RIA Novosti | 26Jan2010 | staff
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20100126/157684758.html

Russia's chief rabbi accuses Ukraine of distorting history

Russia's chief rabbi called on Tuesday Ukraine's views on World War Two "false and distorted" after Kiev posthumously honored a nationalist accused by Russia of Nazi collaboration.

Outgoing Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko recently awarded the honorary title of national hero to Stepan Bandera, whose Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists briefly allied with Nazi Germany during the 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union.

The Soviet authorities accused Bandera, who fought both the Nazis and the Soviets in his quest for an independent Ukraine, of numerous acts of murder and terrorism and authorized his assassination by the KGB in Munich, Germany, on October 15, 1959.

"Unfortunately, what we see in Ukraine is terrifying. This is unacceptable for us," Berl Lazar said during a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

"We Jews will never forget what the Red Army did for us in World War Two," he went on.

Russian leaders have said that they are committed to fighting attempts to revise the history of World War Two, when the Red Army played the key role in defeating Nazi Germany.

Putin said he kept close track on debates over "the distortion of history and Holocaust denial."

MOSCOW, January 26, 2010 (RIA Novosti)

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