Russians miffed Maltese do not praise Red Army for Auschwitz liberation

Malta’s Russian embassy, notoriously economical on press statements, has attempted to crowbar the legacy of the Red Army, by using the outrage caused on TVM over a vanity publication on the life of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.

In a statement to the press, the Russian embassy in Kappara broke off from its usual communiqués from its foreign ministry on the invasion in Ukraine, to complain that Maltese MPs marking the Holocaust remembrance back in January, had failed to commend the liberators of Auschwitz – the Red Army.

Joining in PEN Malta’s condemnation of TVM programme Ħajjitna Ktieb over its uncritical promotion of history buff Ronald Bugeja’s biography of Hitler, the embassy of Russia complained about the lack of appreciation for the Red Army in the Holocaust remembrance of January.

“It did not escape our notice that this year in the statements of the Maltese officials on the occasion of the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust, marked on January 27 – the anniversary of the liberation of the first and largest concentration camp Auschwitz by the Soviet troops – the Red Army did not even get a mention,” the embassy said.

Referring to the Bugeja interview, it continued: “The interview mentioned is an example of the dissemination of pseudo-historical theories. The very fact of its appearance desecrates and denigrates the memory of the victims of war and the feat of the liberators. We consider the appearance of such materials in the public media space, especially on the eve of the celebration of Victory Day over Nazi Germany to be absolutely unacceptable.”

The Russian ambassador to Malta Andrei Lopukhov has been suspended from his honorary membership at the Casino Maltese, an elite social club, following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

In their statement, the Russian embassy expressed “deep outrage” at the Bugeja interview, using its condemnation as yet another swipe at European leaders and ostensibly, the supporters of Ukraine against Russian belligerism. “The fact this story appeared on national television is an ominous reminder that the dangerous manipulations of European politicians... for the sake of the current political situation, are doomed to ugly ‘side-effects’ like this. The oblivion and discrediting of the victorious Good logically, inevitably, leads to the justification of the conquered Evil.”