informnapalm--2020-10-28--Op-Ed: Disinformation about history leads to disinformation about the present

It is vital to understand why Russia ’ s rewriting of history holds dangerous implications for our world today .
Vladimir Putin ’ s June 2020 article , “ The Real Lessons of the 75th Anniversary of World War II , ” shows that Russia has taken the long-practiced Soviet-style rewriting of WWII history to a new level .
Putin endorsed a false claim that Russia and the Red Army are the only liberators of Europe and the only victors of WWII .
Furthermore , the Kremlin incorporated this idea as a part of their constitution — a state ideology @ @ @ @ @ @ @ accept this rewritten view of the history of the Second World War .
In his article , published on June 18 , 2020 in the American conservative magazine , Putin makes an effort to re-write WWII history in the tradition of the Soviet Union .
He maintains that the central part of WWII is the Great Patriotic War fought between the Soviet Union and the Nazi Germany from 1941–1945 .
He conveniently edits out the fact that from 1939 to 1941 , the Soviet Union was an ally of Nazi Germany .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new messages ; rather , rather repeats talking points that have been regularly raised by the Kremlin over previous years .
Putin glorifies the role of the Soviet regime and the Soviet Red Army in liberating Europe from the Nazis and defines Russia and the Russian people as the only victors of the war .
While the described role of the USSR at the end of WWII ignores the role of the other Allies , the role of the USSR at the of the war — i.e .
the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact — is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ West and Poland for the outbreak of the war .
For the Kremlin , the Soviet victory in the Great Patriotic War is a core narrative of current Russian statehood , which suffers from the psychology of having lost an empire through the fall of the USSR , and in many ways , the status of having been a great power .
Further in his article , Putin insists on branding Russia as a key constructor of world order inviting only the great powers — the permanent members of the UN Security Council @ @ @ @ @ @ @ order , closing the door to other countries .
The article was published prior to Russia ’ s constitutional referendum , which took place from June 25-July 1 , 2020 and before a huge military parade on June 24 .
The prayed was originally scheduled for the annual May 9 celebration of their victory in the Great Patriotic War but was delayed do to the pandemic .
Among the falsehoods contained in the article : ● Putin claims that Poland , the first victim of WWII , is partly responsible for starting WWII @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pact ( which Hitler ’ s Germany and Stalin ’ s Soviet Union divided Europe into their spheres of interest ) as an equivalent to the 1938 Munich Agreement ( between United Kingdom , Germany , France , Italy ) that ceded the Czech Sudetenland to Hitler ’ s Germany .
He uses a disinformation technique in an individual or institution is vilified for something the aggressor does itself .
● Putin states that the incorporation of Latvia , Lithuania , and Estonia into the USSR was implemented “ on a contractual basis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ authorities , ” as opposed to the reality of the Soviet Union ’ s illegal annexation of the Baltic States , which was a direct result of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact .
Historical narratives are foundational for forming most collective identities .
The way any group relates to its history has implications for its political and social policies , and the behavior of a nation .
The world must never forget the truth that the Munich Agreement was a shameful consent by the West to Hitler ’ s annexation of Czech territories in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as professor Mark N. Katz writes , “ to claim that they did so in order to encourage conflict between Germany and the USSR is an exaggeration.
” The agreement ceased to exist immediately after Hitler broke it by occupying the rest of Czech territory .
Usually , international agreements are concluded in order to reach peace .
However , the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact signed on August 23 , 1939 by the foreign ministers of Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia was a pact of war among two totalitarian regimes .
It assured that neither @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and in its Secret Protocol established spheres of influence across Poland , Lithuania , Latvia , Estonia and Finland .
Germany began WWII only after this pact had been signed , with the invasion of Poland from the west on September 1 , 1939 , which was followed by the French and British declaration of war on Germany .
Soon after , the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east .
Subsequently , the Baltic States were occupied by the Soviet Union in June 1940 and further forceful annexation was complete by 1944 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as the Freedom Fighters or Forest Brothers , fought against Soviet occupation from 1944 through 1953 , marking one of the longest resistance efforts in Europe , with some individual fighters holding out until the 1960s .
Tricks of the trade — how to use rhetoric to manipulate in your favor Apart from the misleading narratives , the rhetoric of the article leaves no space for dialogue on the historical role of many other nations that participated in WWII .
One can readily observe the literary devices used to support Putin ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ underscore the division of us vs. them , forcing audiences into a false binary choice that those who do not agree with his views are against him and Russia , and thus implicitly pro-Nazism .
In addition , superlatives and hyperbole create a discourse where Soviet actions during WWII are positively promoted while the roles of other nations are diminished .
● Putin uses artificial juxtaposition of an vs the — in this case , the Russian nation .
Namely , the interest of the nation is stated above the interest and needs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of nationalistic regimes .
It also offers a false appearance of “ unity ” within Russian society while ignoring other collective memories of the Soviet regime — repressions , the Soviet gulags , the Katyn massacre , and of course the secret Molotov — Ribbentrop Pact .
● The of historic events and the identification of with .
The pronoun “ I is very often replaced by the collective “ we , ” confusing the reader as to whether “ we ” is Putin , the Kremlin , or the Russian people , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and help Putin play on readers ’ emotions and make his view on the topic more memorable , more distinct and undisputable .
The end of WWII is celebrated in Europe as a time of reconciliation , peace and unity .
Europe tries to forgive , and indeed rebuild and reunite for the sake of joint prosperity , whereas Putin points fingers and accuses .
Europe has an open dialogue about the crimes of the war , Putin excludes a dialogue , denies any Soviet crimes and enforces “ the only correct ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
is a complicated issue , it can not be black or white .
Usually , in a democratic society , narratives are constructed around open dialogues that feature several perspectives and ultimately develop a collaborative agreement among different nations .
The narrative of “ victors ” forms the basis of the state ideology Putin ’ s interpretation of WWII is directly reflected in the new edition of the Constitution of the Russian Federation .
The amendment to the 67th article of the Constitution is intended to turn the narrative of victors of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) into a prologue to a mandatory state ideology .
It consolidates the status of Russia as the only victor of the war , establishing a foundation of a new Russian identity .
Russian diplomats are already enforcing this narrative full- hrottle .
For instance , the Russian Embassy in Germany asked history teachers in Germany to use Putin ’ s article in their history lessons .
Russian officials and pro-Kremlin media use Putin ’ s interpretation of WWII as talking points .
Even among the younger generation of Russians , this can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where Russia is seen as the victor of WWII and liberator of Europe from the Nazis .
Why this is important to understand Putin wrote this article to justify decades of Russian foreign policy — pre-war , wartime , post-war and today .
The article also tries to whitewash Stalin ’ s crimes against even his own population .
The targets of these narratives are young people — a generation with no memory of WWII — at an age when their historical interest is forming and it is easier to manipulate their understanding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ how Hitler came into power , stating that it was largely due to the dissatisfaction of the post-WWI global order and the Treaty of Versailles .
He leaves the reader to contemplate what might happen if Russia is dissatisfied with global order today .
Does Putin use this argument to validate his own interests of extending an empire ?
The historical narrative of Russia as a liberator of Europe from the Nazism , as described by Putin , represents the ideological mobilization of Russian society , forming a superpower mentality within the minds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ less informed about history in the West .

Putin’s June 2020 essay paints an intentionally distorted history of World War II
It is vital to understand why Russia’s rewriting of history holds dangerous implications for our world today. Vladimir Putin’s June 2020 article, “The Real Lessons of the 75th Anniversary of World War II,” shows that Russia has taken the long-practiced Soviet-style rewriting of WWII history to a new level. Putin endorsed a false claim that Russia and the Red Army are the only liberators of Europe and the only victors of WWII. Furthermore, the Kremlin incorporated this idea as a part of their constitution — a state ideology, and thus demand that the world accept this rewritten view of the history of the Second World War.
In his article, published on June 18, 2020 in the American conservative magazine The National Interest, Putin makes an effort to re-write WWII history in the tradition of the Soviet Union. He maintains that the central part of WWII is the Great Patriotic War fought between the Soviet Union and the Nazi Germany from 1941–1945. He conveniently edits out the fact that from 1939 to 1941, the Soviet Union was an ally of Nazi Germany.
In principal, the article does not present new messages; rather, rather repeats talking points that have been regularly raised by the Kremlin over previous years. Putin glorifies the role of the Soviet regime and the Soviet Red Army in liberating Europe from the Nazis and defines Russia and the Russian people as the only victors of the war. While the described role of the USSR at the end of WWII ignores the role of the other Allies, the role of the USSR at the outbreak of the war — i.e. the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact — is downplayed. Instead, Putin accuses the West and Poland for the outbreak of the war. For the Kremlin, the Soviet victory in the Great Patriotic War is a core narrative of current Russian statehood, which suffers from the psychology of having lost an empire through the fall of the USSR, and in many ways, the status of having been a great power. Further in his article, Putin insists on branding Russia as a key constructor of world order inviting only the great powers — the permanent members of the UN Security Council — to a summit to discuss international order, closing the door to other countries.
The article was published prior to Russia’s constitutional referendum, which took place from June 25-July 1, 2020 and before a huge military parade on June 24. The prayed was originally scheduled for the annual May 9 celebration of their victory in the Great Patriotic War but was delayed do to the pandemic.
Putin’s alternative facts
Among the falsehoods contained in the article:
● Putin claims that Poland, the first victim of WWII, is partly responsible for starting WWII.
● Putin compares the secret Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (which Hitler’s Germany and Stalin’s Soviet Union divided Europe into their spheres of interest) as an equivalent to the 1938 Munich Agreement (between United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy) that ceded the Czech Sudetenland to Hitler’s Germany. He uses a disinformation technique in an individual or institution is vilified for something the aggressor does itself.
● Putin states that the incorporation of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia into the USSR was implemented “on a contractual basis, with the consent of the elected authorities,” as opposed to the reality of the Soviet Union’s illegal annexation of the Baltic States, which was a direct result of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact.
Historical narratives are foundational for forming most collective identities. The way any group relates to its history has implications for its political and social policies, and the behavior of a nation.
The world must never forget the truth that the Munich Agreement was a shameful consent by the West to Hitler’s annexation of Czech territories in the name of greater peace. However, as professor Mark N. Katz writes, “to claim that they did so in order to encourage conflict between Germany and the USSR is an exaggeration.” The agreement ceased to exist immediately after Hitler broke it by occupying the rest of Czech territory.
Usually, international agreements are concluded in order to reach peace. However, the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact signed on August 23, 1939 by the foreign ministers of Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia was a pact of war among two totalitarian regimes. It assured that neither side would attack the other unprovoked, and in its Secret Protocol established spheres of influence across Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland. Germany began WWII only after this pact had been signed, with the invasion of Poland from the west on September 1, 1939, which was followed by the French and British declaration of war on Germany.
Soon after, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east. Subsequently, the Baltic States were occupied by the Soviet Union in June 1940 and further forceful annexation was complete by 1944. Baltic anti-Soviet resistance groups, known as the Freedom Fighters or Forest Brothers, fought against Soviet occupation from 1944 through 1953, marking one of the longest resistance efforts in Europe, with some individual fighters holding out until the 1960s.
Tricks of the trade — how to use rhetoric to manipulate in your favor
Apart from the misleading narratives, the rhetoric of the article leaves no space for dialogue on the historical role of many other nations that participated in WWII. One can readily observe the literary devices used to support Putin’s narrative:
● Putin uses superlatives that underscore the division of us vs. them, forcing audiences into a false binary choice that those who do not agree with his views are against him and Russia, and thus implicitly pro-Nazism. In addition, superlatives and hyperbole create a discourse where Soviet actions during WWII are positively promoted while the roles of other nations are diminished.
● Putin uses artificial juxtaposition of an individual vs the group — in this case, the Russian nation. Namely, the interest of the nation is stated above the interest and needs of an individual, a tactic typical of nationalistic regimes. It also offers a false appearance of “unity” within Russian society while ignoring other collective memories of the Soviet regime — repressions, the Soviet gulags, the Katyn massacre, and of course the secret Molotov — Ribbentrop Pact.
● The selective presentation of historic events and the identification of personal memories with collective memories. The pronoun “I is very often replaced by the collective “we,” confusing the reader as to whether “we” is Putin, the Kremlin, or the Russian people, the Soviet people, etc.
● Repetition of phrases and repetitive rhetorical questions help Putin play on readers’ emotions and make his view on the topic more memorable, more distinct and undisputable.
The end of WWII is celebrated in Europe as a time of reconciliation, peace and unity. Europe tries to forgive, and indeed rebuild and reunite for the sake of joint prosperity, whereas Putin points fingers and accuses. Europe has an open dialogue about the crimes of the war, Putin excludes a dialogue, denies any Soviet crimes and enforces “the only correct” version of history. Interpreting historical memory. is a complicated issue, it cannot be black or white. Usually, in a democratic society, narratives are constructed around open dialogues that feature several perspectives and ultimately develop a collaborative agreement among different nations.
The narrative of “victors” forms the basis of the state ideology
Putin’s interpretation of WWII is directly reflected in the new edition of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. The amendment to the 67th article of the Constitution is intended to turn the narrative of victors of WWII (“Myth of War”) into a prologue to a mandatory state ideology. It consolidates the status of Russia as the only victor of the war, establishing a foundation of a new Russian identity. Russian diplomats are already enforcing this narrative full- hrottle. For instance, the Russian Embassy in Germany asked history teachers in Germany to use Putin’s article in their history lessons. Russian officials and pro-Kremlin media use Putin’s interpretation of WWII as talking points. Even among the younger generation of Russians, this can be seen within Russian pop culture, where Russia is seen as the victor of WWII and liberator of Europe from the Nazis.
Why this is important to understand
Putin wrote this article to justify decades of Russian foreign policy — pre-war, wartime, post-war and today. The article also tries to whitewash Stalin’s crimes against even his own population. The targets of these narratives are young people — a generation with no memory of WWII — at an age when their historical interest is forming and it is easier to manipulate their understanding of history. Putin also refers to how Hitler came into power, stating that it was largely due to the dissatisfaction of the post-WWI global order and the Treaty of Versailles. He leaves the reader to contemplate what might happen if Russia is dissatisfied with global order today. Does Putin use this argument to validate his own interests of extending an empire?
The historical narrative of Russia as a liberator of Europe from the Nazism, as described by Putin, represents the ideological mobilization of Russian society, forming a superpower mentality within the minds of its own citizens and swaying those less informed about history in the West.


informnapalm--2020-10-29--Signs of coming escalation in the Donbas: Russia is preparing to deploy strike UAVs

The leadership of the Russian occupation forces in the temporarily occupied territory of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts has stepped up inspections of the training ranges .
The focus is on equipping command posts and precision weapons defense fortifications , as well as camouflaging weapons and military hardware against space and air reconnaissance .
On October 27 , 2020 , the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported this in their new situation update from the JFO zone with reference to the data of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine .
InformNapalm volunteer intelligence community has grounds to believe that such activity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a number of factors and expectations of the Russian military command regarding the next escalation of hostilities in the Donbas .
At the same time , the Russian military command is trying to take into account the effective experience of using modern combat unmanned aerial vehicles ( UAVs ) in the hostilities between Azerbaijan and Armenia .
Apparently , this process was also triggered by numerous news reports of October 23 , based on the statement of the Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Strategic Industries of Ukraine Oleh Urusky about Turkey ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ukraine for the production of Bayraktar TB2 medium altitude long endurance combat UAVs .
In October 2020 , Ukraine and Turkey also signed a comprehensive document on the joint production of military equipment .
Let us recall that back in 2018 , Ukraine purchased 6 Bayraktar TB2 combat UAVs from Turkey and conducted comprehensive crew training for the potential deployment of this type of weapon in the war zone .
This activity could not have been ignored by the Russians .
On October 26 , Russian media released a propaganda video that showed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over to the Russian Army in April 2020 .
This UAV has been under development since 2011 , but it was only in November 2019 that the Orion began to enter trials with the Russian Army .
On November 16 , 2019 , an Orion crashed during a test flight near residential buildings in the village of Listvyanka in the Ryazan Oblast .
Local residents took a photo of the incident and posted it on social media .
The cause of the crash was reported as “ equipment failure ” .
For over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been writing analytical materials on the urgent need for the Russian Federation to reduce the significant technical lag behind the United States , Israel and Turkey in the production of combat UAVs .
It is possible that the news stories about the Russian Orion UAV are only a media response in an attempt to show a certain potential or breakthrough , whereas the actual capabilities of the Russian Federation in the development of unmanned high-precision weapons remain questionable .
In 2018 , InformNapalm volunteer intelligence community published a report on the equipment of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 10332 ) , which crashed on November 6 , 2016 into the Azov Sea off the coast of the Donetsk Oblast of Ukraine .
This report clearly demonstrated the state of the Russian technology in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles .
At the same time , according to InformNapalm OSINT investigations , since 2014 , the Russian Federation has been actively using more than 8 types of military UAVs in the war against Ukraine in the Donbas .
The drones are being used for reconnaissance and psychological operations .
In addition , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of weapons , in particular electronic warfare ( EW ) systems , have begun to feature more often on photos made by the UAVs of the OSCE special monitoring mission in the Donbas .
InformNapalm , based on the information from open sources ( own OSINT investigations , as well as OSCE SMM reports ) , as of 2020 , has listed more than 12 types of Russian EW systems identified in the Donbas .
Significant build-up of Russian military equipment and weapons has been repeatedly observed by UAVs and satellites in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ both at military ranges and beyond them ) .
These observations provide extra motivation for Russian military command to cover up the scale of aggression .
On October 22 , Oleksiy Danilov , Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine , said that he did not rule out an escalation of Russian military aggression against Ukraine in the Donbas in the coming months .
He also stressed that in such a scenario Ukraine is capable of offering a powerful response .
In the context of this statement , as well @ @ @ @ @ @ @ relevant information , the reports of the Main Intelligence Directorate regarding the actions of the Russian occupiers in the Donbas may be another sign of the aggressor ’ s preparation for escalation .
The preparations include in parallel additional concealment measures against aerial and satellite reconnaissance systems , as well as the development of scenarios for countering the use of attack UAVs .
• Proofs of the Russian Aggression : InformNapalm releases extensive database of evidence • Newest Russian equipment in Donbas in aerial photo ( photo and coordinates ) • Russia grossly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ km from the line of contact ( PHOTOS ) • Russian multipurpose armored vehicle Tigr , part of MK-BLA-01 drone system spotted in the Donbas ( video ) • Russia has kept its Zoopark-1 recon systems in Donbas since 2014 ( PHOTOS ) • Russian soldiers who lost Takhion drone in Donbas have been identified Distribution and reprint with reference to the source is welcome !
( Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International — CC BY 4.0 ) InformNapalm social media pages : Facebook / Twitter / Telegram InformNapalm does not receive any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ government or large donors .
Community volunteers and our readers are the only helpers in maintaining the site .
You can also volunteer or support the development of InformNapalm ’ s unique volunteer intelligence resource with your contributions through Patreon .

The leadership of the Russian occupation forces in the temporarily occupied territory of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts has stepped up inspections of the training ranges. The focus is on equipping command posts and precision weapons defense fortifications, as well as camouflaging weapons and military hardware against space and air reconnaissance. On October 27, 2020, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported this in their new situation update from the JFO zone with reference to the data of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine.
InformNapalm volunteer intelligence community has grounds to believe that such activity of the Russian invaders is due to a number of factors and expectations of the Russian military command regarding the next escalation of hostilities in the Donbas. At the same time, the Russian military command is trying to take into account the effective experience of using modern combat unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the hostilities between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Apparently, this process was also triggered by numerous news reports of October 23, based on the statement of the Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Strategic Industries of Ukraine Oleh Urusky about Turkey’s readiness to build a plant in Ukraine for the production of Bayraktar TB2 medium altitude long endurance combat UAVs. In October 2020, Ukraine and Turkey also signed a comprehensive document on the joint production of military equipment. Let us recall that back in 2018, Ukraine purchased 6 Bayraktar TB2 combat UAVs from Turkey and conducted comprehensive crew training for the potential deployment of this type of weapon in the war zone.
Russian UAV experience
This activity could not have been ignored by the Russians. On October 26, Russian media released a propaganda video that showed the first Russian combat UAV Orion handed over to the Russian Army in April 2020.
This UAV has been under development since 2011, but it was only in November 2019 that the Orion began to enter trials with the Russian Army. On November 16, 2019, an Orion crashed during a test flight near residential buildings in the village of Listvyanka in the Ryazan Oblast. Local residents took a photo of the incident and posted it on social media. The cause of the crash was reported as “equipment failure”.
For over 10 years, Russian military experts have been writing analytical materials on the urgent need for the Russian Federation to reduce the significant technical lag behind the United States, Israel and Turkey in the production of combat UAVs.
It is possible that the news stories about the Russian Orion UAV are only a media response in an attempt to show a certain potential or breakthrough, whereas the actual capabilities of the Russian Federation in the development of unmanned high-precision weapons remain questionable. In 2018, InformNapalm volunteer intelligence community published a report on the equipment of the Russian Orlan-10 UAV (tail number 10332), which crashed on November 6, 2016 into the Azov Sea off the coast of the Donetsk Oblast of Ukraine. This report clearly demonstrated the state of the Russian technology in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles.
At the same time, according to InformNapalm OSINT investigations, since 2014, the Russian Federation has been actively using more than 8 types of military UAVs in the war against Ukraine in the Donbas. The drones are being used for reconnaissance and psychological operations.
In addition, Russian weapons, including the latest types of weapons, in particular electronic warfare (EW) systems, have begun to feature more often on photos made by the UAVs of the OSCE special monitoring mission in the Donbas.
InformNapalm, based on the information from open sources (own OSINT investigations, as well as OSCE SMM reports), as of 2020, has listed more than 12 types of Russian EW systems identified in the Donbas.
Significant build-up of Russian military equipment and weapons has been repeatedly observed by UAVs and satellites in the occupied part of the Ukrainian Donbas (both at military ranges and beyond them). These observations provide extra motivation for Russian military command to cover up the scale of aggression.
Conclusions
On October 22, Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, said that he did not rule out an escalation of Russian military aggression against Ukraine in the Donbas in the coming months. He also stressed that in such a scenario Ukraine is capable of offering a powerful response.
In the context of this statement, as well as based on the analysis of the relevant information, the reports of the Main Intelligence Directorate regarding the actions of the Russian occupiers in the Donbas may be another sign of the aggressor’s preparation for escalation. The preparations include in parallel additional concealment measures against aerial and satellite reconnaissance systems, as well as the development of scenarios for countering the use of attack UAVs.
Read more from InformNapalm
Distribution and reprint with reference to the source is welcome! (Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International — CC BY 4.0) InformNapalm social media pages: Facebook / Twitter / Telegram
InformNapalm does not receive any financial support from any country’s government or large donors. Community volunteers and our readers are the only helpers in maintaining the site. You can also volunteer or support the development of InformNapalm’s unique volunteer intelligence resource with your contributions through Patreon .


informnapalm--2020-10-30--Russian occupiers use banned 82mm mortars in Donbas

On October 28 , the Russian armed forces violated the ceasefire in the Donbas four times .
82 mm mortars were used .
According to the Addendum to the Package of Measures for the Implementation of Minsk Agreements of 12 February 2015 , such types of weapons must be withdrawn at a distance of more than 15 km from the contact line .
The Russian occupation forces also used grenade launchers of various systems and fired small arms .
As a result , one Ukrainian serviceman was wounded .
This was reported by the press service of the Joint Forces @ @ @ @ @ @ @ us remind you that InformNapalm international intelligence community has repeatedly presented evidence of the deployment of Russian weapons in violation of the conditions of withdrawal .
In particular , on October 5 , 2020 , another visual evidence was presented that Russia was grossly violating the terms of the ceasefire by placing 82 mm mortars 2 km from the contact line .
In the second half of October , the OSCE SMM recorded another covert movement of military convoys moving at night time from Russia to the occupied part of Donetsk Oblast .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ 421 weapons were documented by international observers , which were deployed in violation of the withdrawal agreement .
91 % of all recorded violations of the withdrawal of heavy weapons were committed by the Russian occupation forces in the Donbas .
• Proof of the Russian Aggression : InformNapalm releases extensive database of evidence • Newest Russian equipment in Donbas in aerial photo ( photo and coordinates ) • Russian soldiers who lost Takhion drone in Donbas have been identified • Gvozdika 122mm SP Guns and tons of ammunition in 10 km from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Analysis of the “ MGB DPR ” and OSCE documents • Shelling in Donbas is most actively carried out by 3 units of Russian 1st Army Corps • Signs of coming escalation in the Donbas : Russia is preparing to deploy strike UAVs Translated by Svitlana Kemblowski .
Distribution and reprint with reference to the source is welcome !
( Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International — CC BY 4.0 ) InformNapalm social media pages : Facebook / Twitter / Telegram InformNapalm does not receive any financial support from any country ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and our readers are the only helpers in maintaining the site .
You can also volunteer or support the development of InformNapalm ’ s unique volunteer intelligence resource with your contributions through Patreon .

On October 28, the Russian armed forces violated the ceasefire in the Donbas four times. 82 mm mortars were used. According to the Addendum to the Package of Measures for the Implementation of Minsk Agreements of 12 February 2015, such types of weapons must be withdrawn at a distance of more than 15 km from the contact line.
The Russian occupation forces also used grenade launchers of various systems and fired small arms. As a result, one Ukrainian serviceman was wounded. This was reported by the press service of the Joint Forces Operation Headquarters in the Donbas.
Violations in October 2020
Let us remind you that InformNapalm international intelligence community has repeatedly presented evidence of the deployment of Russian weapons in violation of the conditions of withdrawal. In particular, on October 5, 2020, another visual evidence was presented that Russia was grossly violating the terms of the ceasefire by placing 82 mm mortars 2 km from the contact line.
In the second half of October, the OSCE SMM recorded another covert movement of military convoys moving at night time from Russia to the occupied part of Donetsk Oblast. In July-September 2020, a total of 421 weapons were documented by international observers, which were deployed in violation of the withdrawal agreement. 91% of all recorded violations of the withdrawal of heavy weapons were committed by the Russian occupation forces in the Donbas.
Read more from InformNapalm
Translated by Svitlana Kemblowski. Distribution and reprint with reference to the source is welcome! (Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International — CC BY 4.0) InformNapalm social media pages: Facebook / Twitter / Telegram
InformNapalm does not receive any financial support from any country’s government or large donors. Community volunteers and our readers are the only helpers in maintaining the site. You can also volunteer or support the development of InformNapalm’s unique volunteer intelligence resource with your contributions through Patreon .


informnapalm--2020-11-01--OSCE spotted Russian military convoys in the occupied territory of Donbas (AERIAL PHOTOS)

Volunteers of the InformNapalm international intelligence community received unique photographic evidence to support the OSCE report about another invasion of military convoys from the territory of the Russian Federation and covert cargo trafficking through uncontrolled border sections outside the checkpoints .
The textual part of the OSCE SMM report No .
249/2020 dated October 19 , 2020 reports hidden movement of two convoys at night on an unpaved road and then through the village of Manych ( Donetsk Oblast ) , their further movement , unloading of the cargo of one of the convoys in the occupied Donetsk and return @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In this feature , we are providing InformNapalm readers a photo from the UAV with a descriptive scheme of the convoy movement .
The photo confirms the textual part of the report and demonstrates concrete evidence .
The OSCE SMM also previously recorded night-time convoys of trucks in this area in June and July 2020 .
Also in June 2020 , a covert movement of Russian equipment was recorded across uncontrolled sections of the Ukrainian border in the Luhansk Oblast .
Then the convoys delivered a cargo to the base of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the Russian occupation forces in Luhansk .
On October 20 , the OSCE also published an analytical report on the trends observed in the war zone in the period from July to September 2020 .
According to these data , the OSCE recorded 421 pieces of weaponry deployed in violation of the withdrawal lines , whereas 91 % of all violations of the withdrawal of heavy weapons were recorded on the side of the Russian occupation forces in the Donbas .
Russia continues to wage a hybrid war against Ukraine and violate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and military equipment .
The current lull in hostilities in the Donbas is temporary , and is probably a sign of Moscow is pursuing other hybrid political strategies on the eve of the elections in Ukraine .
At the same time , the Russian occupation forces use the ceasefire regime to actively reinforce their own positions , accumulate weapons and ammunition .
They are also using arson as tactical tool in the JFO zone inflicting massive harm not only on the military , but also on civilians .
About 500 residential and more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fires in the Luhansk Oblast in October .
The situation was most critical along the contact line on the territory of Stanychno-Luhansk , Novoaydarsk , Siverodonetsk raions , where 32 settlements fell into the affected area .
• Proofs of the Russian Aggression : InformNapalm releases extensive database of evidence • Volunteers gathered evidence of 32 Russian military units taking part in the invasion of Crimea • Intelligence data on 1st and 2nd Army Corps of the Russian Federation in the occupied Donbas • Newest Russian equipment in Donbas in aerial photo ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ violates ceasefire terms : mortars observed 2 km from the line of contact ( PHOTOS ) • Russian multipurpose armored vehicle Tigr , part of MK-BLA-01 drone system spotted in the Donbas ( video ) Distribution and reprint with reference to the source is welcome !
( Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International — CC BY 4.0 ) InformNapalm social media pages : Facebook / Twitter / Telegram We do not receive any financial support from any country ’ s government or large donors .
InformNapalm.org website is kept alive only by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can also volunteer or support the development of the unique volunteer intelligence resource with your donations through Patreon .

Volunteers of the InformNapalm international intelligence community received unique photographic evidence to support the OSCE report about another invasion of military convoys from the territory of the Russian Federation and covert cargo trafficking through uncontrolled border sections outside the checkpoints.
The textual part of the OSCE SMM report No. 249/2020 dated October 19, 2020 reports hidden movement of two convoys at night on an unpaved road and then through the village of Manych (Donetsk Oblast), their further movement, unloading of the cargo of one of the convoys in the occupied Donetsk and return by unpaved roads in the opposite direction.
In this feature, we are providing InformNapalm readers a photo from the UAV with a descriptive scheme of the convoy movement. The photo confirms the textual part of the report and demonstrates concrete evidence.
The OSCE SMM also previously recorded night-time convoys of trucks in this area in June and July 2020.
Also in June 2020, a covert movement of Russian equipment was recorded across uncontrolled sections of the Ukrainian border in the Luhansk Oblast. Then the convoys delivered a cargo to the base of the Logistics Battalion of the 2nd Army Corps of the Russian occupation forces in Luhansk.
Numerous violations of the weapons withdrawal
On October 20, the OSCE also published an analytical report on the trends observed in the war zone in the period from July to September 2020. According to these data, the OSCE recorded 421 pieces of weaponry deployed in violation of the withdrawal lines, whereas 91% of all violations of the withdrawal of heavy weapons were recorded on the side of the Russian occupation forces in the Donbas.
Conclusions
Russia continues to wage a hybrid war against Ukraine and violate the conditions for the withdrawal of weapons and military equipment. The current lull in hostilities in the Donbas is temporary, and is probably a sign of Moscow is pursuing other hybrid political strategies on the eve of the elections in Ukraine. At the same time, the Russian occupation forces use the ceasefire regime to actively reinforce their own positions, accumulate weapons and ammunition. They are also using arson as tactical tool in the JFO zone inflicting massive harm not only on the military, but also on civilians.
About 500 residential and more than 1,800 outbuildings were burned down by fires in the Luhansk Oblast in October. The situation was most critical along the contact line on the territory of Stanychno-Luhansk, Novoaydarsk, Siverodonetsk raions, where 32 settlements fell into the affected area.
Read more from InformNapalm
Distribution and reprint with reference to the source is welcome! (Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International — CC BY 4.0) InformNapalm social media pages: Facebook / Twitter / Telegram
We do not receive any financial support from any country’s government or large donors. InformNapalm.org website is kept alive only by the community volunteers and our readers. You can also volunteer or support the development of the unique volunteer intelligence resource with your donations through Patreon.


informnapalm--2020-11-02--Escalation in the Donbas: two Ukrainian defenders killed in action and two wounded

On October 30 , in violation of the agreements reached by the Tripartite Contact Group , the Russian occupation forces carried out targeted engagements of Ukrainian positions in the Donbas , killing and wounding Ukrainian military men , reported the press service of the Joint Forces Operation Headquarters in the Donbas .
The Ukrainian side promptly initiated an emergency meeting of the security working group within the Trilateral Contact Group ( TCG ) .
This was announced by Oleksiy Arestovych , who serves currently as an Information Policy Adviser of the Ukrainian delegation to the TCG .
InformNapalm volunteer intelligence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ episode of the war in the Donbas , and came up with additional intelligence data .
The aggressor opened targeted fire with grenade launchers near the village of Vodiane , killing two Ukrainian military men .
Based on intelligence data on units of the 1st and 2nd Army Corps of the Russian Federation in the occupied Donbas , we have grounds to believe that the shelling of Ukrainian positions was carried out by the 9th Separate Assault Motorized Rifle Regiment of the Marines ( military unit 08809 , permanent station at Novoazovsk , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This regiment of hybrid Russian forces is characterized by low discipline .
In addition , the area of responsibility of the 9th Regiment is periodically used to provide their first real combat experience to artillery men of the Russian Army , recent graduates of Russian artillery schools .
In the evening of October 29 , two more Ukrainian defenders were wounded at two different points of the front line – one was shot with a firearm , the other was hit by shrapnel from a grenade dropped by an enemy drone .
On @ @ @ @ @ @ @ signs of impending hostilities escalation in the Donbas and reported that Russia was preparing to use strike drones , given the current experience of using strike drones in the current combat between Azerbaijan and Armenia .
However , Russia ’ s technical capabilities currently do not allow for combat deployment of the latest technology , so the occupying forces in the Donbas resort to hybrid technical solutions using reconnaissance drones to dump explosive projectiles .
We will remind our readers that on October 28 the Russian occupiers in the Donbas also used the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the escalation of hostilities in the Donbas began immediately after the local elections in Ukraine .
As reported by InformNapalm in September , based on the data from OSCE SMM reports , Russia has actively used the ceasefire to increase the combat effectiveness of its forces in the Donbas : did engineering work , mining of new areas and replenishment of ammunition by covert trafficking of cargo through uncontrolled areas of the border .
• Proofs of the Russian Aggression : InformNapalm releases extensive database of evidence • Newest Russian equipment in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coordinates ) • Russian soldiers who lost Takhion drone in Donbas have been identified • ‘ Gvozdika ’ 122mm SP Guns and Tons of Ammunition in 10 Km from Marinka • Russian Weapons in Donbas : Analysis of the “ MGB DPR ” and OSCE Documents • Shelling in Donbas is most actively carried out by 3 units of Russian 1st Army Corps • Vodiane could be shelled by Russian Army artillery from the occupied Novoazovs ’ k Translated by George Pinchuk .
Edited by Artem Velichko .
Distribution and reprint with reference @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International — CC BY 4.0 ) InformNapalm social media pages : Facebook / Twitter / Telegram InformNapalm does not receive any financial support from any country ’ s government or large donors .
InformNapalm.org website is kept alive only by the community volunteers and our readers .
You can also volunteer or support the development of the unique volunteer intelligence resource with your donations through Patreon .

On October 30, in violation of the agreements reached by the Tripartite Contact Group, the Russian occupation forces carried out targeted engagements of Ukrainian positions in the Donbas, killing and wounding Ukrainian military men, reported the press service of the Joint Forces Operation Headquarters in the Donbas. The Ukrainian side promptly initiated an emergency meeting of the security working group within the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG). This was announced by Oleksiy Arestovych, who serves currently as an Information Policy Adviser of the Ukrainian delegation to the TCG .
InformNapalm volunteer intelligence community has analyzed this new tragic escalation episode of the war in the Donbas, and came up with additional intelligence data.
Two Ukrainian defenders killed
The aggressor opened targeted fire with grenade launchers near the village of Vodiane, killing two Ukrainian military men.
Based on intelligence data on units of the 1st and 2nd Army Corps of the Russian Federation in the occupied Donbas, we have grounds to believe that the shelling of Ukrainian positions was carried out by the 9th Separate Assault Motorized Rifle Regiment of the Marines (military unit 08809, permanent station at Novoazovsk, occupied part of Donetsk Oblast). This regiment of hybrid Russian forces is characterized by low discipline. In addition, the area of responsibility of the 9th Regiment is periodically used to provide their first real combat experience to artillery men of the Russian Army, recent graduates of Russian artillery schools.
Two Ukrainian defenders wounded
In the evening of October 29, two more Ukrainian defenders were wounded at two different points of the front line – one was shot with a firearm, the other was hit by shrapnel from a grenade dropped by an enemy drone.
On October 27, InformNapalm drew attention to signs of impending hostilities escalation in the Donbas and reported that Russia was preparing to use strike drones, given the current experience of using strike drones in the current combat between Azerbaijan and Armenia. However, Russia’s technical capabilities currently do not allow for combat deployment of the latest technology, so the occupying forces in the Donbas resort to hybrid technical solutions using reconnaissance drones to dump explosive projectiles.
We will remind our readers that on October 28 the Russian occupiers in the Donbas also used the forbidden 82-mm mortars.
As previously forecast, the escalation of hostilities in the Donbas began immediately after the local elections in Ukraine.
As reported by InformNapalm in September, based on the data from OSCE SMM reports, Russia has actively used the ceasefire to increase the combat effectiveness of its forces in the Donbas: did engineering work, mining of new areas and replenishment of ammunition by covert trafficking of cargo through uncontrolled areas of the border.
Read more from InformNapalm
Translated by George Pinchuk. Edited by Artem Velichko. Distribution and reprint with reference to the source is welcome! (Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International — CC BY 4.0) InformNapalm social media pages: Facebook / Twitter / Telegram
InformNapalm does not receive any financial support from any country’s government or large donors. InformNapalm.org website is kept alive only by the community volunteers and our readers. You can also volunteer or support the development of the unique volunteer intelligence resource with your donations through Patreon.


informnapalm--2020-11-04--Anti-Semitism in Russia. Russian disinformation and inspiration of Anti-Semitism

Article prepared by Info Ops Polska Foundation .
Info OPS Polska Foundation was established for the implementation of projects aimed at ensuring the safety of the information environment .
The project includes support for the development of the capacity to identify information and psychological operations , including conducting analyses of manipulation processes of the Polish-speaking information environment : disinformation , propaganda , social engineering and cyber activities .
• Pogroms of the Jewish population in Russia Anti-Semitism in Russia has always been largely of a state nature .
Jews have never been welcome in the country of tsars .
To @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Republic of Poland to the native Russian lands , the Empress Catherine II ( 1762-1796 ) , by an act of December 23 , 1791 , established a special settlement zone in the western part of the Russian Empire .
The zone constituted 20 % of Russia ’ s European territory .
Only this area , corresponding more or less to the former territory of the Republic of Poland , could be inhabited by people of the Mosaic religion .
Thus , all Jews were expelled from the rest of the lands @ @ @ @ @ @ @ worth noting that even in the zone itself they were forbidden to settle in rural areas .
In 1810 , Alexander I ( 1801-1825 ) allowed the exceptionally rich Jewish merchants and military officers to stay outside the zone .
In 1836 , a new border of the zone was marked out .
Another law aimed against the Jewish population was the so called May Act .
In 1882 , Alexander III ( 1881-1894 ) introduced “ May laws ” that forbade Jews to settle in the countryside and in towns with population @ @ @ @ @ @ @ zone survived until 1917 .
Despite these restrictions in Russia , Jews were not safe even within the settlement zone .
In 1821 , a pogrom took place in Odessa on the Back Sea .
Jews were considered to be the supporters of the Turkish Sultan .
The city was inhabited by a large Greek community ( Greece was fighting for independence at that time ) .
In that pogrom , 14 Jews were killed at the hands of the Greek attackers .
Another pogrom in this multicultural city took place on Easter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Greek sailors .
In 1871 , in the next anti-Jewish action , the Greek inhabitants of Odessa were joined by Russians .
It is believed that what triggered the pogrom was a rumor about the profanation by Jews of an orthodox church .
The following years of the nineteenth century brought a further increase in nationalist and anti-Semitic sentiment in Russia .
Hatred for Jews in the country tsars was often economically motivated .
Usually , the frustration caused by the economic crisis was directed against Jews .
In 1891. the Jewish population @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Russian empire – St. Petersburg and Moscow .
The Jews community was banished to the aforementioned settlement zone .
Pogroms of the Jewish population in Russia : The first major wave of pogroms swept through the Russian state between 1881and 1884 .
Their number is estimated to be ranging from 224 to 284 .
Pogroms were inspired by the Russian authorities and the organizations supporting them .
The direct reason was the participation of a Jewess – Hesia Helfman in the successful assassination of Tsar Alexander II ( 1881 ) .
Although @ @ @ @ @ @ @ organization Narodnaya Volya were of Russian or Polish descent , but this Jewish participant was made to appear as the mastermind behind the assassination of the ruler .
A large part of pogroms took place in today ’ s Ukraine , where the antagonism of the local population with regard to Jews was quite strong and had a historical background ( Khmelnytsky uprising , massacre of Uman ) .
On April 15 and 16 , 1881 , a pogrom took place in Jelizawietgrad during the Orthodox Easter .
Quikly it spread to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ On April 26 , 1881 , another pogrom took place in Kiev .
Local people not only robbed the shops and places of residence of the Jews , but they also committed numerous rapes and murders .
Despite the apparent counteraction by the police , a wave of pogroms spread in the following months to the nearby governorates .
To this day , many anti-Semitic circles defend the book „ Protocols of the Elders of Zion ” ( 1905 ) .
It describes a fictional council of Jewish leaders .
They make alleged @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The work was commissioned by Ochrana – the Russian secret political police .
Its purpose was to blame the Jewish community for the political and social problems of Russia at that time .
The text of the book was fabricated by the experts in disinformation : Maciej Gołowinski and Piotr Raczkowski ( who headed the foreign outposts of Ochrana between 1885 and1902 ) .
Both counterfeiters compiled the text from a different work and changed it to sound anti-Semitic .
„ Protocols of the Elders of Zion ” were a plagiarism of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Within a fairly short time , properly propagated , the work became the most popular anti-Semitic text .
It had a huge impact on the public debate not only in Russia , but also in the whole world .
Even in Nazi Germany the authenticity of „ Protocols ” was taken for granted .
In the Third Reich , the book became even an obligatory reading .
It is worth mentioning that „ Protocols of the Elders of Zion ” were used by the KGB to provoke anti-Semitism and hatred for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ secret services distributed hundreds of thousands of copies of the Arabic translation of this manipulative text in the Islamic Word .
On the orders of the KGB chief Yuri Andropov disinformation was spread that „ the elders of Zion sit in the US Congress.
” At present , there are still circles in Russia , including the Russian power elite , that believe in a false picture of the world and conspiracies presented in the “ Protocols ” .
Pogroms of the Jewish people in Russia in the 20th century The beginning of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of bloody pogroms in Russia .
Inspired by an extreme nationalist movement Black Hundred , the pogrom in Chisinau ( 1903 ) brought 49 dead and several hundred injured .
What triggered the pogrom was a manipulated article in an anti-Semitic newspaper .
It had reported that a Christian boy , named Mikhail Rybaczenko , was murdered in Dubosary .
The newspaper blamed the murder on Jews , falsely suggesting they needed the child ’ s blood to prepare matzos .
In October 1905 , bloody pogroms took place in Odessa .
As @ @ @ @ @ @ @ killed and several thousand sustained injuries .
The total number of victims of the pogroms of the Jewish population from 1903-1906 is estimated at over 3,000 people .
Another mass pogrom took place in 1917–1921 during the Bolshevik revolution and the civil war in Russia .
It is estimated that as a result about 70,000 Jews were killed .
Another interesting example of anti-Semitism in tsarist Russia is the so-called Bejlis trial .
In 1913 , a Ukrainian Jew Menahem Mendel Beilis was accused of a ritual murder .
He had allegedly murdered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ use his blood to make matzos .
Bejlis was acquitted by the jury ( composed exclusively of Christians ) .
The trial itself was widely reported by international media .
In the twentieth century , Soviet Russia and then the Soviet Union was one of the largest Jewish population center ( apart from and the US ) .
The February and October Revolutions significantly changed the attitude of the state authorities towards the Jewish population .
Like other minoritie it obtained equal rights .
“ The settlement zone ” ( read above ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
People of Jewish origin also gained important positions in the party and state apparatus ( Yakov Sverdlov , Lev Trotsky , Lev Kamenev , Grigory Zinoviev ) .
In 1934 , the Jewish Autonomous Area with the capital in Birobidjan was established in the Far East near the Soviet-Chinese border .
Many Soviet Jews were still forced to emigrate to the region , but they never constituted even a half of its population .
The apparent change in the situation of Jews did not mean the elimination of anti-Semitic accents in social @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of anti-Semitism in the Soviet Union was undoubtedly the conflict between Stalin and Trotsky in the second half of the 1920s .
Stalinist propaganda directly exploited the following , coarse association - „ A Jew is a Trotskyist , a Trotskyist is a Jew.
” Jewish origin was also exploited to form conspiracy theories during the Great Purge in the 1930s .
The unlikely oppositionists were supposed to take on aliases to hide their Jewish names ( the so-called „ Trotskyist-Zinoviewov-Stemmas ” plot ) .
Due to the accusatory activity , Department IV @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as the „ Jewsection ” , i.e .
the Jewish section .
The attack of Third Reich on the Soviet Union ( 1941 ) led to the cessation of anti-Semitic activities .
Stalin even created the Jewish Antifascist Committee ( JAFK ) .
It was in charge of the promotion of a positive image of the Soviet Union in the West , primarily in the US .
But shortly after there was another wave of anti-Semitism .
One of the aspects of the post-WWII anti-Jewish campaign was the so-called Crimean case .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Committee , under the leadership of an activist Salomon Michoels , raised the issue of the establishment of a „ Jewish Autonomous Republic ” in Crimea with the government of the USSR .
Stalin was outraged .
He considered the proposal to be in breach of the territorial integrity of the Soviet state .
He saw it as an attempt to detach Crimea from the USSR establish ties with the US and transfer the new republic under the authority of US .
All this was disinformation .
However , as a consequence , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were arrested .
On August 12 , 1952 , fourteen of them were executed on suspicion of the alleged espionage for the United States .
The Soviet-led propaganda stigmatized people of Jewish descent by putting their original names in brackets .
During the period of1948-1953 , at least 248 authors writing in Yiddish , 106 actors , 87 painters and sculptors of Jewish origin died in the aftermath of various repressions .
Another example of the official nature of anti-Semitism in the Stalinist era was the so called “ “ doctors ’ conspiracy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is one of the most blattant political provocations in the USSR with an anti-Semitic context .
Its main purpose was to unleash widespread terror and another purge .
At the beginning of 1953 , several dozens of doctors from Moscow , mainly of Jewish descent , were falsely accused of conspiracy aimed to annihilate the Soviet political leadership .
The death of Stalin in March 1953 saved the accused medics from death .
It also brought an end to the official anti-Semitic campaign .
One may be tempted to say that in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was never more intense than it was by the end of Stalin ’ s life .
In the following years , the life of Jews in the USSR continued to face serious difficulties related to the religious or economic sphere .
Serious restrictions were still applied in the recruitment of Jews to universities and to some professions ( proportionally to the number of Jews living in the USSR ) .
The desire to emigrate to the state of Israel was growing stronger among Jews .
But the rupture of diplomatic relations between the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the aftermath of the Six-Day War made leaving for Israel extremely difficult .
The Soviets ’ support for Arab states also led to another anti-Semitic campaign in the mass media and the state-controlled propaganda apparatus .
During Brezhnev ’ s time , many Jews became involved in the opposition movement .
At the same time , the question of Jews became an important element of the Soviet Union ’ s relations with Western countries .
In modern Russia , we can indicate multiple manifestations of anti-Semitism .
At the beginning of January 2005 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ State Duma publicly accused Jews of committing ritual murders .
They visited the Prosecutor General ’ s office demanding that the Russian government „ ban all Jewish organizations.
” The said MPs accused them of extremism and described them as „ anti-Christian and inhuman , whose practices reach as far as committing ritual murders.
” They also claimed that multiple evidence of such religious extremism was confirmed by the court .
The charges exploited the common , traditional anti-Semitic stereotypes , such as the claim that „ the entire democratic world today is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ international Jewry .
And we do not want our Russia to be among such enslaved countries.
” These and other misleading statements could be read in an open letter to the Prosecutor General .
The letter , commonly referred to as ” the letter of five hundred ” was then published in the newspaper „ Rusoslaw Orthodox ” .
It is worth adding that quite often anti-Semitic views are spread by a notorious Russian politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky .
In 2005 , five boys aged between 9 and 12 went missing in Krasnoyarsk .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The crime has not been explained to date .
However , some Russian nationalist groups at the time claimed that the children had been murdered by a Jewish sect for ritual purposes .
Russian nationalist organizations demanded that the authorities order a search in the synagogues and on the matzah bakery .
Anti-Semitic slogans were also strongly emphasized when Russian president Putin was dealing with the oligarchs .
The press pointed to the Jewish roots of Boris Berezowski and Mikhail Khodorkovsky .
Russian propaganda seeks to mask the real picture of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to conduct information attacks on Poland .
In fact , anti-Semitism in Russia ( which the current authorities are trying to hide and create a false picture of Russia as a country free from anti-Semitism ) is part of a wide range of manipulated activities carried out by Russia .
By means of the abovementioned methods , the Russian Federation aims to disrupt international relations of the Western world , especially transatlantic relations .
In this article , we present only a brief analysis of the Russian anti-Semitism from a historical perspective to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is to be published soon .

Article prepared by Info Ops Polska Foundation. Info OPS Polska Foundation was established for the implementation of projects aimed at ensuring the safety of the information environment. The project includes support for the development of the capacity to identify information and psychological operations, including conducting analyses of manipulation processes of the Polish-speaking information environment: disinformation, propaganda, social engineering and cyber activities.
Pogroms of the Jewish population in Russia
Russian disinformation and inspiration of anti-Semitism
Official anti-Semitism in Stalin’s era
Anti-Semitism in modern Russia
Masking of Russian anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism in Russia has always been largely of a state nature. Jews have never been welcome in the country of tsars. To prevent Jews migration from the territory of the Republic of Poland to the native Russian lands, the Empress Catherine II (1762-1796), by an act of December 23, 1791, established a special settlement zone in the western part of the Russian Empire. The zone constituted 20% of Russia’s European territory. Only this area, corresponding more or less to the former territory of the Republic of Poland, could be inhabited by people of the Mosaic religion. Thus, all Jews were expelled from the rest of the lands under the Russian rule. It is worth noting that even in the zone itself they were forbidden to settle in rural areas. In 1810, Alexander I (1801-1825) allowed the exceptionally rich Jewish merchants and military officers to stay outside the zone. In 1836, a new border of the zone was marked out. Another law aimed against the Jewish population was the so called May Act. In 1882, Alexander III (1881-1894) introduced “May laws” that forbade Jews to settle in the countryside and in towns with population lower than 1,000 inhabitants. The settlement zone survived until 1917.
Despite these restrictions in Russia, Jews were not safe even within the settlement zone. In 1821, a pogrom took place in Odessa on the Back Sea. Jews were considered to be the supporters of the Turkish Sultan. The city was inhabited by a large Greek community (Greece was fighting for independence at that time). In that pogrom, 14 Jews were killed at the hands of the Greek attackers. Another pogrom in this multicultural city took place on Easter 1859. Behind the attack were the Greek sailors . In 1871, in the next anti-Jewish action, the Greek inhabitants of Odessa were joined by Russians. It is believed that what triggered the pogrom was a rumor about the profanation by Jews of an orthodox church. The following years of the nineteenth century brought a further increase in nationalist and anti-Semitic sentiment in Russia.
Hatred for Jews in the country tsars was often economically motivated. Usually, the frustration caused by the economic crisis was directed against Jews. In 1891. the Jewish population was expelled from two capital cities of the Russian empire – St. Petersburg and Moscow. The Jews community was banished to the aforementioned settlement zone .
Pogroms of the Jewish population in Russia:
The first major wave of pogroms swept through the Russian state between 1881and 1884. Their number is estimated to be ranging from 224 to 284. Pogroms were inspired by the Russian authorities and the organizations supporting them. The direct reason was the participation of a Jewess – Hesia Helfman in the successful assassination of Tsar Alexander II (1881). Although most of the members of the conspiracy organization Narodnaya Volya were of Russian or Polish descent, but this Jewish participant was made to appear as the mastermind behind the assassination of the ruler. A large part of pogroms took place in today’s Ukraine, where the antagonism of the local population with regard to Jews was quite strong and had a historical background (Khmelnytsky uprising, massacre of Uman).
On April 15 and 16, 1881, a pogrom took place in Jelizawietgrad during the Orthodox Easter. Quikly it spread to the surrounding villages in the Kherson governorate. On April 26, 1881, another pogrom took place in Kiev. Local people not only robbed the shops and places of residence of the Jews, but they also committed numerous rapes and murders. Despite the apparent counteraction by the police, a wave of pogroms spread in the following months to the nearby governorates.
Russian disinformation and inspiration of anti-Semitism;
To this day, many anti-Semitic circles defend the book „Protocols of the Elders of Zion” (1905). It describes a fictional council of Jewish leaders. They make alleged plans for Jews to achieve world domination. The work was commissioned by Ochrana – the Russian secret political police. Its purpose was to blame the Jewish community for the political and social problems of Russia at that time. The text of the book was fabricated by the experts in disinformation: Maciej Gołowinski and Piotr Raczkowski (who headed the foreign outposts of Ochrana between 1885 and1902). Both counterfeiters compiled the text from a different work and changed it to sound anti-Semitic. „Protocols of the Elders of Zion” were a plagiarism of the French satire of Emperor Napoleon III. Within a fairly short time, properly propagated, the work became the most popular anti-Semitic text. It had a huge impact on the public debate not only in Russia, but also in the whole world. Even in Nazi Germany the authenticity of „Protocols” was taken for granted. In the Third Reich, the book became even an obligatory reading.
It is worth mentioning that „Protocols of the Elders of Zion” were used by the KGB to provoke anti-Semitism and hatred for the West in Muslim countries. The Soviet secret services distributed hundreds of thousands of copies of the Arabic translation of this manipulative text in the Islamic Word. On the orders of the KGB chief Yuri Andropov disinformation was spread that „the elders of Zion sit in the US Congress.” At present, there are still circles in Russia, including the Russian power elite, that believe in a false picture of the world and conspiracies presented in the “Protocols”.
Pogroms of the Jewish people in Russia in the 20th century
The beginning of the 20th century was yet another phase of bloody pogroms in Russia. Inspired by an extreme nationalist movement Black Hundred, the pogrom in Chisinau (1903) brought 49 dead and several hundred injured. What triggered the pogrom was a manipulated article in an anti-Semitic newspaper. It had reported that a Christian boy, named Mikhail Rybaczenko, was murdered in Dubosary. The newspaper blamed the murder on Jews, falsely suggesting they needed the child’s blood to prepare matzos. In October 1905, bloody pogroms took place in Odessa. As a result, over 300 people were killed and several thousand sustained injuries. The total number of victims of the pogroms of the Jewish population from 1903-1906 is estimated at over 3,000 people. Another mass pogrom took place in 1917–1921 during the Bolshevik revolution and the civil war in Russia. It is estimated that as a result about 70,000 Jews were killed.
Another interesting example of anti-Semitism in tsarist Russia is the so-called Bejlis trial. In 1913, a Ukrainian Jew Menahem Mendel Beilis was accused of a ritual murder. He had allegedly murdered a Christian child with the aim to use his blood to make matzos. Bejlis was acquitted by the jury (composed exclusively of Christians). The trial itself was widely reported by international media.
In the twentieth century, Soviet Russia and then the Soviet Union was one of the largest Jewish population center (apart from and the US). The February and October Revolutions significantly changed the attitude of the state authorities towards the Jewish population. Like other minoritie it obtained equal rights. “The settlement zone” (read above) was eventually abolished. (1917). People of Jewish origin also gained important positions in the party and state apparatus (Yakov Sverdlov, Lev Trotsky, Lev Kamenev, Grigory Zinoviev). In 1934, the Jewish Autonomous Area with the capital in Birobidjan was established in the Far East near the Soviet-Chinese border. Many Soviet Jews were still forced to emigrate to the region, but they never constituted even a half of its population.
The apparent change in the situation of Jews did not mean the elimination of anti-Semitic accents in social and political life. The first manifestation of anti-Semitism in the Soviet Union was undoubtedly the conflict between Stalin and Trotsky in the second half of the 1920s. Stalinist propaganda directly exploited the following, coarse association -„A Jew is a Trotskyist, a Trotskyist is a Jew.” Jewish origin was also exploited to form conspiracy theories during the Great Purge in the 1930s. The unlikely oppositionists were supposed to take on aliases to hide their Jewish names (the so-called „Trotskyist-Zinoviewov-Stemmas” plot). Due to the accusatory activity, Department IV of the NKVD was commonly referred to as the „Jewsection”, i.e. the Jewish section.
The attack of Third Reich on the Soviet Union (1941) led to the cessation of anti-Semitic activities. Stalin even created the Jewish Antifascist Committee (JAFK). It was in charge of the promotion of a positive image of the Soviet Union in the West, primarily in the US. But shortly after there was another wave of anti-Semitism.
One of the aspects of the post-WWII anti-Jewish campaign was the so-called Crimean case. In February 1944, the aforementioned Jewish Antifascist Committee, under the leadership of an activist Salomon Michoels, raised the issue of the establishment of a „Jewish Autonomous Republic” in Crimea with the government of the USSR. Stalin was outraged. He considered the proposal to be in breach of the territorial integrity of the Soviet state. He saw it as an attempt to detach Crimea from the USSR establish ties with the US and transfer the new republic under the authority of US. All this was disinformation. However, as a consequence, many members of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee were arrested. On August 12, 1952, fourteen of them were executed on suspicion of the alleged espionage for the United States.
The Soviet-led propaganda stigmatized people of Jewish descent by putting their original names in brackets. During the period of1948-1953, at least 248 authors writing in Yiddish, 106 actors, 87 painters and sculptors of Jewish origin died in the aftermath of various repressions.
Official anti-Semitism in Stalin’s era
Another example of the official nature of anti-Semitism in the Stalinist era was the so called “ “doctors’ conspiracy case” (1952-1953). It is one of the most blattant political provocations in the USSR with an anti-Semitic context. Its main purpose was to unleash widespread terror and another purge. At the beginning of 1953, several dozens of doctors from Moscow, mainly of Jewish descent, were falsely accused of conspiracy aimed to annihilate the Soviet political leadership. The death of Stalin in March 1953 saved the accused medics from death. It also brought an end to the official anti-Semitic campaign. One may be tempted to say that in the whole history of the USSR, anti-Semitism was never more intense than it was by the end of Stalin’s life.
In the following years, the life of Jews in the USSR continued to face serious difficulties related to the religious or economic sphere. Serious restrictions were still applied in the recruitment of Jews to universities and to some professions (proportionally to the number of Jews living in the USSR). The desire to emigrate to the state of Israel was growing stronger among Jews. But the rupture of diplomatic relations between the USSR and Israel in June 1967 in the aftermath of the Six-Day War made leaving for Israel extremely difficult. The Soviets’ support for Arab states also led to another anti-Semitic campaign in the mass media and the state-controlled propaganda apparatus. During Brezhnev’s time, many Jews became involved in the opposition movement. At the same time, the question of Jews became an important element of the Soviet Union’s relations with Western countries.
Anti-Semitism in modern Russia
In modern Russia, we can indicate multiple manifestations of anti-Semitism. At the beginning of January 2005, 20 deputies of Russia’s State Duma publicly accused Jews of committing ritual murders. They visited the Prosecutor General’s office demanding that the Russian government „ban all Jewish organizations.” The said MPs accused them of extremism and described them as „anti-Christian and inhuman, whose practices reach as far as committing ritual murders.” They also claimed that multiple evidence of such religious extremism was confirmed by the court. The charges exploited the common, traditional anti-Semitic stereotypes, such as the claim that „the entire democratic world today is under the financial and political control of international Jewry. And we do not want our Russia to be among such enslaved countries.” These and other misleading statements could be read in an open letter to the Prosecutor General. The letter, commonly referred to as ”the letter of five hundred” was then published in the newspaper „Rusoslaw Orthodox”. It is worth adding that quite often anti-Semitic views are spread by a notorious Russian politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky. In 2005, five boys aged between 9 and 12 went missing in Krasnoyarsk. Their bodies were found in urban canals. The crime has not been explained to date. However, some Russian nationalist groups at the time claimed that the children had been murdered by a Jewish sect for ritual purposes. Russian nationalist organizations demanded that the authorities order a search in the synagogues and on the matzah bakery. Anti-Semitic slogans were also strongly emphasized when Russian president Putin was dealing with the oligarchs. The press pointed to the Jewish roots of Boris Berezowski and Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
Masking of Russian anti-Semitism
Russian propaganda seeks to mask the real picture of the Russian anti-Semitism while using the anti-Semitic card to conduct information attacks on Poland.
In fact, anti-Semitism in Russia (which the current authorities are trying to hide and create a false picture of Russia as a country free from anti-Semitism) is part of a wide range of manipulated activities carried out by Russia. By means of the abovementioned methods, the Russian Federation aims to disrupt international relations of the Western world, especially transatlantic relations.
In this article, we present only a brief analysis of the Russian anti-Semitism from a historical perspective to modern times. More on this subject is to be published soon.


informnapalm--2020-11-06--The Kremlin’s influence and governance model is falling apart

On 11 October 2020 , Lithuanian voters rejected politicians widely perceived as the most sympathetic to Russian malign interests .
The outright failure of Lithuanian political groupings such as the Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania – Christian Families Alliance ( EAPL-CFA ) to gamer even five percent of the vote in Lithuania means that they will not have any proportionally allocated seats in the Lithuania parliament ( Seimas ) and will be virtually eliminated from any representation in the Seimas .
EAPL-CF A leaders had made statements favorable to Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko after the August 2020 falsified elections @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s brazen turn towards acting as a puppet of Russian malign influence .
Lithuania ’ s electoral results demonstrate what free people think of those who parrot the propaganda espoused by agents of Russian malign influence .
Lukashenko ’ s rushed , clandestine “ inauguration ” is an admission that his “ mandate ” comes from Moscow , not the Belarusian people .
Lukashenko ’ s regime also recently stated the police would be permitted to use firearms against protesters .
Who are these protesters ?
On 12 October , the anti-Lukashenko crowd @ @ @ @ @ @ @ elderly people in a “ march of pensioners ” against the government .
Whom exactly does Lukashenko fear ?
Lukashenko ’ s behavior illustrates both he is scared of his own people and the ridiculousness of his claim to be anything other than Putin ’ s current choice – popular leaders don ’ t hide from their own people , threaten to shoot them for exercising their right of peaceful assembly , and seek out publicity with staged , foreign events such as meetings with fellow dictators such as Putin in Moscow to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the former Soviet space , there are other signs that Russian malign influence is wearing thin , such as the Kyrgyz people ’ s rejection of falsified elections in Kyrgyzstan .
Taking a page from Lukashenko ’ s cowardly example , Kyrgyz President Sooronbai Jeenbekov recently announced a “ state of emergency ” while in hiding at an undisclosed location , confining residents to their homes and banning public gatherings in an attempt to halt protests against electoral fraud .
The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan has also complicated the Kremlin ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ influence with these former Soviet republics .
The European Union issued sanctions against Russian officials in response to the poisoning of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny .
France and Germany jointly noted that despite repeated calls Russia had provided “ no credible explanation ” for what happened and that “ there is no other plausible explanation for Mr. Navalny ’ s poisoning than Russian involvement and responsibility.
” All of these events suggest that the Kremlin ’ s ability to project malign influence , even internally with incidents such as Navalny ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the province of Khabarovsk , is increasingly being challenged , and these events show the fragility of Russian model of violent governance and external interference .
Protests in Khabarovsk persist so far / Cyprus Mail photo .
Before anyone rests in the fight to address Russian malign influence , there is a saying that a cornered dog is the most dangerous .
One can expect that the Kremlin regime , knowing that Russian malign influence is an existential requirement for thief-in-law Putin and his subordinate client-thieves , will likely energetically renew its shameless @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , both external and internal .
More , not less , watchfulness and resistance to Russian malign influence will be required , but it is clear that Russian malign influence can not survive the scrutiny of daylight , it operates best in darkness and through fraud .
It has been said that hypocrisy is the tribute that vice pays to virtue .
Even Russia feels the need to support its clients in attempts to validate themselves through electoral mandates from the people , but seeks to manipulate the results in the most cynical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Belarus , Kyrgyzstan , and even with Russia itself show that common people can not always be fooled so easily by the tools of Russian malign influence .

Illustration: Lubomir Kotrha / es.toonpool.com
Article prepared by InformNapalm Lithuanian editorial office.
On 11 October 2020, Lithuanian voters rejected politicians widely perceived as the most sympathetic to Russian malign interests.
The outright failure of Lithuanian political groupings such as the Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania – Christian Families Alliance (EAPL-CFA) to gamer even five percent of the vote in Lithuania means that they will not have any proportionally allocated seats in the Lithuania parliament (Seimas) and will be virtually eliminated from any representation in the Seimas.
EAPL-CF A leaders had made statements favorable to Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko after the August 2020 falsified elections in Belarus, essentially supporting Lukashenko’s brazen turn towards acting as a puppet of Russian malign influence.
Lithuania’s electoral results demonstrate what free people think of those who parrot the propaganda espoused by agents of Russian malign influence.
Lukashenko’s rushed, clandestine “inauguration” is an admission that his “mandate” comes from Moscow, not the Belarusian people.
Protests in Belarus persist 4th month / AP photo
Lukashenko’s regime also recently stated the police would be permitted to use firearms against protesters. Who are these protesters? On 12 October, the anti-Lukashenko crowd in Minsk included more than 2,000 mostly elderly people in a “march of pensioners” against the government. Whom exactly does Lukashenko fear?
Lukashenko’s behavior illustrates both he is scared of his own people and the ridiculousness of his claim to be anything other than Putin’s current choice – popular leaders don’t hide from their own people, threaten to shoot them for exercising their right of peaceful assembly, and seek out publicity with staged, foreign events such as meetings with fellow dictators such as Putin in Moscow to grovel for Russian assistance.
Elsewhere in the former Soviet space, there are other signs that Russian malign influence is wearing thin, such as the Kyrgyz people’s rejection of falsified elections in Kyrgyzstan.
Taking a page from Lukashenko’s cowardly example, Kyrgyz President Sooronbai Jeenbekov recently announced a “state of emergency” while in hiding at an undisclosed location, confining residents to their homes and banning public gatherings in an attempt to halt protests against electoral fraud.
Protesters storm the Kyrgyz government building
The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan has also complicated the Kremlin’s plans for deeper Russian economic and security influence with these former Soviet republics.
The European Union issued sanctions against Russian officials in response to the poisoning of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny. France and Germany jointly noted that despite repeated calls Russia had provided “no credible explanation” for what happened and that “there is no other plausible explanation for Mr. Navalny’s poisoning than Russian involvement and responsibility.”
All of these events suggest that the Kremlin’s ability to project malign influence, even internally with incidents such as Navalny’s poisoning or attempts to stem protests in the province of Khabarovsk, is increasingly being challenged, and these events show the fragility of Russian model of violent governance and external interference.
Protests in Khabarovsk persist so far / Cyprus Mail photo.
Before anyone rests in the fight to address Russian malign influence, there is a saying that a cornered dog is the most dangerous. One can expect that the Kremlin regime, knowing that Russian malign influence is an existential requirement for thief-in-law Putin and his subordinate client-thieves, will likely energetically renew its shameless and immoral policies to regain its position, both external and internal.
More, not less, watchfulness and resistance to Russian malign influence will be required, but it is clear that Russian malign influence cannot survive the scrutiny of daylight, it operates best in darkness and through fraud.
It has been said that hypocrisy is the tribute that vice pays to virtue. Even Russia feels the need to support its clients in attempts to validate themselves through electoral mandates from the people, but seeks to manipulate the results in the most cynical ways – yet events in Lithuania, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and even with Russia itself show that common people cannot always be fooled so easily by the tools of Russian malign influence.