Russian Representative on the Importance of the Schiller Institute

May 10, 2020 (EIRNS)-- Following their address on the topic of defining a new set of major power relations--including between Russia and the U.S.--at the April 25-26 Schiller Institute Conference, "Mankind's Existence Now Depends on the Establishment of a New Paradigm," Russian Federation officials again addressed the Schiller Institute conference on May 9, "75th Anniversary of V-E Day: Commemorate the Victory against Fascism with a New Bretton Woods System." With an extremely solemn tone, Dmitry Polyanskiy, the First Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations described May 9th as "a very sacred day for us." After outlining the horrible cost of the Second World War both to the Russian people and the whole world, he bluntly described the current rise and fostering of neo-Nazism today in parts of the West, and the connected project to rewrite the history of World War II to equate the Soviet Union and the Nazi regime.

He said,

"Unfortunately, after the beginning of the ’90s, there are trends which are very worrying, when there are countries that try to rewrite the history of the Second World War, sometimes to change places between the victors and those who were the criminals during this war. We, in Russia, and in some of our neighboring states, are doing our best not to allow such an interpretation of history, which absolutely turns the whole course of the Second World War upside down. We are very much worried by these trends in some of our neighboring states, when there are Nazi collaborators who are now being respected as heroes, and when the monuments to the real heroes, the real Liberators, are being demolished...."

Mr. Polyanskiy praised Saturday's May 9th commemoration and the two Schiller Institute conferences, saying that they play an invaluable international role to "raise awareness" of specialists and experts, and to increase international understanding among peoples:

"That's why conferences like yours are very important. They mobilize opinion, they raise awareness of specialists and of experts on this situation around the history of the Second World War, and they help people to understand better the sentiments and the moods in different countries of the world, including my country."

At the end of a discussion early Saturday morning, as final preparations were being made for the Russian participation, one leading official sent a text to an EIR correspondent, "Congratulations and sincere thanks!!!"

Russian Ambassador to the Philippines Igor Khovaev also gave an emotional address, calling for nations to come together. He said, "I think that learning of the lessons of history, unfortunately, [is] not going on, but, late is better than never. So, it's time to get rid of our divisions, all kinds of obsessions. It's not time to create new enemies, especially imaginary ones. It's high time to be together and to fight shoulder to shoulder against the common enemy."