Say Hitler and Stalin were equal and you’ll end up in jail

nov. 13, 2020 Estonian Life No. 46 2020

Any stated or implied equivalency between Stalin and Hitler will be a criminal offense in Russia soon. Member of the State Duma Elena Yamposkaya has made the proposal in the State Duma recently.

Yamposkaya, the chair of the Duma’s cultural committee and a high-profile ultra-nationalist has previously promoted Stalin’s glorification: “It was precisely this man [Stalin] who was sent to keep Russia on the map.” “There is a monstrous appeal nowadays to come out from the shadow of Stalin.” Only God or Stalin “could preserve Russia from the abyss.”

Vladimir Putin has personally endorsed the idea, which will then gain the unhindered support of the dominant United Russia party and become law. “God himself ordered us, probably, to include appropriate mechanisms to protect the very past,” explained Putin.

Over the years Russia has consistently opposed equating Stalin’s and Hitler’s crimes. The Kremlin’s apoplexy was expected with a resolution in 2009 of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE – the permanent council that provides a forum for human rights issues in Europe) that in effect equated Stalinism with Nazism.

The OSCE resolution made August 23 a day of remembrance for victims of Stalinism and Nazism because of the 1939 non-aggression pact between Germany and the Soviet Union that carved up Eastern Europe (Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact).

Laas Leivat, Toronto

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