Thread by @TimothyDSnyder

Illustration of Russian propaganda for today. We are meant to be intimidated or exhilarated by the fantasy of bombing the Pentagon. 1/10

The message is that Russia always won, but the list of ostensible Russian victories on the poster tells a different story. 2/10

It's interesting that Russia here admits, as its Western friends sometimes deny, that Russia invaded Ukraine ten years ago. 3/10

But that invasion has been no victory. The previous item, 1941–1945, was a Soviet victory with US economic support as part of a coalition. 4/10

1812 was a victory of the Russian Empire over France as part of a coalition. 1609-1618 was the Time of Troubles (approximately) and the victory was keeping a Pole from the throne. 5/10

1239-1480 was the period when the new city of Moscow was a vassal of the Mongols/Tatars, the time of its political formation. 6/10

1242 marks the destruction of the medieval Kyivan state by Mongols. Russia did not exist then and no victory was won. 7/10

The poster ignores completely famous Russian and Soviet defeats, such as the Crimean War, the Russo-Japanese War, the First World War, the Polish-Soviet War, and the Afghan invasion. 8/10
amp.cnn.com/cnn/2024/05/08…

Russia has of course won many wars, but generally against peoples now subjugated and incorporated into the Russian Federation. 9/10

Lessons for Victory Day: Russia distorts the past; Russia often loses wars; when Russia wins it is often thanks to international support; the current war started in 2014 and aims to destroy a people and add territory. 10/10