Kremlin propagandist calls for reclaiming 'eternally Russian' lands
Margarita Simonjan, one of the most well-known Kremlin propagandists and a favourite of Putin, called for the recovery of "eternally Russian lands" that Lithuania and Poland took from Russia in the 14th century.
If we look at our history, we have fought for centuries, from the time of the Mongol yoke, to reclaim our native lands—our own. Lithuania and Poland took over our western territories, exploiting our weakness during the Tatar-Mongol yoke. We must reclaim them," said Simonjan on the program "Evening with Vladimir Solovyov" on the channel "Rossiya 1" at 8:00 PM Eastern Time.
Putin's favourite's words were quoted by many Russian media, eagerly adding, as the ura.ru service did, a list of lands supposedly taken by Poland and Lithuania. Thus, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and later the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, included Black Ruthenia with Grodno, Novogrudok, Slonim, and the Polotsk Principality, currently located in Belarus—a close ally of Russia. In addition, the lands of the Kievan Principality, Volhynia, and Podolia, which are now part of modern-day Ukraine. There is also mention of the temporarily annexed Smolensk Principality, which is today's part of Russia.
Simonjan: Russia will not give up its lands
URA.ru also states that Poland itself participated in the territorial expansion of the country at the expense of Russian lands, especially after the Union of Krewo in 1385, when an agreement was made to unite with Lithuania against a common enemy—the Teutonic Order and Moscow, and the Poles "appropriated" the Halych-Volyn Principality and Western Podolia.
The chief Kremlin propagandist, in her conversation with Solovyov, did not fail to emphasize that the Russian Federation will not take away other people's lands. However, she stressed that it will not give up its own.
