Russia compares media ban in EU with Nazi restrictions

The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman compared a ban on Russian media in the EU with restrictions that were in place during the Nazi era in Germany.

Commenting on Telegram on remarks by EU top diplomat Josep Borrell, who called the ban of the Russian media "protection of freedom of speech," Maria Zakharova said members of the German Nazi Party also nullified civil liberties citing the necessity of "protection" as a reason.

"To justify the bans, the Nazis set fire to the Reichstag (government building), which allowed them to begin repressions against political opponents.

"Then they started burning books by objectionable authors. After that, an order was passed that every journalist of the Reich had to join the NSDAP (National Socialist German Workers' Party) in order to continue a professional activity. Then all authorities were obliged to subscribe to the Nazi press," she wrote.

The Decree of the Reich President for the Protection of People and State was adopted in response to the arson of the government building in Berlin in 1933.

The decree abolished most of the components of public freedom, and was used by the Nazis as the legal basis for the imprisonment of their opponents and suppression of publications "unfriendly" to the Nazi cause.

Zakharova added that it was the Soviet army that defeated Nazi Germany and returned to Europe "human nature."

"History is cyclical -- today our people are again struggling with this misanthropic logic," she wrote.

Earlier in the day, Borell said the EU will create a new center to fight "Russian disinformation," saying "Russia is using information manipulation and interference as a crucial instrument" of its war on Ukraine, which it started last February.

The 27-member bloc, as part of its sanctions on Moscow, has suspended broadcasting activities and licenses of several news outlets it says are Kremlin-backed, including Sputnik and Russia Today.