Russia uses pseudo-history to pressure neighboring countries — CPD

The Center for Countering Disinformation (CPD) stated this on its website, Ukrinform reports.

In particular, analysts at EUvsDisinfo draw attention to the 400-page "History of Lithuania" published in 2025 by the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, with a foreword by Sergey Lavrov.

This "academic study" is in fact another product of Kremlin propaganda, through which Russia seeks to undermine the very fact of Lithuanian statehood and justify its aggressive behavior, the CPD noted.

The book ignores soviet crimes, claims that Lithuania "was never independent," that its occupation by the USSR was "beneficial," and that the restoration of independence in 1991 was "undemocratic." Current Lithuanian politicians are portrayed as "russophobic radicals."

The book is part of a series. Earlier, the institute published a "History of Ukraine" filled with the same falsifications that underpin Putin's manifesto on the "historical unity," which the Kremlin used to justify the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The author of both books is Maksim Grigoriev. He is not a historian but an active participant in Kremlin information operations against Ukraine.

Pseudo-historical publications are a tool of Moscow's systemic policy. The Kremlin rewrites the past when reality does not align with its imperial ambitions, the CPD concluded.

As Ukrinform previously reported, Russian propaganda abroad is inextricably linked to the Kremlin's special services.