DISINFO: Neo-Nazis were the cornerstone for the power shift in Ukraine
SUMMARY
In 2014 in Ukraine, the external powers relied on neo-Nazis for violent change of power, and today we see how they effectively dictate their will on authorities.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative portraying Ukrainian politics and society as dominated by Nazi/fascist ideology. Linking some countries with Nazism is a widespread disinformation tactic used by pro-Kremlin outlets. Read more in our analysis "Nazi east, Nazi west, Nazi over the cuckoo's nest".
Nazi and Communist ideologies were banned by Ukrainian law in 2015. Far-right groups had a very limited presence during the protests and went on to obtain abysmal results in the 2014 presidential and parliamentary elections. During the 2019 election cycle, the far-right managed to sustain an even more tremendous failure; the highest-rated nationalist candidate, Ruslan Koshulynskyy, won 1.62% of the vote whereas Svoboda won 2.16% of the national vote, falling far short of the 5% minimum guaranteeing entry into parliament.
Furthermore, the myth of Nazi-ruled Ukraine has been a cornerstone of Russian disinformation about the country since the very beginning of the 2013-14 Euromaidan protests, when it was used to discredit the pro-European popular uprising in Kyiv and, subsequently, the broader pro-Western shift in Ukraine's foreign policy.
This article featured another claim that a colour revolution scenario was thwarted in Belarus.
Read similar cases in our database that claim that the Western-backed coup in Ukraine has torn the country asunder; or that the 2014 coup turned Ukraine into a Nazi state; or that Ukraine encourages the honouring of Nazi collaborators; or even that Joe Biden was part of the Obama Administration which fomented a Nazi coup in Ukraine in 2014.