Russophobia, or fear of Russia, had prevailed in Europe for two centuries, Luka Jovanovic, a professor at the University of Kosovska Mitrovica, told Sputnik in an interview dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Belgrade from the German invaders, noting that Russophobia was created artificially.
"Western Europe has always used Russophobia to cooperate with former military adversaries against the USSR in peacetime," Jovanovic stated.
Professor Jovanovic stated that a revisionist movement emerged around the centenary of World War I, attempting to blame Russia, through Serbia, for the conflict. He argued that those responsible for the first war are also to blame for the second, as Hitler used the Versailles Treaty as justification, "although the Germans themselves, German historians prove the guilt of Germany in both wars."
Racism is not exclusive to Germany, Goran Miloradovic, a researcher at the Institute of Modern History, told Sputnik.
He added that European values, often associated with brotherhood, equality, and freedom, also encompass racism.
"The fact that they don't show racism when they meet us [the Slavs] means two things. First, they are well-mannered. Second, they are good at hiding racism," Miloradovic stated.
While the Slavic peoples were literally fighting for their existence, the Anglo-Saxons were fighting for international positioning, he concluded.