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Rusłan Szoszyn: How Vladimir Putin uses World War II to wage a new war, and is losing
🇵🇱 Poland /Conflict & Security

Rusłan Szoszyn: How Vladimir Putin uses World War II to wage a new war, and is losing

From Rzeczpospolita · () Polish

Translated from Polish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Opinion Sources not specified Context piece
  • A Rzeczpospolita commentary argues that Vladimir Putin uses World War II narratives to portray Russia’s war against Ukraine as a new “Great Patriotic War.”
  • It says Russian propaganda may again blame Poland for the 1939 German invasion and portray the Soviet entry into eastern Poland as a rescue mission.
  • The commentary argues that Russia’s imperial ambitions have damaged the established world order while producing no tangible successes in its war.

Russian propaganda may once again tell its citizens that Poland was responsible for Germany’s 1939 invasion, while describing the Red Army’s entry into eastern Poland as a mission to save Belarusian and Ukrainian people.

was itself to blame

— Russian propagandaThe commentary says Moscow may use this claim about Poland’s responsibility for Germany’s 1939 aggression.

That is the warning from commentator Rusłan Szoszyn, who says Moscow is likely to repeat familiar claims around the anniversary of the outbreak of World War II. He also expects the Kremlin to say that Russia is again fighting “fascism” today.

The commentary portrays Vladimir Putin’s use of wartime history as part of an effort to persuade Russians that the war against Ukraine represents a new Great Patriotic War. Szoszyn argues that Putin has destroyed a world order that had endured for decades and has become a hostage to his own imperial ambitions.

welcomed with bread and salt

— Russian propagandaThe phrase refers to the Kremlin’s portrayal of the Red Army’s 1939 entry into eastern Poland.

In this framing, Russia has imagined an enemy and has been fighting it for a fifth consecutive year without tangible success. The piece presents that lack of results as a contradiction at the center of the Kremlin’s historical narrative and current war.

fighting fascism

— Russian propagandaThe commentary says Moscow may repeat this description of Russia’s current war.
About this summary

Originally published by Rzeczpospolita in Polish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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