On August 23, Europe honours the memory of the victims of totalitarian and authoritarian regimes

On August 23, the day the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was signed in 1939, Europe commemorates the victims of totalitarian and authoritarian regimes. At the official level, the Day of Mourning has been marked annually in the countries of the European Union since 2009. The symbol of this day is a black ribbon, so in many countries, the mournful date is called Black Ribbon Day.

They chose the date of August 23 deliberately because it was on this day that the two totalitarian worlds – Nazism and Stalinism – divided their spheres of influence and stood side by side. Although, in reality, each of them, pretending to be a partner, dreamt of the destruction of the other and complete domination of the continent.

In the last century, Europe was equally affected by both the Nazi regime and the communist regime. The result was millions of victims, genocides, mass deportations and other terrible crimes. However, while the Nazi was condemned, and its main actors and accomplices were punished, then the crimes of communism remain unpunished.

Ukraine suffered many disasters from both regimes – Hitler’s and Stalin’s. The last of them committed one of the greatest crimes of the 20th century on the European continent – the Holodomor genocide. The Ukrainian nation is still recovering from the criminal and destructive policies of these regimes.

Today, we are witnessing the rise of a new authoritarian regime under Putin. He has been responsible for numerous crimes against humanity and war crimes. The large-scale aggression against Ukraine has become the largest and longest war in Europe since World War II, leading to the destruction of the international order. This shows that the lessons of the past have not been learned, and the world still lacks effective mechanisms to counter such threats decisively.

Today is a day to remind Europe that Nazism and Communism are no different from each other. And there can be no indulgences or flirting with totalitarian regimes. Realising this will allow us to better understand the nature of the current Russian state, which grew on the foundations of a destroyed totalitarian regime and never managed to become a democracy.