Posted on 06/18/2008 9:11:54 AM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
Lithuania's parliament has passed the toughest restrictions anywhere in the former Soviet Union on the public display of Soviet and Nazi symbols.
It will now be an offence in the Baltic state to display the images of Soviet and Nazi leaders.
This includes flags, emblems and badges carrying insignia, such as the hammer and sickle or swastika.
Correspondents say equating Soviet and Nazi symbols in this way is certain to infuriate Russia.
The new law also prohibits the Nazi and Soviet national anthems but does not specify if this extends to the modern-day Russian national anthem, which uses the Soviet music with different lyrics.
BBC Russian affairs analyst Steven Eke says these are the toughest bans on symbols from the Soviet past adopted in any of the 15 countries that emerged from the USSR.
'Blasphemous'
The measures go further than neighbouring Estonia's ban on Soviet symbols, he says.
Estonia's decision to put the swastika and hammer and sickle on an equally prohibited footing was described by Russia as "blasphemous", and an attempt to rewrite history.
Moscow's official interpretation of history is that Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia were liberated from Nazi Germany by, then voluntarily joined, the Soviet Union.
This account is rejected by those three Baltic States and most other European nations, says our correspondent.
They believe the Soviet Union illegally occupied the Baltic republics as a result of a secret agreement - the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact - between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany.
The occupation continued until the collapse of the Soviet state itself at the end of 1991.
Excellent!
Take a hint Russia.
Truth hurts don't it. As General Anders put it, "With the Nazis we lose our lives, with the Soviets, we lose our souls."
Stalin murdered somewhere between 10 and 20 MILLION of his own people, so are they saying that they don't compare to the Nazis because they were far worse? Or are they saying that somehow they are better?
Why? Because the Nazis made it difficult for the politically incorrect to leave the country freely? Because the Nazis killed six million which makes them worse than Stalin, who killed 20 million? Because the Soviets were socialists while the Nazis were....no, wait. Hmm, I really don't see a problem here.
It's saying that it's ok to mass murder people, as long as they belong to the same race as you.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, a relative who went to Russia bought me some old Soviet uniform insignia pins. Wonder if I’d get anything on E-Bay for them.
If she survived the ass-kicking.
Now if we could only ban displays of Che Guevara.
How soon will it be that Lithuania’s natural gas supply gets “accidentally” disconnected?
The USSR had their own concentration camp gulags and tens of millions of citizens murdered. Political purges and tyranny.
Yep. They are brother ideologies.
I like the Guevar-style Reagan shirts.
I even like the name of the site hocking these shirts, Che-Mart.
Again? LOL
Maybe when Lithuania adopts the U.S. Constitution. Otherwise . . . .
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.