After this commission was set up, "a number of respectable people have said that it is not good because it can strangle debate and revive a Soviet-era situation, where only one "right" point of view existed and all other opinions were declared amoral and non-scientific," Medvedev said at a meeting with heads of cultural institutions in Veliky Novgorod.
“I did not want this to happen. Those who are saying this have misunderstood me,” the Russian president said.
“What I mean is that events on which there is not and should not be
debate and which are understood by the whole of mankind the same should
not be used in the interests of a group of politicians who are pursuing
ordinary political goals,” he said.
“Regrettably, our close neighbors have embarked on this path,” Medvedev said.
“I thought it would be right not to take a passive stance on such
events – when we are told that we started the war [World War II] and we
are nodding in agreement. I wanted us to have an internally motivated,
scientific and, at the same time, civil position,” the president said.
“These are the objectives of the commission’s work,” he added.
