Putin 'apologizes' for WWII . How dare he make Russia look bad in a foreign country
- From: GLOBALIST <free.tuneup@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 1 Sep 2009 14:05:35 -0700 (PDT)
The puny, little weasel, Putin in Poland and make us patriotic, red
blooded Russians look bad.
========================
Polish, Russian press welcome Putin gesture
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin with Polish counterpart Donald
Tusk
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's bid to reduce tension between
his country and Poland - in the form of an article in a Polish
newspaper - has been largely welcomed by some Polish commentators.
Others, however, felt he should have gone further and offered an
apology for crimes committed against Poles by the Soviet Union.
Mr Putin described as immoral the non-aggression pact between Russia
and Nazi Germany at the outset of the Second World War. He also
acknowledged that the massacre of thousands of Polish officers by the
Red Army at a forest near the village of Katyn had stirred powerful
emotions in Poland, amid continued anger at modern Russia's attitude
towards the crime.
In a piece in the same newspaper, Gazeta Wyborcza, Polish Foreign
Minister Radoslaw Sikorski highlighted the lack of freedom in Poland
during the Soviet period. Meanwhile, Russian commentators welcomed Mr
Putin's conciliatory remarks as bringing hope of better ties with
Poland, but at least one writer felt the Poles should be grateful to
the Soviets.
ADAM MICHNIK IN POLAND'S GAZETA WYBORCZA
Hearing the voice of Vladimir Putin, the most influential modern
Russian politician, is an important event. Alongside the aggressive
rhetoric of Great Russia nationalists, who repeat the lies of Stalin
propaganda… this voice sounds very different. Discussion on history
can be risky… That is why we want the historians of the two countries
to be given access to the countries' archives. We are especially
interested in publishing all the materials on the Katyn crime. This
will be a very good signal for the Poles.
EWELINA LATOSZEK IN POLAND'S TRYBUNA WEBSITE
Though Putin's article is perceived controversially, the very fact of
its appearance was a sensation itself. The Russian prime minister
publishes his thoughts in the press on very rare occasions. His
previous article appeared in the Financial Times three years ago...
Polish cabinet spokesman Pawel Gras said that Putin's theses are not
completely in line with the Polish stance. When asked if the gesture
by the Russian leader signalled a breakthrough in the contacts between
Warsaw and Moscow, he said that relations with Russia were always a
big unknown.
PIOTR ZYCHOWICZ IN POLAND'S RZECZPOSPOLITA DAILY
The [Putin] article has heated up the already hot atmosphere before
Putin's speech on Westerplatte today. "This article is not enough,"
Przemyslaw Gosiewski, the chief of the Law and Justice [PiS]
parliamentary caucus, has said. He believes that it should have
contained "an apology for the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact and for the
crimes it led to"… Polish parliament speaker Bronislaw Komorowski, who
accepted Putin's article "with great relief", believes that the letter
contains "a couple of statements Poland always wanted to hear"… [Some]
commentators point out that the tone of Putin's letter is softer than
the recent aggressive anti-Poland campaign by the Russian media and
state institutions.
RADOSLAW SIKORSKI IN POLAND'S GAZETA WYBORCZA
In 1989 Soviet lawmakers condemned the Nazi-Soviet pact
European integration redefines the basic guidelines of Poland's
foreign policy and affects its choice of allies and partners… [and
this, in part, makes it] possible for the commemorations in Gdansk to
be attended by the heads of countries which back in 1939 were Poland's
sworn enemies. 1 September will above all remain a day of celebration
of the defeat of the murderous ideology of fascism, which together
with totalitarian communism was the biggest plague of pre-WWII
Europe.
It should be remembered that for some countries, including Poland,
victory over the Nazis was only a symbolic success, because their
dream of freedom had to remain unfulfilled for several more decades.
As a consequence of falling into the Soviet sphere of influence,
Poland was long deprived of the possibility of participating in the
revolutionary progress that led to the formation of Nato and the EU.
ANDREY TEREKHOV IN RUSSIA'S NEZAVISIMAYA GAZETA
Putin seems to be willing to say the words the Polish people have been
longing to hear... It is the first time that Putin has condemned the
[Molotov-Ribbentrop] pact so unequivocally... A 'reset' in bilateral
relations will be beneficial for both sides.
EDITORIAL IN RUSSIA'S GAZETA
The ruling regimes of the countries that participated in WWII were
furthering their own selfish interests. The role of Stalin, and
especially Hitler, in starting the war is beyond doubt. Almost all the
key players in the pre-war world had a hand in arranging the biggest
drama in the history of humanity. Since everyone is to blame to an
extent, the conclusion is clear: 70 years is long enough to stop
viewing each other as enemies, even as former ones.
ANDREY YASHLAVSKIY IN RUSSIA'S MOSKOVSKIY KOMSOMOLETS
What exactly should Russia say sorry to the Polish for? For the fact
that on 17 September [1939] Soviet troops entered the country, which
had already practically disintegrated as a result of the German
invasion?... Don't the Polish want to thank our country for the fact
that Wroclaw, Szczecin and Gdansk now belong to Poland? Hundreds of
thousands of Soviet soldiers gave their lives for this, and they are
now being referred to as invaders.
ALEKSANDR GABUYEV, NATALYA GRIB IN RUSSIA'S KOMMERSANT
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will visit Gdansk today, where
he will take part in the events to mark the 70th anniversary of the
outbreak of World War II. Mr Putin visited Poland in 2005 as Russian
president. Since then relations between the two countries have been
deteriorating, and there is a chance that today's visit will improve
them. Because of the campaign to counter the falsification of history
that has started in Russia, the visit will hardly go smoothly.
.
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