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https://theconversation.com/putins-claim-to-rid-ukraine-of-nazis-is-especially-absurd-given-its-history-177959>
"Russian President Vladimir Putin justifies his war on Ukraine as a
peacekeeping mission, a “denazification” of the country.
In his address to the Russian people on Feb. 24, 2022, Putin said the purpose
was to “protect people” who had been “subjected to bullying and genocide … for
the last eight years. And for this we will strive for the demilitarization and
denazification of Ukraine.”
The victims of the genocide claimed by Putin are Russian speakers; the Nazis he
referenced are the elected representatives of the Ukrainian people. While
Ukraine’s new language laws have upset some minorities, independent news media
have uncovered no evidence of genocide against Russian speakers. In fact, as
the historian Timothy Snyder has pointed out, Russian speakers have more
freedom in Ukraine than they have in Russia, where Putin’s authoritarian
government routinely suppresses political dissent. And while far right groups
have been growing in Ukraine, their electoral power is limited.
As the author of a recently published book on anti-Jewish violence in Ukraine
and a historian of the Holocaust, I know why the accusations of Nazism and
genocide have resonance in Ukraine. But I also understand that despite episodic
violence, Ukrainian history offers a model of tolerance and democratic
government."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
