Not Just the Bolsheviks: The Hidden Hand of Germany, Britain, and the U.S. in Russia 1917 and Beyond

Did you know Lenin and Trotsky didn’t always agree?

Lenin was all about working with Germany, while Trotsky preferred the United States. Maybe it’s not a coincidence in 1917, the U.S. government actually gave Trotsky a temporary American passport to help him return to Russia during the revolution. So yes, America helped him.

At first, the Americans and British hoped Trotsky would help them influence Russia after the Tsar was gone.
But when Lenin took control and pushed his plans that favored Germany, they got frustrated.

That’s when they basically said:

“If Trotsky won’t do what we want, maybe we should bring back Kerensky, the guy who ran the first (February) revolution.”

Here’s the actual quote from a British intelligence officer in 1918:

“If we decide that Trotsky does not want or is unable to invite us, then we can summon Kerensky and other leaders of the original republican revolution… and do what Trotsky was unwilling or unable to do.”

This wasn’t just a random opinion. Wiseman was Britain’s top intelligence representative in America, and Colonel House was the closest man to the U.S. President. So this message came from the highest levels of American and British strategy circles.

📖Charles Seymour, The Intimate Papers of Colonel House, p. 421.
archive.org/stream/intimat… The West Didn’t Need to Bring Back Kerensky After All… They Had a Smarter Plan

They didn’t end up needing to bring back Kerensky (the guy from the February Revolution).
Why? Because a clever plan was already in motion, and guess what? Trotsky played a key role in it.

Look what the U.S. Ambassador to China wrote to President Woodrow Wilson on June 29, 1918:

“It would be a great mistake to allow the Czechoslovak troops to leave Russia. With a little support, they can control all of Siberia. If they were not there, they should be sent even from the ends of the earth.”

📖Source: U.S. State Department Archives, FRUS 1918 Russia Vol. II, Document 311

The Key They Erased: The Truth About the Bolshevik Revolution That Changes Everything

There are numerous historical facts that are deliberately silenced. Western historians endlessly reinterpret the events of 1937 under Stalin, but are reluctant to talk about the genocide that took place between 1917 and 1925. You are told in detail about the executions of figures like Ezhov, Kamenev, Zinoviev, but you hear almost nothing about the millions of Russian people tortured and murdered by those same men.

Why is that? Why is there so little interest in the Civil War in Russia and the early 1920s, especially in the West? Why do the same institutions react hysterically to 1937? What happened in Russia from 1917 to 1924 that no one wants to talk about?

What actually occurred during the Civil War was unprecedented in world history, and has been swept under the rug ever since.👇🧵 The Mass Killings They Don’t Teach You About

During Lenin and Trotsky’s rule, a wave of brutal killings swept across Russia.

It was called the Red Terror.

Who did they kill?
Everyone: priests, monks, teachers, farmers, nobles, writers, women, children, no one was safe.

The violence wasn’t limited to big cities.
It happened everywhere: in towns, villages, and across the countryside, from Moscow to Siberia and the Far East.

Foreign mercenaries: Latvians, Lithuanians, and Chinese soldiers, were often hired to do the killing.
They had no connection to the Russian people and were known for their cruelty.

Some Examples:

🔸 Moscow and Petrograd (St. Petersburg) – Starting in 1918, people were taken to the basements of secret police buildings and shot.

🔸 Krasnodar (then called Yekaterinodar) – In 1920, after the Red Army took the city, they executed 300 to 500 people a day, by quota.

🔸 Omsk – In 1919, after the Bolsheviks captured the city, they killed officials, students, priests, so many that locals said bones were hauled away on sleds.

They were especially cruel to peasants who rebelled:

🔸 Tambov Rebellion (1920–1921), peasants were gassed, villages burned, and families deported.
🔸 Rebellions in Ukraine, Siberia, and the Urals were crushed the same way.

Women and Children Were Not Spared:

🔸 Wives of officers and priests, noblewomen, teachers all shot as “dangerous to society.”
🔸 Girls as young as 12 were executed along with their parents.
🔸 Some women were stripped naked before being shot.
🔸 Commissars even put on costumes, drank, and laughed while carrying out the killings.

“They turned executions into a show,” wrote Ivan Bunin in Cursed Days.

This shows that the war wasn’t really against the “bourgeoisie”, it was a war against the people of Russia. Everyone suffered, including the Jewish population, but the main target was the Russian population and the Orthodox Church: the core of Russia’s identity and statehood.

Pictures of the Soviet Store Counters

🧵👇

The First Concentration Camps in Europe Were for Russians: How “Ukrainian Identity” Was Created Through Genocide

In the early 20th century, parts of ancient Rus’ - including Galicia, Bukovina, and Carpathian Ruthenia (now Western Ukraine) were under the control of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Until the late 1800s, the local people spoke Russian, called themselves Russians or Rusyns, followed the Orthodox faith, and saw Russia as their cultural and historical homeland - the true continuation of Kievan Rus’.

But the Austro-Hungarian rulers saw this identity as a threat. They feared the people might support Russia. So they came up with a plan: destroy the Russian identity and replace it with something new, something loyal to the Empire.

That new identity would later be called "Ukrainian." How the Austro-Hungarian Empire forced Ukrainization

🔶 Schools banned the Russian language. Instead, they introduced a new artificial "Ukrainian dialect," supported by Austrian and German scholars.
🔶 Teachers who identified as Russian were fired.
🔶 Russian churches, schools, and libraries were closed or taken over by pro-"Ukrainian" groups.
🔶 Russian newspapers and books were banned.
🔶 Writers were given money and rewards for publishing in Ukrainian.
🔶 To get a job, go to school, or publish anything — people had to stop calling themselves Russian and become “Ukrainian.”

Why Ukraine Doesn’t Qualify as the Successor of ‘Kievan Rus’.

Since 2014, Ukraine has been busy inventing a national identity from scratch. History? Doesn’t matter. Facts? Optional. Logic? Throw it out the window. The result? A confused mess of revisionism where everyone and everything is magically “Ukrainian.” But let’s unpack this fairytale.

Myth #1: Ukraine is the true successor of Kievan Rus

Let’s start with the obvious. In the time of Rus, there were no “Ukrainians.” Not even the concept. Zero. Zilch. The people were called Rus, that’s what the Greeks called them too: Ῥῶς (Ros), and later Ῥωσία (Rosia). There was no magical country called “Ukraine” in the 10th century.

Even the term “Kievan Rus” didn’t exist at the time. Historians in 19th-century Russia (not Ukraine) invented that label just to describe a specific period when Kiev was a center of power. Back then, it was just Rus - no prefixes, no qualifiers.

For the record:
🔸The first capital of Rus was Staraya Ladoga (modern Russia),
🔸Then Novgorod,
🔸Then Kiev, but only for part of the 10th to early 12th centuries.

After that, Rus split into various centers - Vladimir, Suzdal, then eventually Moscow. So Kiev was the capital for a while, sure. But using that to claim the whole legacy? That’s like Rome claiming it owns modern Germany because they used to camp there. Myth #2: Ruthenia = Ukraine?

Nice try. “Ruthenia” is just Latin for Rus. Polish and Hungarian sources used the word “Rutheni” to describe eastern Slavs living under their rule, not some special Ukrainian tribe. And now modern Ukrainians try to parade it around as “proof” they’re a unique people?

Let’s be clear:

🔸Rus (Old Russian) = original name
🔸Rosia (Greek) = Byzantine records
🔸Ruthenia (Latin) = Western European term

All different names for the same people, the same civilization. No Ukrainians. Not until the 19th century. Sorry.

When Russia Has Gold, the West Sees Evil

Gold & Demons: How Every Gram Turns a Russian Leader into a “Threat” to the West
(From Nicholas II to Putin)

👇🧵

Nicholas II (1894–1917), peak of gold in Imperial Russia.
The West: “Baaaad guy!”
🔸 1897: Russia adopts the gold standard
🔸 1914: Gold reserves reach 1311 tons (3rd in the world after France and the U.S.)
🔸 Early 1917: Nearly 1400 tons - the empire’s all-time high
🔸 Western elites acknowledge Russia’s power, but anti-monarchist rhetoric explodes, especially in France and Britain

After 1917: Gold shock and chaos
The West: “We don’t care about Russia. Whatever.”
🔸 Imperial gold ends up in Bolshevik hands
🔸 Massive losses through looting, foreign intervention, and backdoor diplomacy
🔸 By the early 1920s: only 200–300 tons remain “Lenin’s Gold” (1920–1922)
The West: “Lenin is whatever. Not a threat.”
🔸 Bolsheviks secretly transfer around 50 tons of gold through the Baltics to the Bank of England
🔸 Part of it is seized due to legal claims by émigrés and former owners (like the Nobel family)

Western Banks: Were their hands clean?
🔸 Banque de France and Bank of England accepted Soviet gold
🔸 They demanded “proof of origin”, but still resold it
🔸 Rothschilds? No direct proof, but firms like Morgan Guaranty Trust and affiliates likely took part

The Forgotten Civilization Beneath Russian Soil

Arkaim isn’t just an ancient city. It’s a challenge to everything we thought we knew about history.
An archaeological discovery so big, it should have rewritten textbooks but somehow, almost no one knows about it.

In 1987, in Russia’s Chelyabinsk region, archaeologists accidentally uncovered the remains of a massive circular city from the Bronze Age. The area was about to be flooded for a reservoir, but the land revealed its secret Arkaim.
The city was so precisely planned, many couldn’t believe it was built almost 3,800 years ago.

What’s even stranger after the discovery, Western researchers visited… then silence.

No big headlines. No publicized reports.
Why hasn’t one of the greatest archaeological finds of the 20th century entered global consciousness?
Maybe because it breaks too many “accepted truths.” Arkaim is a city that doesn’t fit the mold

🔸 A perfect circle, with concentric walls, planned streets, drainage, and ventilation systems.
🔸 The architecture is aligned to the stars and the sun, just like Stonehenge or the pyramids of Giza.
🔸 Officially dated to 3,800 years ago, just a few centuries younger than the Great Pyramid, but older than Ancient Greece and Rome.
🔸 Geomagnetic anomalies have been recorded in the area. Sensitive people report strange sensations: surges of energy, clarity of mind, or dizziness.
🔸 And all around the site, archaeologists found swastikas - ancient solar symbols.

Yes, swastikas — but not the Nazi kind. Or rather… not originally.

How Hitler “borrowed” the symbols of the ancient Aryans

The swastika is one of the oldest solar symbols on Earth, used for thousands of years in India, Persia, among Slavs, Celts, and other Indo-European peoples.
It represented the sun, movement, life, balance, and eternal cycles.

Hitler adopted it intentionally. He believed Germans were descendants of the ancient Aryans, the legendary people he thought brought strength and culture to the world. That’s why the Nazis borrowed:

🔸 The swastika as an Aryan emblem.
🔸 The “Heil” salute taken from the Roman salute to the emperor.
🔸 Runes are mystical Celtic and Germanic symbols believed to hold magical power.
🔸 Zoroastrian imagery - fire and light motifs from ancient Persia representing cosmic duality.

But while Hitler was obsessed with “Aryan roots,” genetics tells a very different story.

Who were the Aryans really?

The word “Aryan” is often shrouded in myth, but in historical terms, the Aryans were real Indo-European tribes, speakers of ancient languages that would evolve into Sanskrit, Slavic, Greek, Latin, Celtic, and others.
They weren’t mythical supermen, they were real people: warriors, priests, builders.

And Arkaim? It’s one of their cultural centers.

The people who lived there belonged to the Sintashta culture, spoke a language close to ancient Sanskrit, and some later migrated south, becoming the Indo-Aryans of India and bringing their knowledge with them.

The 1915 'Parvus Memorandum' outlined Germany's strategy to destabilize Russia from within by funding and supporting the Bolshevik Revolution.

Yes, this actually happened. Let’s look at one of WWI’s most explosive secret plans.

In March 1915, Dr. Alexander Parvus (real name: Israel Gelfand), a Marxist revolutionary, submitted a memorandum to the German Foreign Ministry, titled ‘Preparation of a Mass Political Strike in Russia’. The document is historically significant because the plan was approved and funding began. There exists at least one signed receipt from Parvus acknowledging receiving of funds - 1 million rubles which is ≈ $85–120 million USD (in modern purchasing power).

His goal?
Use revolution to bring down the Russian Empire and end the war on the Eastern Front (First World War). Parvus was well-connected, he had ties to Lenin, Trotsky, and German elites.

His plan was brutally strategic:

“Russia’s war effort can be destroyed not by armies, but by revolution at home.”

The memorandum outlined concrete steps:
🔸Fund Bolshevik propaganda and newspapers
🔸Smuggle materials into Russia
🔸Support worker uprisings and strikes
🔸Fuel separatism in Ukraine, Finland, the Caucasus
🔸Sabotage railroads and communications
🔸Disrupt supply lines to the front
🔸Provide support to Russian revolutionary émigrés in the United States to spread anti-Tsarist agitation abroad and pressure allies from outside

Parvus wrote:

“The political strike must begin in Petrograd and spread to key industries and railways… The objective is to paralyze transport and the war economy.”

The biggest con of the century: Western leaders’ assurance to the USSR - ‘Not an inch to the east.’

That’s what they told Gorbachev. American, German, British, French leaders even NATO all gave their word back in the early ’90s: NATO wouldn’t move eastward after Germany reunited. The Cold War was ending, and Moscow was stepping back peacefully, without a fight, believing that the West would now turn toward peaceful cooperation instead of confrontation.

They trusted the West. Pulled troops out. Let Eastern Europe go. Dissolved the Warsaw Pact. All in the name of building a new world: one based on peace and partnership.

In return? Just words. Vague assurances. No formal treaties. No signatures.

And then? Everything changed.

Year after year, NATO crept east. Poland. Hungary. The Czech Republic. Then the Baltics. And finally, talk of Ukraine and Georgia, right on Russia’s doorstep. That old promise? Suddenly it was “never written down,” “misunderstood,” or “not legally binding.”

What was once a guarantee became a ghost.

To Russia, it felt like betrayal. To the West, just strategy. But trust was gone, and the consequences are still unfolding today.

Let’s look at the actual memorandums of these promises.🧵👇 1. USA – James Baker (Secretary of State)
Date: February 9, 1990
Document: Memorandum of Conversation – Baker and Gorbachev, Kremlin

“There would be no extension of NATO’s jurisdiction for forces of NATO one inch to the east.”

That’s what James Baker told Gorbachev clear as day. “Not one inch to the east.” It was said during a critical meeting in Moscow, as the USSR was agreeing to let a unified Germany stay in NATO. The understanding? That NATO wouldn’t expand further, especially not into Eastern Europe.

Secretary of State James Baker’s well-known promise of “not one inch eastward” was just one of many assurances given by Western leaders at the time. Throughout the negotiations over German unification in 1990 and continuing into 1991 Western officials repeatedly assured Gorbachev and other Soviet leaders that NATO would not expand eastward, aiming to ease Soviet security concerns as the Cold War came to an end.

Ever dreamed of visiting Russia? Forget the Trans-Siberian Railway. Here’s a 10-day itinerary through the legendary Golden Ring of Russia. Explore the country’s most beautiful and historic cities, where onion domes, cobblestone streets, and UNESCO-listed architecture bring centuries of rich heritage to life.

Day 1 – Moscow → Sergiev Posad

🔸Travel time: ~1.5 hours by car (70 km)
🔸City highlights:

Sergiev Posad founded in 1337 is the spiritual heart of Russia and home to the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Explore colorful churches, golden domes, and rich monastic history.

🔸Stay at:
Hotel Posadsky – simple and walkable to the Lavra or
Imperial Village Hotel – cozy wooden architecture with local charm Day 2 – Sergiev Posad → Pereslavl-Zalessky

🔸Travel time: ~1.5 hours (95 km)
🔸City highlights:

A quiet town on Lake Pleshcheyevo, founded in 1152. It was an important center in Northeastern Rus’, where princely power was developing and the first white-stone churches were buil known as the birthplace of the Russian navy (thanks to Peter the Great’s toy fleet) and home to ancient churches.

🔸 Stay at:
Albitsky Sad Hotel – modern rooms and garden views
West Hotel Pereslavl – simple and comfortable

The Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) was founded in 1929. By 1940, it had divided into two factions, one of which, under Stepan Bandera’s leadership, went on to establish the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) in 1942. The UPA became notorious for brutal attacks on civilians, acts now recognized as ethnic cleansing and genocide. Their targets included Poles, Russians, Jews, and even ethnic Ukrainians.

Symbols associated with OUN and UPA are still used in Ukraine today. The red-and-black flag, historically linked to the UPA is widely used among Ukranian army.

Additionally, Stepan Bandera has been recognized as a national hero. Streets have been named in his honor, and numerous monuments and museums have been dedicated to his life and political activities.

Below are some well-documented cases of crimes committed by Bandera’s followers during World War II period. 👇🧵 June 30 - July 2, 1941. Lviv.

Nationalists from Bandera's OUN launched a large-scale pogrom, which resulted in the deaths of several thousand Jews.

4,000 died

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lviv_pogr…

How Europe Set Up the USSR and Pushed Hitler East

🧵👇

When Hitler came to power in 1933, Stalin immediately gets suspicious.

📖 Hitler literally wrote in his book that Slavs are “inferior” and their lands should belong to Germans.
🔎 Stalin goes like:
“Uh, excuse me, WHAT?! This dude is seriously out for blood. We need to do something before it’s too late.”

1933-1939: Europe Helps Hitler While Ghosting the USSR

While the USSR is out here trying to build an anti-Hitler alliance, Europe’s just chillin’ like nothing’s happening, meanwhile signing deals with Hitler.

📜 1934 – Poland signs a non-aggression pact with Germany
🔸Poland is the FIRST (!!) to sign a friendship pact with Hitler.
🔸Stalin goes WTF: “Are y’all stupid? He’s gonna eat you first!”

(German Ambassador Hans-Adolf von Moltke, Polish leader Józef Piłsudski, German Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels and Polish Foreign Minister Józef Beck meeting in Warsawon 15 June 1934, five months after issuing the declaration 👇) 📜 1935 – Britain lets Hitler build up his navy
🔸Britain straight-up tells Hitler, “Yeah man, go ahead and build your warships.”
👀Stalin is watching this mess unfold, speechless.

📜 1935 – USSR signs mutual assistance treaties with France and Czechoslovakia.
🔸If Czechoslovakia gets attacked, the USSR is READY to help.

📜 meanwhile 1936 🇯🇵Japan signs Anti-Comintern Pact (Anti-Soviet alliance with Germany)

📜 1938 – The Munich Agreement (Western Betrayal Level 1000)
🔸Britain, France, Italy, and Germany decide Hitler can have the Sudetenland (part of Chechoslovakia).

🔸By the late 1930s, Czechoslovakia had built up a solid modern army, cranking out machine guns, tanks, and artillery right in their own backyard. They weren’t just making weapons—they were one of the biggest arms suppliers in Europe at the time.

🔸And the wildest part? Czechoslovakia itself wasn’t even INVITED to the talks about its own country.

Stalin: “Yo, what about Czechoslovakia? Did you ask them how they feel about that?”

Europe: Crickets.

🔸At this point, Stalin KNOWS the West is just feeding Hitler hoping he’ll go attack the USSR next.

1938: Poland Joins the Looting Party

When Britain and France throw Czechoslovakia under the bus, Poland doesn’t try to help, nope, they run in to grab some land too!

📢 Poland invades the Teschen region of Czechoslovakia in October 1938.
💬 Stalin at this point:
“Oh, okay, so while Hitler’s grabbing territory, Poland’s out here looting too? I’ll remember that later.”

🇬🇧 Meanwhile in 1938, Britain randomly signs ITS OWN anglo-German declaration with Hitler!

⚠️ Final score:
🔸Czechoslovakia is betrayed by literally EVERYONE, including Poland.
🔸Stalin now knows for sure: Europe is setting him up.

Even Hitler’s Army Was Shocked: The Unstoppable Courage of Russian Soldiers

🧵👇

Here are quotes from German soldiers and officers about Russian soldiers.

Field Marshal Erich von Manstein, one of Hitler’s top generals:

The Russians were not afraid of death. They fought with a determination I had never seen in any other army. Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus, commander of the German 6th Army, who surrendered at Stalingrad:

If I had to go to war again, I would rather have the Russians on my side than against me.

The Real Turning Point of WWII: Why the Kursk battle, Not D-Day, Sealed Hitler’s Fate

Western textbooks talk about a D-day being the turning point in the war against Hitler... but that’s not really accurate. Think about it: by that point, the Red Army had already kicked the German forces out of the USSR and was pushing Hitler back. The German army had lost 80% of its strength, and the Allies hadn’t even opened a second front in Europe yet.

The real game-changer in World War II was the Battle of Stalingrad. Before that, Hitler’s army seemed unstoppable, they’d taken over most of Europe and were charging deep into the USSR. But at Stalingrad, the Red Army broke the backbone of Hitler’s war machine. The Germans lost 850,000 soldiers, and the Soviets took control of the war.

After Stalingrad, the Germans started retreating, but Hitler wasn’t ready to give up. He launched a counterattack, which became known as the Battle of Kursk.

Spoiler: it didn’t go well for the Germans. After Kursk, Hitler was done, he lost all control, and the Soviets just kept pushing forward all the way to Berlin. The Battle of Kursk lasted for 50 days, from July 5 to August 23, 1943. It was one of the longest and most intense battles of World War II. In terms of the number of troops involved, the Battle of Kursk was even bigger than the Battle of Stalingrad. To this day, it’s considered one of the largest battles of World War II.
So, it was a long, grueling fight, but it ended with a major Soviet win.

At Kursk, both sides threw everything they had into the fight. The Soviets had about 1.3 million soldiers and 5,000 tanks, while the Germans had around 900,000 soldiers and 2,800 tanks. The Germans had fancy new tanks like the "Tiger" and "Panther” (hmm, sounds like the names of the tanks I keep hearing in the news) but even with all that, they couldn’t break through the Soviet defenses. After losing a ton of tanks and soldiers, the Germans had to go on the defensive.

Disclaimer: There’s still a lot of disagreement about the numbers of troops and equipment in the Battle of Kursk. The Russian Defense Ministry says the Red Army had 1.336 million soldiers, while Nazi Germany had over 900,000. German historians, though, claim it was more like 1.9 million Soviets against 700,000 Germans. It makes sense, German authors want to frame the Soviet victory as being due to overwhelming numbers rather than skill or strategy.

Fan fact: During World War II, Soviet intelligence agency SMERSH ran a brilliant fake radio operation called “Opyt” (May 1943 – August 1944) to trick the Germans. They pretended to be an Abwehr spy group and sent 92 fake radio messages, receiving 51 in return. This convinced the Nazis they were getting real intel, while in reality, they were being fed lies about Soviet troop movements, including around Kursk. As a result, the Germans made bad decisions. Soviet agents also captured enemy spies, and even got supplies air-dropped by the Germans: guns, money, fake documents, and uniforms. This deception played a key role in the Soviet victory at Kursk.

Let’s put an end to Russia’s destructive influence: How the Napoleonic War of 1812 began.

So, here’s the scoop: On June 24, 1812, Napoleon rolled into Russia with his army, kicking off what he called the Second Polish War. He claimed this whole thing was about stopping Russia from messing with Europe too much. But, as usual, there was way more going on behind the scenes.

Back in 1807, France and Russia had signed the Treaty of Tilsit. It wasn’t perfect, both sides broke some rules here and there, but they mostly tried to stick to it. The big thing Napoleon wanted was for Russia to enforce the Continental Blockade, his plan to cut off Britain’s trade and crush their economy. But, surprise, surprise, Russia wasn’t super into it.

Now, here’s where it gets juicy. Back then, foreign policy wasn’t always about logic or strategy, it was often about ego and personal drama. Napoleon, trying to cozy up to Russia, decided the best way to seal the deal was to marry into the Russian royal family. He first proposed to Grand Duchess Ekaterina in 1808, and when that didn’t work, he tried again in 1810 with 14-year-old Anna. Both times? Big fat no. For Napoleon, this was a massive slap in the face. The Russian court didn’t want anything to do with what they saw as a social climber, and this rejection just made things worse between the two countries.

Fast forward to June 22, 1812. Napoleon, now in full propaganda mode, told his troops that Russia had broken the Treaty of Tilsit and that this invasion, the Second Polish War, was totally justified. He wasn’t just trying to crush Russia’s influence in Europe; he also wanted to create an independent Poland and even dreamed of teaming up with Russia to take on India. Yeah, India.

Here’s how he pumped up his soldiers:
“Soldiers! The Second Polish War has begun. The first ended at Friedland and Tilsit… This one will bring just as much glory to French arms, but this time, the peace we make will last and finally end Russia’s grip on Europe for the last fifty years.”

Spoiler alert: It didn’t go as planned. But hey, Napoleon was always good at selling big dreams. By spring 1812, Napoleon had amassed a huge army of around 700,000 troops at Russia’s borders. But here’s the kicker, only about half of them were actually French. The rest were a mix of soldiers from countries Napoleon controlled (like Italy and the Netherlands) or from reluctant allies like Prussia and Austria, who really didn’t want to fight Russia. There were even Poles, Dutch, and Spaniards who were basically dragged into this mess.

Fast forward to September 14, 1812. The Russian army bailed out of Moscow, and most of the city’s 250,000 residents followed suit, taking or destroying anything that could be useful to the French. Only about 15,000 people stayed behind, many of them foreigners, while looters from nearby villages started moving in. The day before, a museum curator and some locals who spoke French told Napoleon the city was empty. An old peasant even offered to give him a tour, but Napoleon was like, “Nah, I’m good.” 😂

When Napoleon finally arrived, he was struck by how surreal the city looked. Captain von Brandt described it as “enchanted,” with 500 golden and colorful domes rising over a sea of houses. Napoleon, though, was more straightforward: “So, this is the famous city. It’s time.” To keep things under control, only the Imperial and Italian Guards were allowed to stay in the city, while the rest of the army camped outside. But, of course, troops started sneaking in to loot almost immediately.

Napoleon set up shop in the Kremlin and went to bed, only to be woken up at 4 AM by massive fires. The Russians had set the city ablaze before leaving, and the flames spread fast. The fire was so intense that you could literally read a book by its light. By the time it was over, Moscow was in ruins, and with no food supplies left, it was useless for Napoleon’s army to stay.

Some advisors suggested marching on St. Petersburg, but Napoleon shot that idea down. The capital was too far, his army was already exhausted, and food was running low. Plus, heading north meant worse weather and logistical nightmares. He also decided against moving toward Tula, where Russia’s weapons factories were, because Russian troops were already gathering there. Realizing he couldn’t advance further, Napoleon decided to wait in Moscow for a peace offer from Tsar Alexander I. He sent letters, but… crickets. The Russians had other plans.

While waiting, Napoleon tried to make life in Moscow somewhat bearable for his troops, even arranging some entertainment. But he wasn’t messing around when it came to discipline. One of his orders read: “Despite repeated warnings, soldiers keep peeing in the courtyards, even under the emperor’s windows. Punishment units need to set up proper toilets, and buckets must be placed in the barracks and emptied twice a day.” 🙈 Classic French army vibes, right?

So yeah, Napoleon was stuck in a burned-out city, waiting for a reply that never came, while his army slowly fell apart. Not exactly the glorious campaign he’d envisioned.

How Putin made Russia Great Again or why Russians love him so much

(very long 🧵)

After the collapse of the USSR, Russia became a colony of the West and lost its sovereignty. During the 1990s and under Yeltsin’s government, the country nearly fell apart. The military and industries across all sectors were destroyed, school textbooks were rewritten, and resources were sold off to Western corporations. It’s a serious question whether Russia would even exist today if things had continued that way. However, with Putin’s arrival, everything changed - he brought Russia back to itself.

Bio

Few in the West know about Putin’s mentor, Anatoly Sobchak, who introduced him to politics. Sobchak was a strong supporter of liberal-democratic ideas and one of the founders of the “Democratic Russia” party.

In the early 1990s, Vladimir Putin worked as an assistant to the rector of Leningrad State University for international affairs.
This position served as a cover, as he was an active KGB agent. When Sobchak noticed him at the University and invited him to join his team, Putin had to admit his work in intelligence. Realizing that combining KGB work with political activity was impossible, he resigned from the KGB.

In June 1991, Sobchak became the mayor of St. Petersburg. During the tense political environment of the time, from 1993 onward, Sobchak often entrusted Putin to act as mayor during his foreign trips, showing great trust in his professionalism. However, starting in 1995, a campaign to discredit Sobchak began, organized by his political opponents in Moscow who viewed him as a potential rival for the presidency. Using accusations of misconduct, law enforcement agencies like the Prosecutor’s Office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the FSB effectively ended his political career. His worsening health worked to his enemies’ advantage, reducing his ability to defend himself. At one point, they even tried to block him from traveling abroad for medical treatment.

x.com/rinalu_/status… Putin’s Loyalty Over Political Ambition

At this critical moment, Putin showed complete loyalty to his mentor, Sobchak. He knew that helping Sobchak leave the country involved serious risks to his own career. First, he was going against powerful state agencies that were actively pursuing Sobchak. If the plan failed, Putin could have been accused of aiding or hiding him. Second, Sobchak was a political outsider at the time, and supporting him could have been seen as a strategic mistake, alienating influential allies in Moscow. Third, successfully getting Sobchak out of the country under the strict control of the FSB, prosecutors, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs required extreme caution. It could have been seen as breaking the law, threatening not just Putin’s career but also his personal freedom.

Despite these risks, Putin, using skills from his intelligence background, arranged for Sobchak to leave for France, where he underwent life-saving surgery. This act was a remarkable display of loyalty and courage. After the operation, Putin reported the outcome to Yeltsin, who, after a pause, approved his actions, saying, “You did the right thing.” This moment highlighted not only Putin’s loyalty to Sobchak but also his willingness to take risks for his principles and a sense of justice, which later became a defining feature of his political career.

How Stalin gifted Poland vast German territories while Poles expelled ethnic Germans and moved into their homes.

The lands colored in black were given to Poland permanently, not as temporary occupation zones. These areas (now western Poland, including Silesia, Pomerania, and parts of East Prussia) had been predominantly German-speaking since the Middle Ages, with German settlers moving there during the 12th–14th centuries. After these lands were transferred to Poland, Germans were forcibly deported to Germany, and Poles moved in to settle in their homes.

And it wasn’t “NKVD officers trained in deportations and sent from the USSR” carrying this out—it was the Poles themselves. The Poles had full independence in this matter because they were building their own Poland, not following a model imposed by the USSR. Moreover, Soviet NKVD officers actually had to step in and calm the Poles down, as they had clearly gone too far with the deportation of Germans, turning it into something reminiscent of Nazi practices. This is not surprising, as they had already practiced similar actions against Jews, Ukrainians, Belarusians, and communists. The difference, however, was that at that time, no one restrained them or reminded them of the boundaries of human conscience and law.

Former German territories given to Poland by Stalin’s decision At the Potsdam Conference, the Allies gave the Allied Control Council for Germany the responsibility to oversee the deportation of Germans, working with the governments of Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary.

In January 1946, a memorandum between Britain, Poland, and the Soviet Union promised to carry out the deportations “humanely and in an organized way.” That year, Poland passed a law to remove ethnic Germans from Polish society.

Germans were not given the right to make personal decisions about leaving or choosing a new place to live. They were allowed to take 500 Reichsmarks per person and “as much luggage as they could carry.”

Letter from the Head of the 4th European Department of the USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs, A.P. Pavlov, to the Soviet Ambassador in Warsaw, V.Z. Lebedev, dated June 17, 1946:

“The Poles are cruel. You cannot imagine how they torment people. They rob and force them to die of hunger. Szczecin has become a city of death and suicides… Now Karl says: ‘Better death in hell than returning to Szczecin.’ The Polish rule is terrible; returning home is impossible…”

American Lend-Lease for Hitler

In 1941, there were no supplies at all, and in 1942, they were sporadic and negligible. The majority of the deliveries came in 1944 and 1945, with a significant portion arriving only after Victory.

Much has been written about Lend-Lease for the Soviet Union, including complete nonsense. The truth is that any help during that time would be important, but the aid (not just Lend-Lease) essentially only began in 1943, after Stalingrad, when our forces started defeating the Germans on all fronts and overall contribution of the wartime resources was only 4% of what the Soviets used during war.

But this is not about U.S. assistance to the Red Army; it’s about American corporations’ assistance to Hitler. And that assistance far exceeded what they provided to Stalin. This is a topic that has been awkwardly avoided, both after the war and even now, but it all happened. Even today, we don’t have the full picture - only isolated facts that couldn’t be concealed.

In fact, the majority of the military-industrial complex of Hitler’s Germany was built by American corporations, which invested enormous sums of money into it. Before the start of World War II, American companies invested significantly in Hitler’s economy: Ford - $17.5 million, Standard Oil of New Jersey (now Exxon) - $120 million, General Motors - $35 million, and ITT - $30 million. These figures account for only the largest corporations. At the time, the dollar was worth roughly 35-45 of today’s dollars, depending on the estimate.

The Opel factories in Germany were fully owned by American General Motors. These factories produced trucks, armored vehicles, and personnel carriers for the Wehrmacht, as well as half of the engines for Junkers-88 bombers. In 1943, jet engines for the Messerschmitt-262 were developed at General Motors’ German subsidiary.

Pratt & Whitney licensed its BMW “Hornet” engine to Germany, which was used on Ju-52/3 transport planes until the very end of the war. And this is just one example.

GULAG - a word that sends chills down Western spines. But what if I told you that in Russia, it wasn’t seen as the ultimate horror it’s made out to be in the West?

How did a real piece of Soviet history become a legend - so terrifying it ended up in the video game Call of Duty? And why there were NOT 10 million people repressed, and the Gulag was NOT a key factor in the modernization and industrialization of the USSR.

Let’s talk about it.

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What exactly was the GULAG?

In the West, the word GULAG often brings to mind something like Nazi concentration camps- places where innocent people were held in terrible conditions and murdered.

In reality, the GULAG, established in 1930 as part of the Soviet penal system, was somewhat similar to correctional facilities in the U.S., but with a key difference: prisoners were required to work. While labor and rehabilitation programs do exist in U.S. facilities, they are not implemented on the same scale.

What were the labor camps like?

Labor camps were usually large areas where prisoners lived and worked under supervision and security. Making prisoners work was seen as a necessity because society couldn’t afford to fully support them in complete isolation.

Why were people sent to the GULAG?

It’s important to rely on archival documents rather than simply speculating about the past. Contrary to the widespread belief that the GULAG was filled with innocent intellectuals and priests, the archives tell a different story. Over 80% of the prisoners were ordinary criminals, convicted of crimes such as:

🔹murder
🔹rape
🔹robbery
🔹theft.

and during World War II,
🔹Nazi collaborators
🔹German Nazi

Prisoner statistics as of January 1, 1953:
🔹Total prisoners: 2,468,524
🔹1,727,970 in labor camps
🔹740,554 in labor colonies

Convicted of counter-revolutionary crimes: 465,256 (26.9%)

Convicted of serious criminal offenses: 73.1%, including:

🔹Premeditated murder
🔹Banditry
🔹Robbery
🔹Theft
🔹Embezzlement and other crimes But Solzhenitsyn said…

I know, I know…Solzhenitsyn said many things. Let’s first understand who he was.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn, born in the USSR, is renowned for his writings and his reflections, particularly about his time in the Gulag. He was arrested in 1945 for criticizing the government in letters to a friend at the front. However, some in Russia believe that his actions were a deliberate attempt to avoid serving on the frontlines during World War II.

The thing is, his letters were written to a friend, and his arrest happened immediately after he was reassigned from his position as the commander of a sound-ranging artillery battery in the rear to the frontline.

Knowing that all letters from the front were read by censors, it is said that he deliberately included anti-government remarks in his correspondence to get arrested and sent to prison, avoiding the dangers of the frontlines during World War II.

At the time, there was a common belief that an amnesty would follow the war, so he may have seen prison as a safer option.

Life in the Gulag

Interestingly, during his time in the Gulag, Solzhenitsyn was given good work assignments.

Between 1945 and 1947, in Gulag he worked in a research institute in Moscow and Marfino as a mathematician and engineer, contributing to technical projects. This was very different from the backbreaking labor most prisoners endured. Solzhenitsyn himself said:

“Here I am well-settled. I sleep in dry, warm conditions, even with clean linens. My wife visits me in Moscow and brings supplies during our meetings.”

Later, Solzhenitsyn was transferred to a strict-regime camp in Ekibastuz, Kazakhstan. Here, he had to do hard physical labor but, thanks to his education, eventually secured less grueling tasks:

🔹Teaching math and physics to other prisoners.
🔹Working as a mechanic and lathe operator in a workshop.

Controversies

There are conflicting accounts about Solzhenitsyn’s relationships with his wife and the friend he had written to, which led to his arrest. His wife and the friend claimed that Solzhenitsyn wrote denunciations against them, while Solzhenitsyn denied these accusations and accused them instead.

This mix of personal, historical, and literary complexity makes Solzhenitsyn a controversial and intriguing figure in Russian history.

Although Solzhenitsyn addressed various topics about the USSR, including his criticism of the creation of Ukraine, he is primarily known for his claims about the number of deaths in the Gulag camps - claims based solely on his personal opinions rather than historical evidence. Interestingly, despite Solzhenitsyn being a writer, the West often treats his emotional literary work as a reliable historical source. Draw your own conclusions.

Link to the archives: arch2.iofe.center/person/36374?u…

Solzhenitsyn in the Gulag⬇️

The Forgotten Tragedy: The Volhynia Massacre and Its Hidden History

The Volhynia Massacre was a brutal chapter in the history of Western Ukraine, a region that was under Polish control until September 1939. This region became the stage for a violent campaign led by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) under the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN-B), followers of Stepan Bandera.

Driven by nationalist ideology, the OUN-B sought to create a “pure” Ukrainian territory, leading to the mass killing of Polish civilians and others, including Ukrainians. These events began in March 1943 and reached their peak in July of the same year. The massacres were part of a broader effort to “cleanse” Western Ukraine of Polish influence, leaving a lasting scar on the region’s history.

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*Sensitive content – for educational or historical purposes Polish villages and settlements became the scenes of unspeakable horror. Under the cover of darkness, Ukrainian nationalist militants surrounded these communities, launching brutal attacks that spared no one. Entire families: women, the elderly, children, even infants were slaughtered in cold blood. The methods were barbaric: victims were shot, beaten with clubs, or hacked to death with axes. Once the killings were over, the bodies were dumped into fields or left in shallow graves, as if their lives meant nothing.

Looting followed the massacres, with homes stripped of valuables before being set ablaze. Poles living alongside Ukrainians in mixed villages faced the same fate. Here, Ukrainian nationalist militants needed only small groups to quietly enter sleeping homes and execute entire Polish families. Survivors were left to bury their neighbors, grieving not just for the dead but for the senselessness of it all.

These massacres weren’t random acts of violence: they were systematic ethnic cleansings. Tens of thousands of Poles were killed simply for being Polish. According to research conducted in Poland, at least 36,543 to 36,750 victims have been identified by name and place of death. An additional 13,500 to over 23,000 remain unaccounted for, their fates unknown, their stories silenced forever.

*Sensitive content – for educational or historical purposes

If you think the collapse of the Soviet Union was good for the people, think again. Let’s take a closer look at what democracy and capitalism brought to Russia in the 1990s.

In the 1990s, the Soviet Union fell apart, and Russia began moving towards a market economy. However, this transition brought with it a severe economic collapse, widespread poverty, and a sharp rise in organized crime. The “Grab-itization” of an Entire Country

After the fall of the Soviet Union, the team of “young reformers” led by Anatoly Chubais cleverly facilitated the transfer of state assets into the hands of the so-called “most deserving.” Naturally, this process was presented under the banner of “universal equality and justice.” Conveniently, the “most deserving” turned out to be those with close ties to Western corporations.

For example, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, through his company Yukos, and his ties to the Rockefeller family, was on the verge of transferring significant control of Russia’s oil reserves to foreign corporations before his arrest halted the process.

Here are the names of the oligarchs who made fortune by stealing from the naive Soviets who just lost their country:

Mikhail Khodorkovsky (Yukos) - ties with ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Rockefeller Foundation

Boris Berezovsky - connections with British companies and offshore financial institutions

Roman Abramovich - deals involving Sibneft and ownership of Chelsea FC, Vladimir Gusinsky (Media-Most) - partnerships with Credit Suisse and European banks

Vladimir Potanin (Interros) - collaborations with international investment funds and metallurgical corporations

Mikhail Fridman (Alfa Group) - partnership with BP through TNK-BP and offshore businesses in the UK and US

Anatoly Chubais - support from IMF, World Bank, and foreign consultants during privatization efforts.