Photo credit: the press center of MIA Russia Today
On December 14, the Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Education and Science, Dean of the Faculty of Public Administration of Moscow State University, Chairman of the Board of the Russkiy Mir Foundation Vyacheslav Nikonov presented his new books published during the pandemic: "Unconsciousness. Who started World War II", "28 moments of spring 1945", " Lenin. The Man Who Changed Everything" and "Russian Civilization". "They have different destinies - some have been prepared for months and years, others I wrote online, - but they all came out during the pandemic," Nikonov wrote about his work on the books on Facebook.
As Vyacheslav Nikonov admitted, when he began to write the book about Lenin, he thought he knew everything about him. "It turned out that I didn’t know anything," he commented, noting that during the creation of the book he had read all 55 volumes of Lenin's own compositions and many memoirs of people who knew him.
Nikonov is sure that Lenin is not surpassed in his influence on the course of all Russian, and indeed world history. According to the author of the book, Vladimir Lenin abandoned the foundations on which human society had been held for thousands of years. He canceled the property, and as a result, "the people had nothing." He rejected the old Christian religion and morality, replacing them with communism, created as an alternative religion, with its moral values.
At the same time, according to Nikonov, Lenin was the record holder for the destructive impact on the economy. For the real six years in power, the Russian economy has shrunk 5 times, and industrial production - 10 times.
"Unconsciousness. Who started the Second World War" - the idea to publish this book came to Nikonov in the year of the 75th anniversary of the victory and largely due to heated debates about the role of the Soviet Union in the war and who is responsible for its start. It is no secret that in many European countries, especially in Poland, the Baltic states, Ukraine, the USSR is given the same responsibility for unleashing World War II as Germany, and Stalin is put on a par with Hitler.
Considering the events leading to the war, the historian rejects the generally accepted date for the start of the war - September 1, 1939, when Germany invaded Poland. But Poland was not the first country to be attacked by Germany. In Nikonov’s opinion, the war on Germany was declared by France and Great Britain. Meanwhile, the USSR had not yet entered the war at that time, moreover, the historian is sure, by that time the war had been going on for several years, and it did not start in Europe.
Nikonov considers the date of the Japanese attack on China to be the real date of the beginning of World War II, which happened back in 1931. "Already by 1933, Japan controlled a territory on the territory of China four times the territory of Poland, and by 1939, China's losses exceeded 10 million people," he cited the figures.
"28 Moments of Spring 1945" - the book is the result of the eponymous Internet project by Vyacheslav Nikonov. The idea was that every day (day after day), starting from April 12, give a story of what happened on that day 75 years ago. And it's not only about the actions of the Soviet troops, but also about world diplomacy - about what happened in the capitals of all the powers participating in the war - Moscow, Washington, London and Berlin.
"There are days in the history of mankind when history is compressed," said Vyacheslav Nikonov. "Each of these days has absorbed so much history as no other period in the history of mankind."
The countdown starts on April 12. This is the date of death of US President Roosevelt, the creator of allied relations, whose name was associated with the hope for the peaceful coexistence of the great powers after the end of the war. Truman, who replaced him, like Churchill, was much more hostile towards the USSR, as a result of which the Iron Curtain and the Cold War followed after World War II.
"This book is about the great feat of the people, about our Victory, about Victory, which, unfortunately, no one except us can understand and appreciate," the author is sure.
Several more of his books will be published very soon. "Pushkin. Bolodin Autumn"- this book was created as a result of another Internet project by Vyacheslav Nikonov, dedicated to the 190th anniversary of the Boldin Autumn and the 800th anniversary of Nizhny Novgorod, which will be celebrated in 2021. The translation of Nikonov's book "Molotov. Our cause is just" will soon be released in France.
Russkiy Mir
