The popular Russian online newspaper Lenta.RU published a story this week claiming that Polish soldiers met with Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova and even drank vodka with her.
A few hours later Lenta.Ru followed with yet another story teaming up Poland and Zakharova entitled “Polish military compared Zakharova’s beauty to a Kalashnikov”.
The headline refers to an alleged compliment paid Zakharova by Jerzy Tyc, a representative of the Kursk Military Patriotic Association.
Jerzy Tyc has absolutely nothing to do with the Polish military and he is not a representative of any official Polish military association.
Tyc is a member of the Kursk Association, an organization that glorifies Russia and is dedicated to restoring monuments to Soviet soldiers in Poland. He is also a member of the pro-Russian party Zmiana – Change and is often accused of anti-Semitism and propagating communist ideas.
Mr. Tyc also appears to be a great fan of military uniforms and the St. George ribbon, a Russian military symbol, a topic often discussed by Polish Facebook users.
In a recent interview with the Russian Defense Ministry channel Zvezda, Tyc, wearing a military outfit, told the interviewer that Russophobia was the official policy of the current Polish administration.
The Kursk Association admits that it is partially financed by Russia and some of the monuments the association erects are built without the consent of local authorities.
Whatever Lenta.ru’s headlines may pronounce, the Polish military never had a meeting with Maria Zakharova nor did they compare her beauty to an AK47.
