Saturday, February 4, 2023
No Result
View All Result
  • Media
Support Us
Macdonald-Laurier Institute
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Who Makes MLI Work
    • Tenth Anniversary
    • Jobs
  • Experts
    • Experts Directory
    • In Memoriam
  • Issues
    • Domestic Policy Program
      • Agriculture and Agri-Food
      • Canada’s Political Tradition
      • Economic policy
      • Energy
      • Health Care
      • Innovation
      • Justice
      • Social issues
      • Telecoms
    • Foreign Policy Program
      • Foreign Affairs
      • National Defence
      • National Security
    • Indigenous Affairs Program
  • Projects
    • COVID and after: A mandate for recovery
    • COVID Misery Index
      • Beyond Lockdown
    • Provincial COVID Misery Index
    • Centre for Advancing Canada’s Interests Abroad
      • Dragon at the Door
      • The Eavesdropping Dragon: Huawei
    • An Intellectual Property Strategy for Canada
    • Speak for Ourselves
    • Canada and the Indo-Pacific Initiative
    • DisInfoWatch.org
    • The Transatlantic Program
    • Indigenous Prosperity at a Crossroads
      • Aboriginal Canada and Natural Resources
    • Talkin’ in the Free World with Mariam Memarsadeghi
    • Past Projects
      • Justice Report Card
      • Munk Senior Fellows
      • A Mandate for Canada
      • Confederation Series
      • Fiscal Reform
      • The Canadian Century project
      • Fixing Canadian health care
      • Internal trade
      • From a mandate for change
      • Size of government in Canada
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
      • MLI Dinners
      • Great Canadian Debates
  • Latest News
  • Libraries
    • Inside Policy Magazine
      • Inside Policy Back Issues
      • Inside Policy Blog
    • Papers
    • Columns
    • Books
    • Commentary
    • Straight Talk
    • Video
    • Multimedia
    • Podcasts
    • Leading Economic Indicator
    • Labour Market Report
    • MLI in the Media
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Who Makes MLI Work
    • Tenth Anniversary
    • Jobs
  • Experts
    • Experts Directory
    • In Memoriam
  • Issues
    • Domestic Policy Program
      • Agriculture and Agri-Food
      • Canada’s Political Tradition
      • Economic policy
      • Energy
      • Health Care
      • Innovation
      • Justice
      • Social issues
      • Telecoms
    • Foreign Policy Program
      • Foreign Affairs
      • National Defence
      • National Security
    • Indigenous Affairs Program
  • Projects
    • COVID and after: A mandate for recovery
    • COVID Misery Index
      • Beyond Lockdown
    • Provincial COVID Misery Index
    • Centre for Advancing Canada’s Interests Abroad
      • Dragon at the Door
      • The Eavesdropping Dragon: Huawei
    • An Intellectual Property Strategy for Canada
    • Speak for Ourselves
    • Canada and the Indo-Pacific Initiative
    • DisInfoWatch.org
    • The Transatlantic Program
    • Indigenous Prosperity at a Crossroads
      • Aboriginal Canada and Natural Resources
    • Talkin’ in the Free World with Mariam Memarsadeghi
    • Past Projects
      • Justice Report Card
      • Munk Senior Fellows
      • A Mandate for Canada
      • Confederation Series
      • Fiscal Reform
      • The Canadian Century project
      • Fixing Canadian health care
      • Internal trade
      • From a mandate for change
      • Size of government in Canada
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
      • MLI Dinners
      • Great Canadian Debates
  • Latest News
  • Libraries
    • Inside Policy Magazine
      • Inside Policy Back Issues
      • Inside Policy Blog
    • Papers
    • Columns
    • Books
    • Commentary
    • Straight Talk
    • Video
    • Multimedia
    • Podcasts
    • Leading Economic Indicator
    • Labour Market Report
    • MLI in the Media
No Result
View All Result
Macdonald-Laurier Institute

Do Not Forget Lessons of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact: MLI Commentary by Garry Kasparov

November 4, 2019
in Commentary, Europe and Russia, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy Program, Latest News, Releases
Reading Time: 3 mins read
A A

OTTAWA, ON (November 4, 2019): Just over 80 years ago, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was signed by the Nazis and Soviets, formally establishing the criminal collusion between two dictatorial regimes that led to the Second World War. While too many have forgotten the significance of the Pact, the takeaways from this dark day in history are still relevant today.

In the Macdonald-Laurier Institute’s latest commentary paper titled Do Not Forget the Lessons of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact,  Russian democracy advocate and world-renowned chess champion Garry Kasparov makes the case that our current environment of disinformation and fake news hearkens back to August of 1939.

As the commentary explains, the very facts regarding the Pact are being distorted by Russian President Vladimir Putin as part of an effort to justify his invasion of Ukraine. By distorting history, Putin has been working to position himself as a successor in stature to Stalin, making excuses for Soviet brutality in an effort to condone his own conduct.

According to Kasparov, this campaign of historical revisionism and influence has resulted in growing authoritarian influence in the world. He argues that the lessons of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact are being largely forgotten by the West.

“There are new Molotov-Ribbentrop pacts going on all around us today, and they are taking place out in the open, not in secret,” writes Kasparov. “An axis of autocracy has developed, with cooperation between authoritarian regimes and their would-be imitators in the free world.”

This growing acceptance and ambivalence towards pro-Putin rhetoric, alongside an abandonment of “principle for profit,” is contributing to the erosion of global freedom. Kasparov argues that the lack of willingness to stop authoritarian incursions goes hand in hand with widespread historical revisionism.

“Amnesia and revisionism aren’t exclusive to Russia. Several initiatives to recognize the crimes and atrocities of Communism have failed to pass through the European Parliament. Why? Why is the swastika banned and reviled, but the hammer and sickle seen as a valid political symbol, or even as sentimental kitsch?”

In order to stymie the aggression coming from the Kremlin and other authoritarian regimes, Kasparov argues that there must be a will to use the West’s dominant position to push back against the belligerent behaviour of Putin and other bad actors.

“Let us see with clear eyes what is happening so that we may do what must be done. Engagement with Putin has failed; it has only spread his corruption and emboldened him,” writes Kasparov. “If you want to change Russia’s behaviour, you must threaten Putin’s grip on power in Russia.”

To do this, Kasparov recommends a number of different measures which Canada can lead on, including:

  • Applying sanctions against top officials in authoritarian regimes;
  • Reducing Europe’s energy dependence on Russia; and
  • Preventing oligarchs and senior officials from visiting Western countries.

“It is all well and good to make the record clear on Molotov-Ribbentrop… especially on Stalin’s role as a protagonist in launching World War II,” Kasparov explains. “Let us use that lesson and call things as they are. Lies are lies. Murder is murder. Dictators are dictators. And just as we cannot allow history to be revised, we must not allow what is happening now, right in front of our eyes, to be distorted.”

To learn more about the lessons of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and the threats posed by those who would seek to revise history, read the full commentary paper here.

***

Garry Kasparov came to international fame at the age of 22 as the youngest world chess champion in history in 1985. His famous matches against the IBM super-computer Deep Blue in 1996-97 were key to bringing artificial intelligence, and chess, into the mainstream. Kasparov was one of the first prominent Soviets to call for democratic and market reforms; In 2017, he founded the Renew Democracy Initiative, dedicated to promoting the principles of a free world.

For more information please contact:

Brett Byers
Communications and Digital Media Manager
613-482-8327 x105
brett.byers-lane@macdonaldlaurier.ca

 

Tags: disinformationRussia
Previous Post

The Buy American Blues: New Trade Deals Step Back from Merit Procurement – Chris Sands for Inside Policy

Next Post

Ep. 37 – Turkey, the Kurds, and the ‘Syria Problem’ with Shuvaloy Majumdar and Balkan Devlen

Related Posts

Stronger enforcement of the Competition Act is better than a dramatic overhaul
Commentary

Stronger enforcement of the Competition Act is better than a dramatic overhaul

February 2, 2023
Most Canadians think prisons should continue to house male and female prisoners separately
Releases

Most Canadians think prisons should continue to house male and female prisoners separately

February 2, 2023
Defending democracies from disinformation: A new imperative for Canada-Japan strategic cooperation
Past Events

Webinar panel video: Defending democracies from disinformation – A new imperative for Canada-Japan strategic cooperation

February 2, 2023
Next Post
Pod Bless Canada Ep. 3 – Indigenous People and the Natural Resource Economy with Crowley and Coates

Ep. 37 - Turkey, the Kurds, and the ‘Syria Problem’ with Shuvaloy Majumdar and Balkan Devlen

Macdonald-Laurier Institute

323 Chapel Street, Suite #300
Ottawa, Ontario
K1N 7Z2 Canada

613.482.8327

info@macdonaldlaurier.ca
MLI directory

Follow us on

Newsletter Signup

First Name
Last Name
Email Address

Support Us

Support the Macdonald-Laurier Institute to help ensure that Canada is one of the best governed countries in the world. Click below to learn more or become a sponsor.

Support Us

Inside Policy Magazine

  • Current Issue
  • Back Issues
  • Advertising
  • Inside Policy Blog
  • Privacy Policy

© 2021 Macdonald-Laurier Institute. All Rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Who Makes MLI Work
    • Tenth Anniversary
    • Jobs
  • Experts
    • Experts Directory
    • In Memoriam
  • Issues
    • Domestic Policy Program
      • Agriculture and Agri-Food
      • Canada’s Political Tradition
      • Economic policy
      • Energy
      • Health Care
      • Innovation
      • Justice
      • Social issues
      • Telecoms
    • Foreign Policy Program
      • Foreign Affairs
      • National Defence
      • National Security
    • Indigenous Affairs Program
  • Projects
    • COVID and after: A mandate for recovery
    • COVID Misery Index
      • Beyond Lockdown
    • Provincial COVID Misery Index
    • Centre for Advancing Canada’s Interests Abroad
      • Dragon at the Door
      • The Eavesdropping Dragon: Huawei
    • An Intellectual Property Strategy for Canada
    • Speak for Ourselves
    • Canada and the Indo-Pacific Initiative
    • DisInfoWatch.org
    • The Transatlantic Program
    • Indigenous Prosperity at a Crossroads
      • Aboriginal Canada and Natural Resources
    • Talkin’ in the Free World with Mariam Memarsadeghi
    • Past Projects
      • Justice Report Card
      • Munk Senior Fellows
      • A Mandate for Canada
      • Confederation Series
      • Fiscal Reform
      • The Canadian Century project
      • Fixing Canadian health care
      • Internal trade
      • From a mandate for change
      • Size of government in Canada
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
      • MLI Dinners
      • Great Canadian Debates
  • Latest News
  • Libraries
    • Inside Policy Magazine
      • Inside Policy Back Issues
      • Inside Policy Blog
    • Papers
    • Columns
    • Books
    • Commentary
    • Straight Talk
    • Video
    • Multimedia
    • Podcasts
    • Leading Economic Indicator
    • Labour Market Report
    • MLI in the Media

© 2021 Macdonald-Laurier Institute. All Rights reserved.

IDEAS CHANGE THE WORLD!Have the latest Canadian thought leadership delivered straight to your inbox.
First Name
Last Name
Email address

No thanks, I’m not interested.