Today marks exactly three years since the Crimean referendum on joining Russia. As we know, its results (96.77% voted for secession from Ukraine) were put into effect. Borders have changed in Europe once again, and this fact, frankly, frightened many. Some called it “an unprecedented case in post-war Europe” and recalled the principle of the territorial integrity of states.

In fact, there is nothing unusual or “unprecedented” about the annexation of Crimea. Borders have constantly changed and are changing. Even after World War II. Even in Europe. Let's remember how the map of the Old World was redrawn after 1945.

Let's start with the fact that immediately after the war, the victors (USA, USSR, and Great Britain) concluded two important treaties - Yalta (February 13, 1945) and Potsdam (August 2, 1945). These documents laid the boundaries of the new, post-war Europe.

Three decades later, in the 1970s, the principle of the inviolability of post-war borders was consolidated by the adoption of another multilateral document - the Final Act of the Helsinki Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe in the system of principles of relations between the states participating in the Conference, which stated the following: “Participating States regard as inviolable all the frontiers of each other, as well as the frontiers of all states in Europe, and they will therefore refrain now and in the future from any encroachment upon these frontiers. They will correspondingly abstain also from any demands or actions tending to seize and usurp a part or. the entire territory of any State Party."

The truth is, the provisions of the above agreements remained only on paper. In reality, politicians never paid attention to them.

Already in 1957, the borders began to slowly change: then the Saar region became part of the Federal Republic of Germany. After World War II, this small territory was given the status of a separate buffer state like Luxembourg, but it was ruled by France. The United States and Great Britain sought to place the Saar region finally under the rule of Paris, but then-President Charles de Gaulle was in no hurry to accept it as part of his republic. During a heated public debate and scandals, it was decided to give up this territory. But not France, but Germany.

In 1964, Malta seceded from Great Britain. A new state has appeared on the map of Europe.

In 1990, the GDR (East, socialist Germany) joined the Federal Republic of Germany (Western, capitalist).

In 1991, the Soviet Union ceased to exist, breaking up into 15 independent states. This was the largest redrawing of the map not only of Europe, but of the entire world in recent decades. In the Old World, independent Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan appeared. A number of new states also emerged in Central Asia between Russia and Afghanistan - Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan.

In 1992, four more new states appeared on the map of Europe: Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Macedonia. They left Yugoslavia, which left only Serbia and Montenegro.

On January 1, 1993, Czechoslovakia ceased to exist. Since then, two new states have appeared in Europe - the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

In 1994, South Ossetia and Abkhazia were separated from Georgia.

In 1999, NATO troops made every effort to ensure that the remnants of Yugoslavia were destroyed. Their bombing campaign toppled the regime of Slobodan Milosevic, who became one of the central figures in ethnic conflicts in the Balkans in the 1990s. Historians and politicians are still arguing about his role. Some criticize and blame him for all the troubles, others consider him a hero of the Serbian people, a protector and peacemaker.

Be that as it may, he resigned in 2000, and a year later he was detained and secretly transferred to the International War Crimes Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, which caused outrage among a large part of the Serbian public and President Kostunica.

The political crisis described above led to the fact that the remnants of Yugoslavia in 2002 began to be called the Republic of Serbia and Montenegro, and in 2006 they finally broke up into two new states - Serbia and Montenegro.

Just two years later, little Serbia was further fragmented, giving the Republic of Kosovo a chance for self-determination. Moreover, the Serbian leadership was categorically against this, but Western states reminded Belgrade of the “right to self-determination,” but Russia did not recognize the emergence of a new state.

Now Kosovo is a partially recognized state, de facto independent. But according to the Serbian Constitution, it is still obliged to obey Belgrade.

In 2014, Crimea seceded from Ukraine and, based on the results of a referendum, became part of Russia.

As you can see, the illusion that border changes are a thing of the distant past is a myth. Even in our time, when international relations are regulated by many declarations and treaties, and politicians are increasingly talking about global projects and universal brotherhood, the emergence of new states on the map of civilized Europe is commonplace. It's only the beginning...

Kirill Ozimko

P After World War II, the geopolitical map of the world was completely changed.
For the first time in 1000 years, continental Europe found itself dependent on the will of two superpowers - the USSR and the USA. Modern Europe has forgotten about this, its memory is short. And the former countries of the socialist camp forgot how and who took over large enough territories for which it was not their blood that was shed, but the Soviet soldier’s. I propose to remember how it was and who and what received from the USSR, from the generosity of the broad Soviet soul...

Poland likes to remember the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which became important because of the secret addendum defining the spheres of influence of the two powers.

The USSR, according to the protocol, “withdrew” Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Bessarabia and eastern Poland, and Germany - Lithuania and western Poland.

The fact that the USSR took Western Belarus and Western Ukraine is considered unfair in Poland, but they have no complaints about the transfer of Silesia and Pomerania to the USSR to the Poles. The division of Poland under the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact is bad. But is it okay that Poland itself took part in such a division before this?

Polish Marshal Edward Rydz-Smigly (right) and German Major General Bogislaw von Studnitz

On September 5, 1938, Polish Ambassador Łukasiewicz proposed to Hitler a military alliance with Poland in the fight against the USSR. Poland was not only a victim, it itself, together with Hungary, in October 1938 supported the Nazis in territorial claims to Czechoslovakia and occupied part of the Czech and Slovak lands, including the areas of Cieszyn Silesia, Orava and Spis.

On September 29, 1938, the Munich Agreement took place between British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, French Prime Minister Edouard Daladier, German Chancellor Adolf Hitler and Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini. The agreement concerned the transfer of the Sudetenland by Czechoslovakia to Germany.

Poland even threatened to declare war on the USSR if it tried to send troops through Polish territory to help Czechoslovakia. And the Soviet government made a statement to the Polish government that any attempt by Poland to occupy part of Czechoslovakia would void the non-aggression treaty. They occupied. So what did the Poles want from the USSR? Receive it and sign it!

Poland liked to divide neighboring countries. The report of the 2nd department (intelligence department) of the main headquarters of the Polish Army in December 1938 literally said the following: “The dismemberment of Russia lies at the heart of Polish policy in the East. Therefore, our possible position will be reduced to the following formula: who will take part in the division. Poland must not remain passive at this remarkable historical moment.” The main task of the Poles is to prepare well for this in advance. Poland’s main goal is “weakening and defeating Russia” .

On January 26, 1939, Jozef Beck informed the head of the German Foreign Ministry that Poland would lay claim to Soviet Ukraine and access to the Black Sea. On March 4, 1939, the Polish military command prepared a plan for war with the USSR “Vostok” (“Vshud”). But somehow it didn’t work out... the Polish lip collapsed half a year later thanks to the Wehrmacht, which began to lay claim to all of Poland. The Germans themselves needed black soil and access to the Black Sea. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Polish territories, marking the beginning of World War II and the great redistribution of lands.

And then there was a difficult and bloody war... and it was clear to all peoples that as a result of it, the world would face great changes.

The most famous meeting, which influenced the further course of history and largely determined the features of modern geopolitics, was the Yalta Conference, held in February 1945. The conference was a meeting of the heads of the three countries of the anti-Hitler coalition - the USSR, the USA and Great Britain in the Livadia Palace.

"Poland is the hyena of Europe." (C) Churchill. This is a quote from his book "World War II". Literally: “... Just six months ago, Poland, with the greed of a hyena, took part in the robbery and destruction of the Czechoslovak state...”

Following the Second World War, the communist tyrant Stalin added German Silesia, Pomerania, and 80% of East Prussia to Poland. Poland received the cities of Breslau, Gdansk, Zielona Gora, Legnica, Szczecin. The USSR also gave up the territory of Bialystok and the city of Klodzko, disputed with Czechoslovakia. Stalin also had to pacify the leadership of the GDR, which did not want to give Szczecin to the Poles. The issue was finally resolved only in 1956.

The Baltic states are also very indignant at the occupation. But the capital of Lithuania, Vilnius, was donated to the republic under the USSR. This is a Polish city and the Lithuanian population of Vilnius then constituted 1%, and the Polish majority. The USSR also gave them the city of Klaipeda (Prussian Memel), previously annexed by the Third Reich. The Lithuanian leadership condemned the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in 1991, but for some reason no one returned Vilnius to Poland and Klaipeda to the Federal Republic of Germany.

The Romanians fought against the USSR, but thanks to the USSR they managed to get back the province of Transylvania, which Hitler took in favor of Hungary.

Thanks to Stalin, Bulgaria retained Southern Dobruja (formerly Romania).

If the residents of Königsberg (which became Soviet Kaliningrad) moved to the GDR for 6 years (until 1951), then Poland and Czechoslovakia did not stand on ceremony with the Germans - 2-3 months and home. And some Germans were given 24 hours to get ready, allowed to take only a suitcase of things, and were forced to walk hundreds of kilometers.

Ukraine, in general, is a candy country that receives more and more new lands with each Russian occupation))

Maybe it will give the Poles its western part with Lvov, Ivano-Frankivsk and Ternopil (these cities were included by the aggressors into the Ukrainian SSR in 1939), Romania - the Chernivtsi region (passed to the Ukrainian SSR on August 2, 1940), and Hungary or Slovakia - Transcarpathia, received on June 29, 1945?

After the war, the world found itself under the protection of the Yalta-Potsdam system, and Europe was artificially divided into two camps, one of which was under the control of the USSR until 1990-1991...

The first picture shows a map from the American magazine “Look” dated March 14, 1937. G and pictures and photos from the internet.
Source of information: Wiki, websites

AiF correspondent Georgy Zotov: “If the consequences of May 9, 1945 are so bad, illegal and terrible, then all other actions of the USSR during that period are no better. Can the decisions of those who brought tyranny to your land be good? Therefore, Poland must give Silesia, Pomerania and Prussia back to the Germans, Ukraine must return its western part to the Poles, Chernivtsi - to the Romanians, Transcarpathia - to the Hungarians, Lithuania must give up Vilnius and Klaipeda, Romania - from Transylvania, the Czech Republic - from the Sudetenland and Teshin, Bulgaria - from Dobrudzha . And then everything will be absolutely fair..."

Expert opinion

Rudolf Pihoya, historian:

- There is a semi-legendary story that during the visit Churchill to Moscow in 1944 he and Stalin Over lunch we drew a map of the division of post-war Europe on an ordinary napkin. Eyewitnesses claimed that the “document” contained a number of figures that (in percentage) reflected the degree of future influence of the USSR and the West in different regions: Bulgaria and Romania - 90 to 10, Greece - 10 to 90, Yugoslavia - equally...

That napkin has not survived, but in principle the issue of changing borders in Europe was resolved by the “Big Three” - Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill - during the Tehran and Yalta conferences. The USSR adhered to the concept that it had developed back in 1944 Deputy People's Commissar of Foreign Affairs I. Maisky. It was that the USSR should create for itself a border configuration that would ensure the country's security for at least 25, and preferably 50 years.

In accordance with Maisky’s concept, the USSR annexed the former German Memel, which became Lithuanian Klaipeda. Koenigsberg (Kaliningrad), Pillau (Baltiysk) and Tilsit (Sovetsk), which still make up the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation, became Soviet. The USSR also secured part of the territory of Finland, annexed as a result of the “Winter War”. In general, Soviet policy of those years was distinguished by amazing consistency in resolving territorial issues. The only thing that could not be done was to take control of the Black Sea straits, although this issue was discussed in both Tehran and Yalta. But Port Arthur again, as at the beginning of the twentieth century, became the country’s outpost in the Far East, not to mention the southern part of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, lost by Russia as a result of the Russo-Japanese War.

If the geographical map remains virtually unchanged over the years, the political map of the world undergoes changes that are noticeable even to people who have lived no more than half a century. I present to you the TOP 10 countries that disappeared from the world map in the last century for one reason or another.
10. German Democratic Republic (GDR), 1949-1990

Created after World War II in a sector controlled by the Soviet Union, the German Democratic Republic was best known for its Wall and its tendency to shoot people who tried to cross it.

The wall was demolished with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990. After its demolition, Germany reunited and became a whole state again. However, at first, because the German Democratic Republic was quite poor, unification with the rest of Germany nearly bankrupted the country. At the moment, everything is fine in Germany.

9. Czechoslovakia, 1918-1992

Founded on the ruins of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire, Czechoslovakia was one of the most vibrant democracies in Europe before World War II. Betrayed by England and France in 1938 in Munich, it was completely occupied by Germany and disappeared from the world map by March 1939. Later it was occupied by the Soviets, who made it one of the vassals of the USSR. It was part of the Soviet Union's sphere of influence until its collapse in 1991. After the collapse, it again became a prosperous democratic state.

This should have been the end of this story, and, probably, the state would have been intact to this day if ethnic Slovaks living in the eastern half of the country had not demanded secession into an independent state, dividing Czechoslovakia in two in 1992.

Today, Czechoslovakia no longer exists; in its place there is the Czech Republic in the west and Slovakia in the east. Although, given the fact that the Czech Republic's economy is thriving, Slovakia, which is not doing so well, probably regrets secession.

8. Yugoslavia, 1918-1992

Like Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia was a product of the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire as a result of World War II. Consisting mainly of parts of Hungary and the original territory of Serbia, Yugoslavia unfortunately did not follow the more intelligent example of Czechoslovakia. Instead, it was something of an autocratic monarchy before the Nazis invaded the country in 1941. After that it was under German occupation. After the Nazis were defeated in 1945, Yugoslavia did not become part of the USSR, but became a communist country under the leadership of socialist dictator Marshal Josip Tito, leader of a partisan army during World War II. Yugoslavia remained a non-aligned, authoritarian socialist republic until 1992, when internal conflicts and intransigent nationalism resulted in civil war. After it, the country split into six small states (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Macedonia and Montenegro), becoming a clear example of what can happen when cultural, ethnic and religious assimilation goes wrong.

7. Austro-Hungarian Empire, 1867-1918

While all the countries that found themselves on the losing side after World War I found themselves in an unsavory economic and geographic position, none lost more than the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which was picked off like a roast turkey in a homeless shelter. From the collapse of the once huge empire, such modern countries as Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia emerged, and part of the empire’s lands went to Italy, Poland and Romania.

So why did it fall apart while its neighbor, Germany, remained intact? Yes, because it did not have a common language and self-determination; instead, it was inhabited by various ethnic and religious groups that, to put it mildly, did not get along with each other. Overall, the Austro-Hungarian Empire suffered what Yugoslavia endured, only on a much larger scale when it was torn apart by ethnic hatred. The only difference was that the Austro-Hungarian Empire was torn apart by the victors, and the collapse of Yugoslavia was internal and spontaneous.

6. Tibet, 1913-1951

Although the territory known as Tibet existed for over a thousand years, it did not become an independent state until 1913. However, under the peaceful tutelage of a succession of Dalai Lamas, it eventually clashed with Communist China in 1951 and was occupied by Mao's forces, thus ending its brief existence as a sovereign state. In the 1950s, China occupied Tibet, which became more and more unrest until Tibet finally rebelled in 1959. This led to China annexing the region and dissolving the Tibetan government. Thus, Tibet ceased to exist as a country and instead became a "region" instead of a country. Today, Tibet is a huge tourist attraction for the Chinese government, even though there is infighting between Beijing and Tibet due to Tibet again demanding independence.

5. South Vietnam, 1955-1975

South Vietnam was created by the forced expulsion of the French from Indochina in 1954. Someone decided that dividing Vietnam in two around the 17th parallel would be a good idea, leaving Communist Vietnam in the north and pseudo-democratic Vietnam in the south. As in the case of Korea, nothing good came of it. The situation led to war between South and North Vietnam, which eventually involved the United States. For the United States of America, this war became one of the most devastating and expensive wars in which America has ever taken part. As a result, torn by internal divisions, America withdrew its troops from Vietnam and left it to its own devices in 1973. For two years, Vietnam, divided in two, fought until North Vietnam, backed by the Soviet Union, seized control of the country, eliminating South Vietnam forever. The capital of the former South Vietnam, Saigon, was renamed Ho Chi Minh City. Since then, Vietnam has been a socialist utopia.

4. United Arab Republic, 1958-1971

This is another failed attempt to unite the Arab world. The Egyptian president, an ardent socialist, Gamal Abdel Nasser, believed that unification with Egypt's distant neighbor, Syria, would lead to the fact that their common enemy, Israel, would be surrounded on all sides, and that the united country would become a super- strength of the region. Thus, the short-lived United Arab Republic was created - an experiment that was doomed to fail from the very beginning. Being separated by several hundred kilometers, creating a centralized government seemed an impossible task, plus Syria and Egypt could never agree on what their national priorities were.

The problem would be resolved if Syria and Egypt united and destroyed Israel. But their plans were thwarted by the inappropriate Six Day War of 1967, which destroyed their plans for a shared border and turned the United Arab Republic into a defeat of biblical proportions. After this, the days of the alliance were numbered, and the UAR eventually dissolved with the death of Nasser in 1970. Without a charismatic Egyptian president to maintain the fragile alliance, the UAR quickly disintegrated, restoring Egypt and Syria as separate states.

3. Ottoman Empire, 1299-1922

One of the greatest empires in all of human history, the Ottoman Empire collapsed in November 1922, after surviving for over 600 years. It once stretched from Morocco to the Persian Gulf and from Sudan to Hungary. Its collapse was the result of a long process of disintegration over many centuries; by the beginning of the 20th century, only a shadow of its former glory remained.

But even then it remained a powerful force in the Middle East and North Africa, and would likely still be so today if it had not fought on the losing side of World War I. After the First World War it was disbanded, its largest part (Egypt, Sudan and Palestine) went to England. In 1922, it became useless and eventually collapsed completely when the Turks won their War of Independence in 1922 and terrified the Sultanate, creating modern Turkey in the process. However, the Ottoman Empire deserves respect for its long existence despite everything.

2. Sikkim, 8th century AD-1975

Have you never heard of this country? Where have you been all this time? Well, seriously, how could you not know about small, landlocked Sikkim, securely nestled in the Himalayas between India and Tibet... that is, China. About the size of a hot dog stand, it was one of those obscure, forgotten monarchies that managed to survive into the 20th century, until its citizens realized that they had no particular reason to remain an independent state, and decided to merge with modern India in 1975.

What was remarkable about this small state? Yes, because, despite its incredibly small size, it had eleven official languages, which must have created chaos when signing road signs - this is assuming that there were roads in Sikkim.

1. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Soviet Union), 1922-1991

It is difficult to imagine the history of the world without the participation of the Soviet Union in it. One of the most powerful countries on the planet, which collapsed in 1991, for seven decades it was a symbol of friendship among peoples. It was formed after the collapse of the Russian Empire after the First World War and flourished for many decades. The Soviet Union defeated the Nazis when the efforts of all other countries were insufficient to stop Hitler. The Soviet Union almost went to war with the United States in 1962, an event called the Cuban Missile Crisis.

After the Soviet Union collapsed following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, it split into fifteen sovereign states, creating the largest bloc of countries since the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918. Now the main successor to the Soviet Union is democratic Russia.

Food for thought: Europe is ungrateful. What would happen if we threw Hitler back exactly to our borders...

Having received vast territories by decision of the USSR, these countries call us occupiers.

On the eve of the 70th anniversary of the Victory, AiF tried to imagine what the map of Europe would have become if the USSR had not given thousands of kilometers of territory to the very countries that now call us occupiers. And will they give up these lands?

Wroclaw is one of the most tourist cities in Poland. There are crowds of people with photo cameras everywhere, expensive restaurants are crowded, taxi drivers charge outrageous prices. At the entrance to the Market Square there flutters the banner “Wroclaw - true Polish charm!” Everything would be fine, but back in May 1945, Wroclaw was called Breslau and before that it did not belong to Poland for 600 years (!) in a row. Victory Day, now referred to in Warsaw as “the beginning of communist tyranny,” added German Silesia, Pomerania, and 80% of East Prussia to Poland. Nobody mentions this now: that is, tyranny is tyranny, and we will take the land for ourselves. The AiF columnist decided to figure out what the map of Europe would look like now if our ex-brothers in the East were left without the help of the “occupiers”?

Cities as a gift

In 1945, Poland received the cities of Breslau, Gdansk, Zielona Gora, Legnica, Szczecin, says Maciej Wisniewski, a Polish independent journalist. - The USSR also gave up the territory of Bialystok, and through the mediation of Stalin we gained the city of Klodzko, disputed with Czechoslovakia.

Nevertheless, we consider that the division of Poland under the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, when the USSR took Western Belarus and Western Ukraine, was unfair, but the transfer of Silesia and Pomerania to Stalin’s Poles was just fair, this cannot be disputed. Now it is fashionable to say that the Russians did not liberate us, but captured us. However, the occupation turns out to be interesting if Poland received a quarter of Germany for free: and hundreds of thousands of Soviet soldiers shed the blood of this land. Even the GDR resisted, not wanting to give Szczecin to the Poles - the issue with the city was finally resolved only in 1956 under pressure from the USSR.
In addition to the Poles, the Baltic states are also very indignant at the “occupation”. Well, it’s worth remembering: the current capital, Vilnius, was also “gifted” to Lithuania by the USSR; By the way, the Lithuanian population of Vilnius then amounted to... barely 1%, and the Polish population was the majority. The USSR returned to the republic the city of Klaipeda - Prussian Memel, which belonged to the Lithuanians in 1923-1939. and annexed by the Third Reich. The Lithuanian leadership condemned the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact back in 1991, but no one returned both Vilnius to Poland and Klaipeda to Germany.

Ukraine, which through Prime Minister Yatsenyuk declared itself “a victim of Soviet aggression along with Germany,” is unlikely to give the Poles its western part with Lvov, Ivano-Frankivsk and Ternopil (these cities were included by the “aggressors” in the Ukrainian SSR in 1939), Romania - the Chernivtsi region (passed to the Ukrainian SSR on August 2, 1940), and Hungary or Slovakia - Transcarpathia, received on June 29, 1945. Romanian politicians do not stop discussing the justice of the “annexation” of Moldova by the Soviet Union in 1940. Of course, a long time ago forgotten: after the war, it was thanks to the USSR that the Romanians got back the province of Transylvania, which Hitler took in favor of Hungary. Bulgaria, through the mediation of Stalin, retained Southern Dobruja (previously the possession of that same Romania), which was confirmed by the agreement of 1947. But now not a single word is said about this in Romanian and Bulgarian newspapers.

Wroclaw, Lower Silesia, Poland.

They don't say thank you

Prague winter. How do the Czechs feel about the upcoming 70th anniversary of the Victory?
Residents of Prague enthusiastically greet the Soviet tank crews. “After 1991, the Czech Republic removed monuments to Soviet soldiers, and also announced that Victory Day marks the replacement of one dictatorship with another,” says Alexander Zeman, a Czech historian. - However, it was precisely at the insistence of the USSR that the Sudetenland with the cities of Karlovy Vary and Liberec, where 92% of the population were Germans, was returned to Czechoslovakia. Let us recall that the Western powers at the Munich Conference in 1938 supported Germany's annexation of the Sudetenland - only the Soviet Union protested. At the same time, the Poles tore the Cieszyn region from Czechoslovakia and after the war did not want to give it up, insisting on a referendum. After the USSR put pressure on Poland and supported the Czechoslovak position, an agreement was signed - Teshin was returned to the Czechs, secured by the agreement of 1958. No one says thank you for the help to the Soviet Union - apparently, the Russians owe us only one fact of their existence.
In general, we gave away land to everyone, we did not forget anyone - and now they are spitting in our faces for this. In addition, few people know about the pogrom that the new authorities carried out in the “returned territories” - 14 million Germans were expelled from Pomerania and the Sudetenland. If the residents of Königsberg (which became Soviet Kaliningrad) moved to the GDR for 6 years (until 1951), then in Poland and Czechoslovakia it took 2-3 months, and many Germans were given only 24 hours to get ready, being allowed to take only a suitcase of things, and forced to walk hundreds of kilometers. “You know, there’s no point in mentioning this,” they timidly remarked to me at the Szczecin mayor’s office. “Such things spoil our good relations with Germany.” Well, yes, they rub it in our faces with every little thing, but it’s a sin to offend the Germans.

How Europe was divided after 1945

Personally, I am interested in justice in this matter. It has already reached the point of schizophrenia: when a person in Eastern Europe says that the victory of the USSR over Nazism is liberation, he is considered either a fool or a traitor. Guys, let's be honest. If the consequences of May 9, 1945 are so bad, illegal and terrible, then all other actions of the USSR during that period are no better. Can the decisions of those who brought tyranny to your land be good? Therefore, Poland must give Silesia, Pomerania and Prussia back to the Germans, Ukraine must return its western part to the Poles, Chernivtsi - to the Romanians, Transcarpathia - to the Hungarians, Lithuania must give up Vilnius and Klaipeda, Romania - from Transylvania, the Czech Republic - from the Sudetenland and Teshin, Bulgaria - from Dobrudzha . And then everything will be absolutely fair. But where is it? They are covering us for all they are worth, accusing us of all mortal sins, but they have a death grip on Stalin’s “gifts”. Sometimes you just want to imagine: I wonder what would happen if Hitler’s USSR were thrown back exactly to its borders and did not look further into Europe? What would now remain of the territories of those countries that, before the 70th anniversary of the Victory, call their liberation by Soviet troops “occupation”? The answer, however, is extremely simple - horns and legs.

Residents of Polish Lublin and soldiers of the Soviet Army on one of the city streets. July 1944. Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. Photo: RIA Novosti/Alexander Kapustyansky