I think most people realize that Stalin was working with Hitler, until the need for more economic stimulation from military spending, to put an end to the “great depression”, brought the catalyst for the war between Russia and Germany.
1. The ‘revival’ of ‘nostalgia’ is a way to poach leftist supporters by the ruling party and when it comes to WW2 it is also a vehicle to stroke patriotism to which is not than much examples in more recent Russian history.
2. Bortnikov in his statement is factually correct although his wording could be better. NKVD in 1930s was a single federalized Soviet law enforcement body. I than sense they brought to justice more pickpocketers and rapist that they did dissidents.
A ‘purge’ isn’t necessarily what is bad. The key is to purge the right kind. Purging is a simple political tool since humans first organized politically. You can’t eliminate human nature. Just make sure you are doing the purging and not being purged youself.
Stalin and the Betrayal of Leningrad
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEIlXvlvXMA
The fact is, Stalin despised the City of Leningrad, and the threat its’ leaders posed to his leadership, and secretly hoped the Nazis would destroy the city.
Stalin mostly killed patriots, fearing them more than anything. Countless Chechen WWII war heroes were sent away. That FSB head is as idiotic as Germans claiming Hitler meant to protect them from Communism when Hitler wanted to replace them with islamists...