VLADIMIR Putin has made it illegal to compare Soviets to Nazis in a bizarre new law set to come into effect immediately.

       The legislation aims to whitewash the terrible atrocities committed by the former Soviet leader, including his early alliance with Hitler and The Great Purge.

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       Vladimir Putin has signed off on a new deal that will incriminate certain portrayals of Soviet history Credit: Getty 6

       It effectively bans the comparison of Soviets to Nazis Credit: Rex Features

       According to reports, Putin signed the deal last night which bans the publication of any material that draws parallels between the Soviets and The Third Reich.

       Instead, he has decreed that Russia’s “humanitarian mission" in liberating Europe must be recognised, and that any material that denies the Red Army’s “decisive role” in defeating Hitler should be removed.

       Russia was part of the Allied forces and were responsible for the defeat of the Nazi’s in World War II.

       It included the Battle of Berlin in 1945 that forced the Germans surrender and led to the death of leader Adolf Hitler.

       But, prior to the global conflict, Russia notably made a secret peace agreement with the Nazi regime to outline their sphere of influence across Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland.

       A month later, the two countries invaded Poland, carving it up into Nazi west and Soviet east, before Stalin went on to annex Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and parts of Romania.

       Poland was crushed as a result of the conflict waged by Moscow and Berlin.

       More than three million people perished in Nazi-occupied Poland and an estimated 500,000 in the Soviet occupied part.

       As a result, war was declared on Germany two days after the invasion of Poland as Russia invariably took part of the blame.

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       The law appears to whitewash the atrocities committed by former Soviet leader Joseph Stalin Credit: Getty 6

       Prior to the war and joining the allied forces, Stalin made a pact with Nazi leader Adolf Hitler Credit: Getty 6

       The two forces devastated Eastern Europe as millions of people died in Poland alone Credit: Getty - Contributor 6

       The act by Russia played it's part in the start of the Second World War - a fact Putin has disputed Credit: Getty

       The new law, which was approved by issued by the Kremlin in January, follows a period of bitter dispute with Poland over who caused the Second World War.

       Two years ago, the European parliament adopted a resolution which agreed that the Soviet Union and Germany jointly "paved the way for the outbreak of the Second World War" in August, 1939, with the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.

       Putin hit back in a press conference in December 2019, claiming that the Soviet Union was the last country in Europe to sign a non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany after the other powers appeased him.

       "Stalin did not stain himself with direct contact with Hitler whereas the French and British leaders met with him and signed some documents," he said.

       He added that Soviet forces only entered Poland, "after the Polish government lost control over their armed forces."

       Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called Putin a "liar."

       The United States even entered the row, with Georgette Mosbacher, the American ambassador to Warsaw, tweeting: "Dear President Putin, Hitler and Stalin colluded to start WWII.

       "That is a fact. Poland was a victim of this horrible conflict."

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       World War II aside, the new law also appears to whitewash the atrocities of Stalin, instead painting him as a war hero.

       This included the losses seen in the Great Famine and the mindless executions at the hands of the Russian secret police during the Great Purge.

       Some historians estimate that, prior to the collapse of the USSR, the number of people who were killed by Stalin's regime was 20 million or higher.

       Stalin's Crimes

       Atrocities Soviet Dictator Joseph Stalin committed:

       The Gulag System – Stalin implemented the gulag system which was a network of forced labour camps throughout the Soviet Union. It was used to imprison, torture and kill undesirables, critics of Communism and, anyone who defied Stalin. Collectivisation, Dekulakization, and Special Settlements – In the name of furthering Communism, Stalin seized the land and property of peasant families, effectively forcing them out. He targeted the Kulaks, who were the richest of the peasant class. The Great Famine – It is estimated that the Great Famine of 1932-33 killed 14.5 million people. Stalin contributed by making sure that the food shortages affected certain areas more than others – targeting certain social groups. The Great Purge – In 1936, Stalin initiated The Great Purge, aiming to rid the Communist Party of its enemies. Hundreds of thousands of people were arrested by the Secret Police with many executed and sent to the Gulag. Estimates believe up to 1.2 million people were killed. Prisoners of War - Millions of Soviet prisoners of war were interrogated on their return, about half were sent to the GULAG and many thousands were shot or otherwise died at the hands of their countrymen.

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