In his latest pseudo-historical musing, Putin claims Belgium owes its existence to Russia
Russian President Vladimir Putin is known for his efforts to rewrite history. But while his usual diatribes concern Ukraine, on March 6, he took a stab at the history of Belgium. Speaking at the World Festival of Youth in Sochi, Putin claimed that Belgium had Russia to thank for its existence as an independent state.
“Belgium appeared on the world map as an independent state largely thanks to Russia and Russia’s position. But this no longer matters today,” he said in response to a question from a Belgian festival participant, without offering any further clarification.
A number of major Belgian media outlets quickly picked up and fact-checked the quote. Reproaching the Russian president for “rewriting history,” Belgian media pointed out that Russian Emperor Nicholas I saw the 1830–1831 Belgian Revolution, which led to the establishment of an independent Kingdom of Belgium, as a “threat to the European order” and even intended to send troops to help the Kingdom of the Netherlands suppress the uprising.
Belgian media also claimed that Nicholas I abandoned his intervention plans after Russia became preoccupied with the November Uprising in Poland. However, the London Conference of 1830, which determined Belgium’s fate, began a few weeks before the Polish rebellion.
Nicholas I’s decision was ultimately influenced by other factors, including a lack of finances, domestic problems within the Russian Empire itself, and the refusal of allies (namely, Prussia and Austria) to intervene on behalf of the Dutch. Great Britain also opposed the intervention, fearing that it would lead to the beginning of another large-scale war on the European continent. At the London Conference itself, the main proponent of Belgian independence was France. In other words, Russia’s contribution to Belgium’s independence was passive at best.
Why Putin chose to comment on Belgium’s history remains unclear. However, Politico suggests that it “may be no coincidence,” noting that “the West is locked in heated debates over whether to use Russian assets to help fund the war in Ukraine, and the vast majority of those assets are kept in Belgium, in the security depository Euroclear.”
Belgian officials have yet to comment on Putin’s statement.