The Polish-Russian Dispute Over What Happened In 1939

NYTIMES OP-ED.
"In the Polish-Russian dispute over what happened in 1939, rival myth-making is being driven by domestic political calculations on both sides.
...it does need to be acknowledged that while Soviet victory in World War II imposed a dreadful Communist system on Poland, it also saved Poland from what would have been its infinitely more ghastly fate under Nazi rule — which we know from Hitler’s plans for the systematic destruction of the Poles as a national community."

A Detailed Look At The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.

BBC.COM.

Putin Calls Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact "Immoral."

NYTIMES.COM.
Russia’s prime minister, Vladimir Putin, published an article characterizing the Nazi-Soviet pact to divide Poland at the outset of World War II in 1939 as immoral, but he stressed that it was just one of many deals that countries struck with the Nazis at that time.

"The Baltic Way" Celebrated 3 Nation's Desires For Freedom.

GLOBALPOST.COM.
The 20th anniversary of the "Baltic Way" is being celebrated, a 1989 event that signaled Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia's deep desire to exit the Soviet Union.
On Aug. 23, 1989, more than two million people joined hands along 375 miles of a highway linking the Baltic capitals of Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn.
Within a year and a half, all three countries had declared their independence.

Russia Defending 70 Year-Old Soviet/Nazi Pact.

KYIV POST.

Most of the world now condemns the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, signed 70 years ago, that allowed the Soviet Union to take over Poland and the Baltic states.

But Russia is now defending the 1939 treaty in an attempt to restore its sphere of influence.

"Molotov's grandson, Vyacheslav Nikonov, said his grandfather saw a deal with Nazi Germany as the only alternative after a failure to reach a military agreement with Britain and France."