Russian deputies, cultural figures, historians: Rehabilitating Nazis and collaborators can get too far
On January 26, the State Duma of the Russian Federation hosted a round table on "Fight against the glorification of fascism and the revival of neo-Nazism: legislative aspects and international initiatives", moscow-baku.ru reports citing mospressa.ru.
The roundtable also discussed the fact that Russia's strategic ally-Armenia established in the center of Yerevan a monument to Garegin Nzhdeh who collaborated with the Third Reich.
Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry, commenting on the installation of the monument to Nzhdeh in the center of Yerevan, stated the following: "It is unclear why this monument was installed." Also, the Russian Foreign Ministry expressed hope that the resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly "Fighting the heroism of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to the escalation of contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance" will underpin the official position of Yerevan.
"Moscow-Baku" appealed to Russian historians, cultural workers, deputies for commenting on the installation of the monument to Garegin Nzhdeh in different parts of the world.
Thus, Yuri Zhukov, doctor of historical sciences, chief researcher of the Institute of Russian History of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said that "it is impossible to justify cooperation with Hitler".
"After all, when you do something, you have to think, because Hitler and the Nazi regime are the curse of humanity. Today world community makes advances to Armenia, recognizing the events of 1915 in the Ottoman Empire as genocide, and Yerevan is playing tricks like this. Is is shamefull," Zhukov said.
Yuri Nikiforov, head of the scientific sector of the Russian Military Historical Society, a specialist in the Second World War, said in a commentary to "Moscow-Baku" that Nzhdeh or, for example, the commander of the Armenian legion of the Wehrmacht Drastamat Kanayan, known as General Dro, agreed to cooperate with the SS and create Armenian military formations - Armenian military legions (several military battalions that were to take part in Hitler's expedition to the east).
"So Nzhdeh became one of the collaborators in Europe who collaborated with the Nazis, using their services and help.
Today, nationalists in Armenia mispresent Garegin Nzhdeh's cooperation with Hitler as patriotic activity, citing the fact that he was allegedly inspired by the desire to positively influence the fate of Armenians under the rule of Hitler. But this perception is utter stupidity. The collaborators were overcome by the illusion that supposedly Hitler would help them restore an independent Armenian state. It is difficult to say whether Nzhdeh realized at all what he was doing and wondered why Hitler was obliged to help his nationalist company. Playing the nationalist card, the Nazis recruited supporters not to pour German blood on different fronts, and replace it with the blood of various nationalities. To all other things, Hitler and all his associates treated the recruited with contempt."
Deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, member of the State Duma Committee on Culture Elena Drapeko:
"The fact that a monument to the collaborator Garegin Nzhdeh can be erected in Bulgaria is an outrageous fact! There are results of the Nuremberg trials, recognized throughout the world. There is a UN decision statibg that the rehabilitation of Nazism is unacceptable. And to put a monument to the Nazi next to our great poets, writers is unacceptable."
Lyudmila Kozlova, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Social Policy:
"As you know, the monument to Nzhdeh was erected in the center of Yerevan in summer, 2016. Now it is planned to open a monument in the Bulgarian city of Pliska. To whom? To a man who at the beginning of the Second World War began to cooperate with the authorities of Hitlerite Germany and repeatedly made propaganda speeches to Armenian prisoners of war, urging them to fight against the USSR, declaring: "Whoever perishes for Germany dies for Armenia." How can this cynicism be approved? It is an outrage over the memory of millions of people who risked their lives and died defending the Fatherland, to the entire Soviet people and other peoples of different countries and nationalities that won the Great Victory at the cost of huge losses!!!"
First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on State Construction and Legislation Mikhail Yemelyanov:
"The fact that the monument to Nzhdeh is planned to be erected in Bulgaria not surprising for me, since Bulgaria is a member of NATO. Now there are anti-Russian forces in Bulgaria and they are doing everything to discredit our past, our common past with many pages of friendship between our two countries. That is, Bulgaria in this respect does not surprise me. But as for Armenia, our strategic ally, this is outrageous. It seems that Armenia has lost sight. Apparently, nationalism is more valuable than the condemnation of fascism for Armenia. This, of course, is an absolutely unacceptable situation."
News.Az
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