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Putin Publishes Essay on 'Real Lessons' of WWII

Russian president attacks European narrative of WWII, days before rescheduled Victory Day parade.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has attacked European leaders for failing to understand the “real lessons” of World War II and said the United Nations system is the only way for the world’s nuclear powers to avoid direct military confrontation.

In an essay published Thursday evening in U.S. magazine The National Interest, Putin blames the Western powers for appeasing Nazi Germany and signing the Munich Agreement in 1938, and attacks Europe — Poland in particular — for wanting “to sweep the ‘Munich Betrayal’ under the carpet.”

Putin defended the Soviet Union's signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact — a non-aggression treaty which triggered the outbreak of hostilities in 1939 and outlined the division of Poland between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.

The article — written in English and titled “The real lessons of the 75th anniversary of World War II” — comes days before Russia plans to hold a rescheduled Victory Day parade on June 24.