Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova’s answer to a media question regarding the ongoing blatant Russophobia in Sweden

Question: Recently we have been witnessing   another phase of the Russophobic campaign in Sweden, a country, which claims to support pluralism of opinion, democracy and tolerance.  Can you comment on this?

Maria Zakharova: True, a new wave of the Russophobic propaganda campaign in Sweden is targeting, among others, our compatriots, with at least 20,000 Russians living in this Scandinavian country. 

The associations of our compatriots in Sweden – Swedish non-governmental  organisations – have for many years been engaged in broad humanitarian and educational activities, helping to preserve Russian culture and the Russian language and contributing to fostering those people-to-people contacts which Stockholm has always designated as one of its foreign policy priorities.  

Amid the Russophobic hysterics, the Swedish authorities on the pretext of the undemocratic character of these associations’ activities have not only stopped funding them but have also demanded that they return grants received in 2022 and 2023. The most active members of these associations are being openly harassed for their “ties with Russia”. Even the Swedish State Security Service has been asked to get involved in the investigation. As things stand, an ultimatum has been issued to our compatriots to have them publicly condemn Russia.

As a result, the organisations of our compatriots have been forced to take a decision to disband, which in no way fits with the pluralism of opinion and tolerance preached by the Swedish authorities. 

Small wonder then that in these circumstances Russophobia in Sweden has started to assume criminal features. For example, on September 27 of this year an act of vandalism was committed in Karlsvik, a Lulea suburb in the northwest of Sweden, against the monument to Soviet prisoners of war who were kept in an internment camp that was located in this area.

We believe this situation should be unacceptable to any democratic and law-based country.

These outrageous facts were emphasised during the conversation with new Swedish Ambassador to Russia Karin Olofsdotter at the Russian Foreign Ministry. We will continue seeking to ensure that the Swedish authorities rectify the current clearly discriminatory situation.