Ex-diplomat Harri Tiido, in a recent radio broadcast reminded us of a mandatory university course that practically all abhorred and belittled – ‘scientific communism’. Westerners saw it as a nonsensical contradiction in terms.

Tiido draws a parallel with searching for a black cat in dark room, knowing it’s not there, while shouting “I’ve got it, I’ve got it”. The subject matter of ‘scientific communism’ might have contained some acceptable notions – like a ‘bright future’ – but very few were actually convinced.

Somewhat equivalent to the Soviets’ obligatory ‘scientific communism’ are the compulsory weekly ideological sessions called “Conversations About Important Things” in which teachers must deliver propaganda, including the Kremlin’s message about the Ukraine invasion.

Before Russia invaded Ukraine last year, Putin quoted an essay he’d written in 2021, “On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians.” (Observers indicate it was ghost-written by a history spin-doctor.)

In it he claimed that Ukraine is a fake country that was invented by Lenin. This distorted tale, full of inaccuracies, promoted on state media, has been used by Moscow to justify their imperialist wars. But the myths in the Kremlin’s version of history are not new. Historians have traced the myths back at least as far as the middle ages. They have exposed centuries of ‘customized history’ that was used to justify the invasion of Ukraine last year.


(Pikemalt saab lugeda Eesti Elu 8. septembri 2023 paber- või digilehest eestielu.ca)

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