Putin envoy: Russians are the New Jews

Russian adviser to Vladimir Putin, Sergei Markov, made headlines this weekend for pointing the finger at Sweden as one of the most "Russophobic" nations - rivalled only by Finland, Poland, and the Baltic states. On Monday several Swedish politicians dismissed his antics and said Markov doesn't have nearly the political clout he presumes.

"Anti-Semitism started the Second World War, and Russophobia can start a third," Markov told the Svenska Dagbladet (SvD) newspaper this weekend. "Europe today looks upon Russians the same way as Jews were viewed before. Your goal is to destroy Russia. But you will destroy Europe instead."

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