For many years after the Second World War, the French stubbornly pretended that their country had been a territory of Resistance during the occupation, and directors with a critical view of this myth were virtually ostracized. The French public has only now grown ready for a candid discussion of this topic: three films are arriving in national release at once — about De Gaulle, his supporters, opponents, and «apolitical» conformists. The latter, unfortunately, are usually in the majority.

#WorldWarII #historicalmemory #movie #Vichyregime #resistance #France #CharlesdeGaulle

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In April 2026, in Vilnius, on the right bank of the Neris, next to the National Art Gallery, the cherry blossoms bloomed once again. Two hundred Japanese cherry trees, planted here a quarter of a century ago in the Chiune Sugihara Park, turned the riverbank into a cloud of white and pink. The name of the Japanese diplomat inscribed on a stone at the park entrance connects the history of this small Baltic country with the history of a Jewish community that was almost entirely destroyed. And it is also the story of a man who saved thousands of desperate people, defying bureaucratic orders.

#Vilnius #WorldWarII #diplomacy #Jews #Israel #History #Lithuania #reportage #sakura #resistance #theUSSR #holocaust #ChiuneSugihara

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Last Saturday, the Paris resource center Espace Libertés Reforum Space hosted a presentation of Ksenia Kirillova’s poetry collection, illustrated by Masha Moskalyova, «A Hillock on Canvas.» This is the first release of the Most.Media publishing program, the first publication experience for the 16-year-old artist, and the first in-person meeting of all participants in the creative process. At the public talk, together with Masha’s father, Alexey Moskalyov, we discussed creativity in political emigration — as well as the circumstances that led all participants in this discussion into emigration: the war in Ukraine and the repression in Russia against its opponents. We are publishing an abridged transcript of our conversation for easier reading.

#recruitment #WarinUkraine #children #DianaandIrinaLoginov #discussion #dissidents #west #MashaandAlexeyMoskalyov #prose #repressions #Parents #Russia #SergeyEfron #resistance #specialservices #poems #Emigration

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Critics accuse the creators of the documentary «Mr. Nobody vs. Putin» of exaggerating the scale of brainwashing in Russian schools for a Western audience. But researcher Dmitry Tsibiryov (project «Not the Norm») knows: in reality, the situation is now much worse than shown in the film.

#VladimirPutin #WarinUkraine #children #discussion #documentaryfilm #lifeinRussia #Oscar #PavelTalankin #propaganda #family #resistance #school

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Already as president, de Gaulle liked to say that he was the only politician defending France's interests because he was criticized by both the left and the right. There is some truth to this.

#20thcentury #WorldWarII #elections #democracy #europe #west #historicalmyth #History #conservatism #republic #resistance #France #CharlesdeGaulle

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On August 15, 1945, the Supreme Court of France sentenced Marshal Pétain to death on charges of collusion with the enemy and treason. This historic verdict marked the end of the long journey of the World War I hero who became a symbol of French collaborationism with the Third Reich. It also marked the beginning of a harsh period of postwar purges and persecutions against French citizens who cooperated with the Vichy authorities. The personality of the marshal himself remains a subject of debate, speculation, and contradictions even 80 years later.

#WorldWarII #GeneraldeGaulle #Hitler #SpanishCivilWar #europe #historicalmyth #History #collaborationism #MarshalPétain #FirstWorldWar #rights #resistance #fascism #France

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