Posted on 05/12/2005 12:54:27 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
Fifty-two years after his death, Soviet leader Josef Stalin still has a special place in the heart of many Russians. The 60th anniversary of the Allied victory over Nazi Germany this week has once again brought questions about his legacy to the forefront. Stalin has long entered Western history books as a ruthless dictator. But in Russia, observers and opinions polls are suggesting that the man who ruled the Soviet Union for almost 30 years and was responsible for millions of deaths is back in favor.
Moscow, 12 May 2005 (RFE/RL) – Like many pensioners in Russia, 63-year-old Maria Vinokurova keeps fond memories of the Stalin era.
More than anything, she longs for what she describes as superior living standards under the long-time Soviet ruler. She says she would like to see a monument to Stalin erected in Moscow, a desire that is becoming a reality in a number of Russian cities.
“He hasn’t done anything bad to me. Everything was cheaper then, the pensions were enough to live on, and salaries were not bad. What can I say about him? I’ve never seen him from up close, only on television. I have a good opinion of him. For me, he was a decent person,” Vinokurova said.
Russian pensioners, whose living standards have been plummeting since the collapse of the Soviet Union, are looking back to the Stalin years with growing nostalgia.
For many communists and war veterans, the Soviet leader is regarded as a hero who led the country to victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
In the confusion of post-Soviet Russia, however, nostalgia for Stalin’s iron-fisted rule is also finding an increasingly receptive audience among younger Russians disillusioned by market economy and Western values.
Algis Adomavichus is a 52-year-old driver of Baltic descent who lives in Moscow. He says he is grateful to Stalin for making Russia into a superpower. “Stalin got a country that had nothing and left it with nuclear weapons and all the rest," he said. "Such a leader would be desirable [today]. The regime is following this same path now anyway. He doesn’t disturb me.”
Viktor Ninashvili, a middle-aged man working in the sports industry, also describes Stalin’s role as positive. He doesn’t see anything “evil” about erecting a statue of Stalin in the Russian capital. “Despite all his shortcomings, he played a positive role," he said. "World War II showed that.”
Rights groups have voiced concern over the growing public approval of Stalin in Russia.
Today, many Russians only softly condemn the massive Stalin-led purges that took tens of millions of lives. Some Russians even deny the purges took place.
In an indication of Stalin’s growing popularity across the country, three cities have announced plans to erect monuments to Stalin in recognition of his wartime achievements. Almost all his statues were pulled down during the de-Stalinization campaign spearheaded by his successor, Nikita Khrushchev.
A movement is afoot in Volgograd to restore the city's previous name, Stalingrad, and a recent poll has shown that nearly half of Russians view Stalin in a positive light. One in four respondents said they would vote for Stalin if he were running for office today.
The festivities held in Moscow on 9 May to mark the 60th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II have been an occasion for Stalin supporters to once more hail his historical role.
Speaking at a huge communist rally in central Moscow on 9 May, Communist Party chief Gennadii Zyuganov praised Stalin as a “great leader and supreme commander.”
The same day, at the official parade on Red Square attended by over 50 foreign heads of state, Russian President Vladimir Putin made no public mention of the Soviet wartime leader. But critics say that Putin’s reluctance to speak about Stalin -- particularly to criticize his authoritarian rule -- does nothing to quell the nascent cult of Stalin in Russia and may even encourage it.
Aleksandr Cherkasov, a leading expert at the Memorial human rights group, says Putin in his own way is tapping into Stalin nostalgia in hopes of consolidating his own power.
“In the 1990s, nostalgia for Soviet times arose as a way to reject post-Soviet reality," Cherkasov said. "Nowadays, it is the authorities who are in charge of history. In the past, Putin declared that the future of Russia is its great past. He is rationalizing this nostalgia for the past and trying to place it at the base of his political program.”
Cherkasov says that the reemerging glorification of Stalin is a sign that what he describes as the Kremlin’s “political PR” in favor of Stalin is starting to bear fruit.
It may be just as reliable as November 2nds exit polling too.
20% is still amazing.
Id love to see the Politcial mudd slinging in a Stalin Reelection....and we thought Muddslinging Kerry was easy LMFAO
OK what percentage of Americans have a positive attitude of Stalin? Probably pretty low but depending on how the poll question is asked you might reach 20 percent. You would pass 50 percent aproval easy if you poll Americans on their opinions of H.G. Wells, Bertrand Russel, George Bernard Shaw, and some other of Stalin's defenders.
Well that is If americans Know who STALIN EVEN IS....alot of kids nowdays Do not even know who hitler is...Im a senior in highschool...ive seen the Stupidity
I agree. See post #11.
To be fair, other cultures which suffered from a similar problem included (But were not limited to): The Greeks
The MAcedonians
The LAtins
The Romans
The Etruscans
The Hittites
The Persians
The Jews
The Celts
The French
The Germans
The Egyptians
The Berbers
The Indians
and every other early society!
Let's face it, Stalin's modern appeal is that when he ruled they were strong, they were 'respected' (ie Feared), their technology managed some impressive feats despite Stalin's attacks on dangerous intelligentsia). ALso, a lot of the people who had the best stories of missing relatives and a climate of fear didn't talk about it for a long time because you never knew whether the climate would change and you'd be accused of vilifying the great hero of the great war...ie a false thaw...
Nothing to do with tribalism. Every society goes through a long period of that. An argument might be made that some have never left it, buit I wouldn't count RUssia among them.
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