In an important new article, Moscow analyst Andrey Illarionov documents the ways in which Vladimir Putin has distorted the historical record and manipulated sources to present a false and tendentious picture of the role of Poland at the beginning of World War II, even suggesting that Poland shares responsibility for that conflict with Hitler.
No one who reads Mr. Illarionov’s study will ever accept Mr. Putin’s argument. It is a tissue of false and self-serving lies. But, given the Kremlin leader’s loose connection with the truth, that may not surprise anyone. However, the economist ends his article with a question that he doesn’t answer but that deserves attention.