{"id":156262,"date":"2025-09-19T13:37:05","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T10:37:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/156262\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T13:35:32","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T13:35:32","slug":"twisting-history-lukasenkas-anti-polish-obsession","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/156262\/","title":{"rendered":"Twisting history: \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s anti-Polish obsession"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On September 17, during a meeting with propagandists and historians marking People\u2019s Unity Day\u2014the anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939\u2014Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka directed his sharpest rhetoric against Poland.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The \u201cunification\u201d of western Belarus with the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic was the result of a pact between Josef Stalin and Adolf Hitler to partition Poland. Following the partition, the Red Army and Nazi troops held a joint parade in Brest to celebrate their victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Molotov\u2013Ribbentrop Pact<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At the September 17 meeting, \u0141uka\u0161enka urged propagandists and historians to counter \u201cfakes\u201d about \u201cpacts, collusions and nonsense easily debunked by historical documents.\u201d He referred in particular to the Molotov\u2013Ribbentrop Pact, a non-aggression treaty between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union that included a secret protocol dividing Eastern Europe into German and Soviet spheres of influence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defending Stalin\u2019s alliance with Hitler, \u0141uka\u0161enka cited \u201cthe praise of Adolf Hitler from the Polish ambassador to Nazi Germany.\u201d He was alluding to Ambassador J\u00f3zef Lipski\u2014a controversial figure who nevertheless fought against the Nazis with the 1st Polish Grenadier Division and later with Anders\u2019 Army.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s remarks echoed Russian propaganda. In 2019, Vladimir Putin labeled Lipski \u201ca scoundrel\u201d and \u201can antisemitic pig.\u201d Poland\u2019s chief rabbi countered this accusation, stressing that it rested \u201con a single sentence taken out of context.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In any case, \u0141uka\u0161enka\u2019s argument collapses under scrutiny: he claims the Polish ambassador praised Hitler while supposedly conspiring with him to destroy Poland\u2014an absurd distortion. It is worth noting that \u0141uka\u0161enka himself praised Hitler back in 1995.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anti-Polish indoctrination<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Asked when relations with Poland and the Baltic states might improve, \u0141uka\u0161enka protested: \u201cI have always tried to do everything for us to have good relations. . . I am not to blame.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet his record tells a different story. Among his so-called \u201cgood deeds\u201d toward Poland and the Polish minority are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n