The history of Russia and Ukraine that is taught today in some Italian histories is very similar to the version desired by Vladimir Putin. The alarm was raised by Massimiliano Di Pasquale, director of the Ukrainian Observatory of the Gino Germani Institute and expert in hybrid warfare. Following reports received from some Ukrainian activists, Di Pasquale and Irina Cascei, a Ukrainian journalist who has lived in Rome for many years, examined 13 aids adopted in Italian colleges. Among these, explains theAdnkronosTwelve report a version of recent Russian and Ukrainian history that closely reflects the Kremlin's revisionist propaganda.
The annexation of Crimea
In Discover the geography, published by Zanichelli, Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 is described as follows: “After requesting the intervention of Moscow's troops, Crimea, populated mainly by Russians, proclaimed itself independent by referendum and was annexed to Russia. » No reference to the violation of borders and international law. And not even a mention of Moscow sending special forces to illegally occupy the neighboring state. According to the school textbook, it was the local population who “requested” Moscow’s intervention.
Imaginative limits
Then there is the problem of maps which, in many volumes reviewed, contain a generic “Russian region” that extends to the borders of Ukraine and some Baltics. “We are faced with a typical case of active measures, actions of influence and political and psychological destabilization used by the KGB and the Soviet Communist Party to promote the weakening and collapse of the capitalist West and the expansion of the communist system,” he said. explains Massimiliano Di Pasquale. According to the expert, these same techniques are also used today “by Putin's imperialist ideology”, which mixes “Stalinism and fascism with the identity component of the Russian Orthodox Church”.
kyiv Ambassador: “Children victims of propaganda”
Ukraine's ambassador to Italy, Yaroslav Melnyk, also expressed “serious concern” about the matter, pointing the finger at Kremlin propaganda. “Russian disinformation present in Italian books favors the creation of a distorted version of events, altering reality and manipulating the perception of history, geography and political processes,” the diplomat said.Adnkronos“This is the result of a massive campaign by the Kremlin aimed at spreading false narratives, influencing public opinion in Italian society and promoting Moscow's political goals aimed at dividing European society.” Melnyk then highlights how serious it is that the target of propaganda is children, leading to an erroneous understanding of certain historical events and the cultural heritage of certain countries. “The broadcast on European channels of stories about the 'artificial creation of Ukraine after the collapse of the USSR', 'ethnic conflicts', 'free referendum in Crimea on joining the Russian Federation' , associates itself with the imperialist rhetoric of modern Putinists,” adds the newspaper. ambassador, “creates a false image of Russian military intervention in Ukraine and undermines democratic principles around the world.”
Cover photo credits: Adnkronos
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