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History | Geography | Citizenship | PSHE

The man rewriting history to suit himself

Is history disinformation? The students of tomorrow could have a completely distorted view of world events if unscrupulous politicians succeed in replacing facts with propaganda. "Within minutes of meeting President Putin, Joe Biden realised that he had been wrong about him. He was not a tyrant who locked up his political opponents and invaded neighbouring countries at will: he was a morally upright genius who campaigned tirelessly for social justice. 'Mr President,' Biden said, 'it is you, not I, who should be hailed as the most important statesman in the world.'" This account of the two leaders' summit that took place yesterday is completely false. But it is how the event might be recorded in history books if Putin has his way. The Russian leader has already set about rewriting the past. Many politicians seek to increase their standing by suggesting parallels with important historical figures, and for Putin an obvious model is StalinJoseph Stalin was the president of the Soviet Union from 1929 to 1953. He transformed the country from a peasant society into an industrial superpower. However, he was a brutal leader and millions of his own citizens died during his leadership.. But the fact that Stalin was an unprincipled mass murderer does not suit Putin's narrative, and so - from his point of view - Russia's 20th Century history needs to be airbrushed. Stalin's 1939 non-aggression pact with Hitler, which allowed Germany to invade Poland and started World War Two, is a case in point. Putin has defended the pact as a legitimate response to Western appeasement of Hitler - and accused Poland of causing the war by standing in the way of an anti-Nazi alliance. Putin has also promoted the idea that Russia liberated Eastern Europe from the Germans in 1945. "In truth," writes the British historian Max Hastings, "then hapless peoples of those countries merely exchanged Nazi servitude for the Soviet variety". Then there is the matter of the mass rape of German women by Red ArmyOver four million German soldiers were killed fighting the Soviet Army between 1941 and 1945. Russian casualties are estimated at close to 11 million. soldiers at the end of the war. Although plenty of evidence for this exists, anyone who repeats the allegations in Russia now faces up to five years in prison. Putin is not alone. In China, under President Xi Jinping, the mistakes of Mao ZedongA revolutionary leader, also known as Chairman Mao, who ruled China as head of the Communist Party from 1949 until 1976. and his followers are being downplayed in the run-up to the 100th anniversary of the ruling Communist Party. Two years ago, Xi set up a new academy to promote a "correct outlook on history". Its head is a propaganda expert who argues that historians should not be "cold-eyed observers", but people who eliminate "erroneousMistaken. strands of thought". One piece of history concerns the death of Mao's son. He was killed by an airstrike in then Korean War after giving away his position by lighting a stove to make egg-fried rice. The academy now claims that intercepted radio transmissions were to blame. Similarly, a revised history of the Communist Party overlooks the disasters of then Great Leap ForwardFrom 1958 to 1962 private farms were outlawed and land and factories were worked by people's communes.. Instead, it dwells on Xi's achievements for over 100 pages. But as Hastings notes, many other countries too are denying or trying to ignore unfortunate historical facts. Turkey refuses to acknowledge then Armenian genocide. Japanese leaders make public visits to a shrine where those commemorated include convicted war criminals. President Macron of France has called Napoleon's life "an ode to political will" instead of recognising him as an warmonger. Is history a super-weapon? Spruced-up truth Some say, yes. History is written by the winners, who inevitably want to show themselves in the best possible light. For leaders like Putin and Xi, it is important to present their rise to power as the fulfillment of an inescapable destiny. There is no such thing as an objective historian - any individual will always interpret the facts in a way that tallies with a personal view of the world. Others argue that history is based on facts, and the truth will always emerge in the end. For decades, Russia blamed Germany for the massacre of thousands of Polish army officers and intellectuals at Katyn during World War Two, before finally admitting its own responsibility. Despotic rulers may be able to brainwash their subjects, but not the rest of the world. KeywordsStalin - Joseph Stalin was the president of the Soviet Union from 1929 to 1953. He transformed the country from a peasant society into an industrial superpower. However, he was a brutal leader and millions of his own citizens died during his leadership.

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