Anne Applebaum Draws Parallels Between Soviet Occupation and Russia’s War in Ukraine

Historical echoes from Eastern Europe after World War II

Anne Applebaum, the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian known for her research on authoritarian regimes, has drawn sharp parallels between Joseph Stalin’s post–World War II occupation of Eastern Europe and Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine. By revisiting the methods used in Poland, Hungary, East Germany, and Czechoslovakia during the 1940s and 1950s, Applebaum highlights how Vladimir Putin’s government is deploying similar tactics in the present conflict to suppress Ukrainian identity and independence.

After 1945, Soviet forces imposed a new order across Central and Eastern Europe, rooted in repression and control. Teachers, policemen, civil servants, and local leaders were systematically arrested, often under fabricated accusations, and sent to camps or prisons. The aim was not only to eliminate resistance but also to dismantle institutional knowledge and replace it with Soviet-approved loyalty. Applebaum underscores how this calculated erasure of societal leadership set the foundation for communist dominance that lasted decades.

Today, Ukraine faces comparable strategies. Reports describe the deliberate targeting of officials, educators, and community leaders in occupied territories, illustrating a chilling continuity with Soviet-era tactics.

The use of filtration camps and mass imprisonment

Applebaum draws attention to the emergence of so-called “filtration camps” in Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine, where civilians suspected of loyalty to the Ukrainian government are interrogated and detained. Those who fail to prove their allegiance are transferred to prisons in Russia or in annexed Crimea.

Such forced transfers reflect Soviet practices, where hundreds of thousands of people from annexed or occupied regions were deported to camps in Siberia or Central Asia. The gulag system functioned both as a form of punishment and as a tool of systemic removal, cutting occupied societies off from their leaders and intellectual elites. In the current conflict, the disappearance of ordinary Ukrainians into remote prisons in Russia mirrors this same historical pattern of silencing dissent by physical displacement. Families are often left without information, creating fear and uncertainty across entire communities.

The kidnapping of children and erasure of identity

One of the most striking aspects of Applebaum’s analysis concerns the evidence of Ukrainian children being deported to Russia, a practice condemned internationally as a potential war crime. She notes reports that children are sent for adoption, their names changed, and their Ukrainian language and heritage actively suppressed.

This act of identity erasure has disturbing precedents. After the Second World War, Soviet authorities orchestrated the forced adoption of children from territories like Poland and the Baltic states, intending to assimilate them into a “Soviet” identity. By recalling these historical cases, Applebaum suggests that Russia’s present strategy may be aimed not just at conquering territory but at fundamentally reshaping the demographic and cultural fabric of Ukraine for future generations.

Echoes of Soviet statecraft in the 21st century

The comparison between Stalin’s post-war policies and Putin’s military strategy reinforces the perception that Russia is reviving Soviet-era methods to undermine national sovereignty. For Applebaum, the similarities go beyond repression and deportations—they reach the very core of how authoritarian regimes assert dominance: by destroying the structures of independent society and replacing them with centrally controlled, state-loyal systems.

Just as Moscow once determined school curricula, controlled cultural life, and silenced free press in the satellite states, today’s Russian authorities reportedly attempt to dictate what language is taught in occupied Ukrainian schools, ban local media outlets, and oversee propaganda campaigns. The striking difference is that 21st-century Ukraine operates in a digital landscape, where information wars are fought not just in print or television, but across online platforms that can penetrate occupation zones and reach global audiences.

International law and the challenge to postwar order

Applebaum also stresses the significance of Putin’s actions in undermining the international consensus that emerged after World War II. The founding principle of the United Nations Charter—respect for national sovereignty and the inviolability of borders—was designed to prevent war between states in Europe. By launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia has not only challenged its neighbor’s independence but also raised fundamental questions about the durability of the postwar global system.

This erosion of international norms recalls moments when the Soviet Union acted outside of agreed frameworks, disregarding both the UN and European peacekeeping mechanisms. Applebaum argues that the support Putin garners from other authoritarian governments underscores a broader confrontation between those committed to democratic governance and those willing to break international rules for power.

The psychological impact on Ukrainian society

The effect on Ukraine’s population is profound. Families separated across borders, communities hollowed out by arrests, and children taken from their parents no longer represent isolated tragedies but widespread trauma. Applebaum emphasizes how these practices are designed not only to weaken immediate resistance but to produce long-term dislocation.

Such psychological warfare was part of the Soviet model. By creating an atmosphere of constant fear, suspicion, and uncertainty, authorities broke down the fabric of civil resistance. The threat of disappearance, exile to Siberian labor camps, or forced separation kept whole populations subdued. Ukraine’s occupied territories are now experiencing a similar kind of destabilization, complicated further by the digital dimension of the 21st century, where narratives about occupation and resistance are instantly broadcast.

Regional comparisons across Europe

Applebaum’s historical lens connects Ukraine’s modern struggle to the broader postwar experience of Eastern Europe. In Poland, opposition figures were systematically imprisoned, and millions of citizens were deported or subjected to political terror. Hungary experienced wholesale restructuring of institutions, culminating in armed revolts brutally crushed in 1956. East Germany became a surveillance state under Soviet direction, while Czechoslovakia saw its democratic institutions dismantled.

All these nations endured decades under communist control but eventually rebuilt democratic systems after 1989. Ukraine, however, faces the challenge in real time—with war threatening to erase its sovereignty if international support falters.

By comparing these nations’ shared histories, Applebaum implicitly underscores that Ukraine’s current plight is not unique but sits within a longer European narrative of resistance and rebuilding in the face of authoritarian expansion.

Economic consequences of occupation

Beyond the immediate humanitarian toll, the economic implications of forced deportations and occupation are substantial. In Eastern Europe’s postwar history, Soviet dependency limited growth, suppressed local enterprise, and restructured economies to serve Moscow’s needs. Industries were reoriented toward Soviet priorities, and agricultural systems were collectivized, leading to chronic shortages.

In Ukraine, occupation of industrial regions and agricultural lands already threatens national economic stability. Fertile farmland in the east and south has been seized, undermining one of the world’s key suppliers of wheat and sunflower oil. Energy infrastructure has been systematically attacked, and displacement has torn apart workforces across multiple sectors. The echoes of Soviet-style economic control heighten concerns that prolonged occupation could entrench poverty and dependency in affected regions for generations.

The role of modern communication platforms

A distinct feature of Applebaum’s message is the importance of communication in resisting authoritarian dominance. While the Soviets controlled media and isolated their spheres of influence from the outside world, today’s Ukrainians have access to global platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and encrypted messaging networks. These tools allow for continuity of cultural and political expression even under occupation and provide a counterweight to Russian propaganda.

Applebaum stresses that those invested in democracy must engage directly with populations vulnerable to authoritarian influence through the platforms they already use, ensuring credible information and alternative voices remain available. The use of modern technology becomes not just a communication strategy but a means of preserving national identity amid attempts at enforced assimilation.

Conclusion

Anne Applebaum’s reflections serve as both history lesson and contemporary warning. By drawing precise parallels between Soviet postwar practices in Eastern Europe and Russia’s current war in Ukraine, she raises alarms about the dangers of repeating historical cycles of repression and control. She highlights the continuity of methods—arrests of community leaders, deportations to camps, forced assimilation of children, erasure of culture, and structural dismantling of society—that were once used to subdue Eastern Europe and are now deployed against Ukraine.

The stakes extend far beyond Ukraine’s borders. If the international order built after 1945 is challenged by unchecked aggression, the implications reach all states relying on protected sovereignty. Applebaum suggests that resisting these tactics requires not only political and military solidarity but also active participation in the information sphere, ensuring that truth, identity, and democratic values remain visible even under pressure.

Through this framing, Ukraine’s struggle becomes more than a regional conflict—it emerges as a defining test of whether modern democracies can prevent the return of methods long thought consigned to history.