Jun 23 2009
History in the passive voice
Russian President Dmitrii Medvedev’s Chief of Staff Sergei Naryshkin spoke on June 17 in Irkutsk in connection with the ongoing saga of the fight for historical truth against unnamed falsifiers. His statement shows masterful use of the Russian language’s enormous capacity for the passive voice and concealment of agency:
“Some people warn us against the politicising of history. The commission will never do it. Unfortunately, another process is going on: the falsified history is being politicised in the offices of top officials of some countries. Problems of practical policy in relations with Russia are being substituted by discussions about the past. Territorial and material claims to Russia are being formed, and questions on some compensations are being raised on the basis of pseudo-historic materials.”
Which people? Which officials? Which countries? Which claims? Which questions?
I can name one example of history falsified in the name of scoring political points: S. N. Kovalyov’s article on Poland’s responsibility for World War II. Sadly, he works for the Russian government.
Source: Itar-Tass, via Johnson’s Russia List.