… to distort the truth about World War II
"Russia's Defence Minister, Sergei Shoigu has issued orders which effectively block almost all access to Russian military archives from the period of the Second World War. The move is especially alarming given the current regime's systematic attempts to push its own narrative about that period, distorting or muffling historical facts, for example, about the Soviet Union's collaboration with Nazi Germany from 1939 to June 1941.
It is typical that Order No. 591 was issued back on 12 November 2020, but only published over four months later, on 23 March 2021. The delay was doubtless deliberate, leaving almost no time to organize protest or for researchers to spend time examining archival material before the measures come into effect on 1 April.
The order cancels earlier orders, from 8 May 2007 and 30 May 2009 which declassified archival documents about the Red Army and Marine Fleet during what Russia is now, like in Soviet times, calling the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945. There is, admittedly, another Order No. 589 from the same date which came into force from 1 January 2021. Representatives of the Defence Ministry have tried to claim that the Orders, in fact, promote greater, not lesser, openness. They point out that Order No. 589, is broader than those from 2007 and 2009 since it covers the period from 1939-1941, as well as the Soviet-Japanese War…"
Main page
khpg.org/en/1608808937
Armand
examines another house in this series.
