Today’s growing trend in certain countries to publicly justify and glorify Nazism, even helping it resurface in the form of neo-Nazism, is deeply troubling. It includes campaigns that distort history, and attempts to rewrite the post-war international order.
The recent adoption of a Russian-drafted resolution on combating the glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism, racial discrimination and xenophobia by the UN General Assembly has once again stirred controversy.
For the third consecutive year, Western countries have responded with overt political posturing.
However, the truth is that the overwhelming majority of the international community stands with Russia on this issue. The ongoing pressure from the "collective West," led by Washington, has failed to sway this broad support. In 2024, Russia’s resolution was backed by 119 countries – a clear majority – while the US, Ukraine and several EU nations (53 delegations) opposed it. The most cynical aspect is that three states – Germany, Italy and Japan – voted against the resolution.
What is deeply troubling today is the growing trend in certain countries to publicly justify and glorify Nazism, even helping it resurface in the form of neo-Nazism, all for geopolitical purposes that serve foreign interests. We have witnessed campaigns that distort history, downplay the Soviet Union’s vital role in defeating Nazism during the Great Patriotic War and WWII, and attempt to rewrite the post-war international order.
One of the most alarming developments is the rehabilitation of war criminals, who collaborated with the Nazis. We strongly believe that we should not tolerate situations where those who were complicit in Nazi crimes are glorified, including the whitewashing of former SS and Waffen-SS members who mercilessly exterminated civilians, including children and the elderly – a crime recognised by the Nuremberg Tribunal.
In the very heart of Europe, which endured the horrors of practical implementation of the Nazi ideology, including the theory of racial supremacy, an actual war has been unleashed against Soviet monuments commemorating fighters against Nazism and Fascism, while new memorials glorifying the Nazis are inaugurated.
It was once unimaginable that those who fought on the side of the Nazis would be declared heroes and equated with fighters from national liberation movements. It stands to reason that such actions play into the hands of those who call for racial purity and discrimination on racial and ethnic grounds.
Meanwhile, historical narratives are being openly distorted, equating the Nazi regime with Soviet "totalitarianism" or even attempting to place the blame for the war on the USSR – as if it were somehow worse than Nazi Germany. This dangerous rewriting of history deliberately undermines the essence of the Nuremberg Tribunal, which convicted the Nazi leadership for their war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Russia, along with other former Soviet republics, including Ukraine, suffered immensely from Nazism and Fascism in the 20th century. During WWII, we lost at least 27 million people – roughly half the modern population of South Africa. Almost every family in the post-Soviet space lost loved ones. This fact explains why the rejection of Nazism and fascism is so deeply embedded in our people's DNA. We celebrate May 9 – Victory Day – as our most significant national holiday, honouring our veterans and remembering their sacrifices. To us, it is not a distant past; it is a living memory.
And what do we see now in some of our neighbouring countries? Apart from Ukraine, the Baltic States, Poland and the Czech Republic have seen particularly dangerous trends. The celebration of Victory Day has been met with fierce opposition – bordering on hysterical Russophobia. Monuments to Soviet soldiers who fought to free Europe have been destroyed and people who attempt to honour their memory face arrest and prosecution. It is deeply disturbing to see ordinary citizens criminalised for simply wanting to pay their respects to the heroes who fought against Nazism.
We cannot but wonder if these countries are trying to prove to the West that they are “independent” enough to destroy monuments of their liberators; or if the West is too ashamed to recognise that without Russia and the USSR, it would have been impossible to defeat Hitler. Demonstrating the cynical use of double standards, the political elites of the overwhelming majority of European and North American "democratic" states are trying their best to conceal from the international community, including their own citizens, the Nazi essence of the policy of Kiev and similar regimes.
The fact that these historical truths are being blurred today is incredibly unsettling. It is a direct attack on the memory of those who suffered under Nazi rule, and those who sacrificed everything to defeat it. The Nuremberg Tribunal was the world’s way of ensuring that justice was done and that those crimes were never forgotten. It is hard not to feel a deep concern for the future, when we see modern-day echoes of Nazi ideology being allowed to thrive by the current proponents of the "rule-based order".
In light of this, Russia’s Foreign Ministry has issued its annual report regarding the situation with the glorification of Nazism and the spread of neo-Nazism, as well as other practices that contribute to fueling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. This report serves as a reminder of the urgency with which we must address these issues – not just for our own societies, but for the memory of those who fought to ensure our world was free from the scourge of Nazism.
We invite you to read the document at https://mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/reports/1968836/
The Embassy of Russia in South Africa
* The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Independent Media