These targets are depicted as dangerously ‘Russophobic’ and thus their inclusion NATO would allegedly poison the West's relations with Russia and introduce unstable states into the Alliance.
[8] The Russian press has frequently cited U.S. and European commentators who speak out against NATO enlargement on the grounds that it will undermine relations with Moscow by making the Alliance more anti-Russian.
[11] Russia has used disinformation campaigns and international institutions as platforms for accusations of discrimination against minorities, aggravating inter-ethnic tensions in a way that has worked against the country's integration policies.
[21] On the other hand, Edward Lucas of The Economist regards the Amnesty International report as a bad piece of work which is both ahistorical and unbalanced, and criticized the organization's use of limited resources as bizarre when there are real human rights abuses in Belarus and Russia.
[22] Forum[23] Development and Transition published an article in 2005 alleging Latvia and Estonia employ a "sophisticated and extensive policy regime of discrimination" against their respective Russophone populations.
[24] In that same newsletter Professor Hughes' arguments were opposed by former Latvian minister for social integration Dr. Nils Muiznieks who argued his views were simplistic and "similar to what Russian propaganda has been touting in international fora over the last 10 years".
2010 saw the Russian Federation Council member Boris Shpigel initiate the formation of the organisation "World without Nazism" in Kyiv, with the aim of creating the situation where questioning Russia's version of historical events is equated with Holocaust denial.