“Russia Beyond The Headlines” is a Russian state controlled English language platform that promotes Russian government narratives and soft-power propaganda. The platform occasionally purchases supplemental space in Western newspapers, such as The Washington Post.
In July 2021, “Russia Beyond” published an article about the Soviet republics that contained historically inaccurate information that aligns with and supports the Kremlin’s historical disinformation narratives. Below is a list of historically incorrect and false claims made in the article:
- “Over time new republics joined” the Soviet Union
Many of the republics of the Soviet Union were illegally occupied and colonized after being invaded by the Soviet Union. In many cases the nations occupied by the Soviet Union were targeted with forced migrations and mass repressions in order to force these independent nations into submission and secure the Soviet colonization of them. Very few of the Soviet Republics freely “joined” the Soviet Union. - “With the beginning of World War II, to prevent the appearance of Nazi troops on the border with the USSR, Soviet authorities forced Lithuania to sign the Soviet–Lithuanian Mutual Assistance Treaty.”
On August 23, 1939, the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany signed a secret agreement that enabled the coordinated start of WWII and the occupation of the Baltic States by the Soviet Union. After invading Poland, the Soviet Union presented all three Baltic States with ultimatums that were followed by invasions and occupation of those states. - “In 1940, the Latvian SSR with its capital in Riga joined the Soviet Union.”
In 1940, Latvia was invaded and illegally occupied by the Soviet Union – it did not freely “join” it. - Estonia “joined the Soviet Union in 1940, after the Soviet–Estonian Mutual Assistance Treaty was signed in 1939 and the Red Army entered the country. “
Like Latvia and Lithuania, Estonia was part of the Soviet agreement with Nazi Germany, that allowed Stalin to invade, occupy and colonize the country with Adolf Hitler’s consent. Estonia’s “mutual assistance” agreement with the Soviet Union was signed under duress after Moscow presented an ultimatum to the Estonian government immediately after signing the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. After “liberating” Estonia from Nazi occupation in 1944, Soviet authorities continued their occupation and engaged in mass human rights abuses in Estonia and the Baltic States until 1991. The Baltic States were among the last European nations to be liberated after WWII.
