Putin Says Russia and China Oppose Nazi Glorification and Revisionism

What changed

Vladimir Putin said Russia and China share a firm opposition to revising the history of the Second World War, glorifying Nazis or disparaging Soviet soldiers who fought against them.

In an interview with Xinhua ahead of a reported China visit, Putin invoked the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials, the UN Charter and attacks on Soviet memorials. He also accused parts of Europe of moving toward remilitarisation and criticised Japan’s renewed militarism.

Why it matters

This turns historical memory into a visible part of the Russia-China relationship. Putin is not presenting the issue as a domestic argument about monuments or textbooks. He is tying it to the postwar international order, arguing that the war’s outcome is legally settled and cannot be reopened.

That language gives Moscow and Beijing a shared political line before Putin’s reported meetings with Xi Jinping and other leaders at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit. It also links remembrance of the war to current disputes over military policy in Europe and Japan.

The practical significance depends on what follows the rhetoric. The report does not independently verify the claims about damaged memorials, historical revisionism or European remilitarisation, and its timing for Putin’s visit is inconsistent: it describes the trip as upcoming while listing dates from 31 August to 3 September.