Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Remembering Stalin's Victims

Stalin Bust Unveiled in Siberia. © RIA Novosti. Bolot Bochkarev

Muscovites Remember Victims Of Stalin's Purges -- Radio Free Europe

MOSCOW -- People have been stopping by Lubyanka Square in Moscow to leave flowers, light candles, and speak briefly about the victims of Stalin's purges in the 1930s.

The gathering site for the memorial action is the Solovetsky Stone outside the NKVD secret police headquarters in the 1930s, which was often the last stop for suspects during the purge era before being transferred to labor camps in remote areas or executed.

Read more ....

Update: Russians pay respects to victims of Stalin purges -- France 24/AFP

My Comment: For new readers of this blog .... my nationality is Russian .... so this story hits me home. My family survived the purges, but my father's best friend told me about his story of what happened to his parents in Moscow during this time. He was 12 when NKVD (KGB) agents showed up at the home of his parents .... and when his mother said goodbye to him was when he realized that he was never going to see them again. Later in the day his uncle came by to pick him up .... and yes .... he never saw his parents again.

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