exist in Ukraine, they are well known. Unfortunately, it is a campaign. We have evaluated the actions of official Kiev since the beginning. Of course, it is a rewriting of history, its distortion, the formation of a generation with new views on history, which are corresponding to the interests of the current Kiev authorities. What should we think about this? Of course we have our own position, because this is a part of our common history," Zakharova stated.
In her opinion, it is the common history of Russia and Ukraine, and it cannot be separated: "Another very important point is the reaction of Ukrainian society to such actions. Yes, of course there are nationalists and even extremists who support such decisions. But there is a huge part of society that simply won't accept such actions. If all of this happened in conditions of peaceful reforms, or the peaceful transformation of the state, then it would, perhaps, be a matter of public consent, or public dissent, or a discussion that would take place in society. Now the situation is fundamentally different."
Zakharov believes that right now a real civil war has unfolded in Ukraine: "The entire international community, that is somehow involved in the process of settlement, is aimed and directs Ukraine and Kiev on the consolidation of its society. That is what is written in the Minsk agreements. Without the consolidation of society, the cessation of what is happening in Ukraine is simply impossible. The consolidation of society through political reform, through the existing Constitution, is the key point. Not because someone wants it, but because, without this, society just can't develop, and the state will not be able to move forward."
The Foreign Ministry spokesperson assured that an even greater split in society will be the result of the actions aimed at the glorification of Nazi criminals: "An even greater split between Ukrainians. The world went through all of this. It is the same as rubbing salt into a wound. This is an additional irritant in a society that is already completely disintegrated."
"So in addition to our evaluation, this is also an internal Ukrainian issue. Considering the fact that this crisis, which we are seeing in Ukraine today, is internationalized in a sense that there is actually already no European and not only European country, which wouldn't be somehow involved in the system of international relations, where the Ukrainian factor is not present. So I think that not only Ukrainian society should react to such things, but also other countries. This is in addition to all the fundamental things we stated in the context of rewriting history, rewriting the history of the Second World War. In addition, there is another aspect of this problem – the process of the Ukrainian settlement," Zakharova stressed.
