Emphasizing Russia’s absolutist approach to the Ukraine crisis, foreign minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday referenced an infamous Soviet no-retreat order from the Second World War.

Lavrov warned Russia would take “not a step back” when it comes to the Minsk II protocols pertaining to negotiations over southeastern Ukraine. Lavrov has a penchant for theatrics, but his choice of words bears note. His is a not-so-subtle reference to Joseph Stalin’s July 1942 order No. 227.