Maria Zakharova

On 13 November 2016, Zakharova was criticised for making anti-semitic jokes on Russian state television that the U.S. election results were the result of a Russian Jewish conspiracy, stating "If you want to know what will happen in America, who do you have to talk to? You have to talk to our people in Brighton Beach, naturally". Brighton Beach is home to a large Russian Jewish community. She also spoke in a stereotypical Jewish accent.[12][13]

On 2 March 2017, Zakharova refused to discuss allegations against the Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak with a CNN reporter. She advised the broadcaster to stop spreading lies and fake news and said that Kislyak is a well known world-class diplomat.[14]

On 28 April 2017, Zakharova appeared on Yahoo! News discussing the current international relations with Katie Couric. When Couric brought up the issue of torture against LGBT individuals in Chechnya, Zakharova shut the question down, stating it was not her issue to discuss.[15]

In June 2019, Reuters reported that Zakharova "offered a tribute to those who died on the western front of World War II and said Moscow appreciated the Allied war effort", adding “It should of course not be exaggerated. And especially not at the same time as diminishing the Soviet Union’s titanic efforts, without which this victory simply would not have happened”. Zakharova stated, "As historians note, the Normandy landing did not have a decisive impact on the outcome of World War II and the Great Patriotic War. It had already been pre-determined as a result of the Red Army’s victories, mainly at Stalingrad (in late 1942) and Kursk (in mid-1943). There was a wish to wait for the maximum weakening of Germany’s military power from its enormous losses in the east, while reducing losses in the west."[16]

On 28 November 2019, Zakharova criticised the decision of Czech mayor of Řeporyje, cadastral area of Prague and ex-journalist Pavel Novotný, to build statue of Andrey Vlasov. The Czech news Novinky.cz written "Regarding the intended monument, Zacharova added that she usually used terms such as "inflammatory" or "inadmissible", but in the present case it was an "absolutely terrible initiative". According to her, the aim is not only the mere falsification of history, but "reincarnation, pulling out of the grave the history of neo-Nazism, fascism and everything related to it"." Andrey Vlasov defected to Nazi Germany after being captured and headed the Russian Liberation Army (Russkaya osvoboditel'naya armiya (ROA)). At the war's end, he changed sides again and ordered the ROA to aid the Prague uprising against the Germans. Later, he was captured by Soviet forces, tried for treason and hanged. Pavel Novotný also has written a letter to Vladimir Putin in reaction of Russian diplomats statement, criticizing interference into local affairs and stating "if people here want to build a monument because they feel that Řeporyje and Prague owe the Vlasov, they will simply build it."[17][18]