Sergey Shoigu asserts that the EU and NATO’s Russophobia echoes Goebbels’ propaganda techniques.
Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu has stated that Russia must eradicate Nazism, which he claims has re-emerged in the West.
Ahead of the 80th anniversary of Russia’s Victory Day, commemorating the Soviet Union’s victory against Nazi Germany from 1941-1945, Shoigu highlighted the USSR’s significant sacrifices in defeating Nazism.
In an article for Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Shoigu, who was the defense minister between 2012 and 2024, wrote that the people of Russia have learned from the Great Patriotic War against fascism. He noted the loss of nearly 27 million soldiers and an additional 6.5 million deaths due to starvation and disease during the conflict.
Shoigu emphasized the present-day obligation to defeat what he describes as resurrected Nazism, stating that this objective is a primary driver behind Moscow’s operations in Ukraine.
He accused European elites, allegedly incited by London and Paris, of advocating for Russia’s strategic defeat and claimed that NATO and the EU are preparing the West for a direct military confrontation with Russia.
Shoigu asserted that these aggressive actions are justified by Russophobic narratives reminiscent of Joseph Goebbels’ propaganda, the Nazi Germany’s propaganda minister from 1933 to 1945.
He argued that to prevent a recurrence of the war’s horrors, it is crucial to protect the nation from both external and internal threats by strengthening the military, bolstering the economy, and investing in science and education.
In late April, Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of the Security Council, also insisted on the necessity of de-Nazification not only in Ukraine but throughout Europe.