Manipulation about the 11th of October and World War II

A Facebook post creates a scandal surrounding the fact the Russian ambassador was allegedly not invited to the solemn commemoration of October 11, but hushes up the Russian aggression against Ukraine, which was most likely the reason for that non-invitation. The post further manipulates facts about the Second World War and October 11, and even unfoundedly claims fascists were invited to the celebration of that anti-fascist holiday

 

A Facebook post reads:

Goga Soros fell from grace, once again. She did not invite the Russian embassy, but invited the fascists.

This is illustrated with screenshots from two other Facebook posts, which explain in detail what this is all about. One of them is a screenshot from a post which says the following:

SCANDAL!

Today, at the reception on the occasion of 11 October, the day of the uprising of the Macedonian people against fascism, the President of North [Macedonia], Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova invited the entire diplomatic corps in the country, but not the RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR.

A source close to the Russian embassy also reported about it, and considering the deteriorating relations between North Macedonia and Russia, it is quite possible that the news is true. But there is nothing scandalous about it. That non-invitation is not out of viciousness and it is not a diplomatic blunder, but it is most likely a sanction for the Russian aggression against Ukraine, which the post tends to keep silent.

Other states have also not invited Russia (to the Auschwitz anniversary or the D-Day anniversary), while Russia does not invite them to the Victory Day Parade, but they do not create scandal of it.

In terms of the commemoration of October 11, the screenshot also says the following:

She invited the representatives from all of the embassies of the European countries that along with Hitler fought on the Eastern Front against Russia and the USSR.

It is the same thesis presented in the introduction of the post, which claims some fascists were invited, which is on one hand untrue, and on the other simply absurd for an anti-fascist holiday.

The post here refers to those countries that were fascist during the Second World War, but they have not been fascist for a long time, and if someone insists on going back to the past, then we can also add how Moscow was an ally of Hitler with the Molotov—Ribbentrop Pact from August 23, 1939.

The screenshot then emphasizes:

Russia left 26 million victims in the wake of the fight against fascism and the liberation of southeastern Europe from this evil.

Russia did not leave 26 million victims in the wake of the fight against fascism, that is the number of victims (both fighters and civilians) for the entire USSR, which included Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan and a lot of other countries, and about half of those victims were from Russia.

Allegedly, the Soviet tactic came down to going on a rampage on poorly armed and trained soldiers, which contributed to that number, while many of them were killed by their own—by the background barrier troops (Russian: заградотряды) who shot at anyone who would retreat from the fight.

However, most of those 26 million victims were not combatants, but civilians, who suffered from occupation terror, the Holocaust, disease or starvation (for example during the siege of Leningrad).

During the war, some suffered from the Stalinist regime: In his Siberian camps (where the death rate was huge then), in his mass shootings or forced deportations of various ethnic groups (Crimean Tatars, Chechens, etc.) during which many died.

Let’s not overlook the fact that some Russians died in the war as collaborators with the occupier, such as General Andrey Vlasov (1901-1946).

As for the thesis that the Russians were liberators, in the period 1939-1940 the USSR seized: Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia and part of Poland, Finland and Romania, and after the war, it established repressive regimes throughout Eastern Europe. For millions of people it was not a liberator.

In this regard, we will also quote a comment made on the subject, which says the following:

11 October without Russia—such a holiday would not exist!

Indeed, with the operations in Bulgaria and Yugoslavia, the USSR indirectly helped the Macedonian partisans, but that help also had a dark side. Like all communist resistance movements, ours was also created under Soviet influence, because through the Communist International (Comintern), Joseph Stalin had control over all communist parties around the world. In fact, they were his agents, who after the war created similar regimes in their own countries.

The fact that the priority of our fighters was national liberation, not communism, is taken as a positive for us, but communism was still present and it brought its own negatives.

Also, the anti-fascism of the USSR was not consistent at all. It encouraged communists across Europe to an anti-fascist uprising only after Hitler’s attack on the USSR on June 22, 1941, and until then, the USSR and Hitler were allies, which all communists had to follow.

Finally, let’s refer to the other screenshot in the post, which says:

We knew you are miserable, insecure, lying Commies, but to do such nonsense and not honor the country that left over 26 million people in the wake of the fight against fascism is sly to the bone!  

The label “Commo” is not so suitable for the leaders of the pro-Western North Macedonia, but for Vladimir Putin, who proudly emphasizes that he was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the first and largest communist state in the world, for which Putin promotes great nostalgia, and he was also an agent of its repressive secret service, the Committee for State Security (KGB).

Taking into account everything stated so far, we assess the post as partially untrue.

 

 

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