Russian YouTuber Uses Social Media To Expose Stalin's Crimes

DW: Russian YouTuber explores the horrors of Stalin's gulags

A strong majority of Russians approve of Stalin's rule, and young adults have never heard of his Great Terror campaign. Now, YouTube star Yury Dud's film about the legacy of Stalinist repressions is shaking the country.

"I don't know about you, but all my life, I've been hearing my parents say: 'Be careful, don't attract unnecessary attention, it's dangerous. And, besides, we're simple people — we don't decide anything.' My parents are wonderful people," says Yury Dud in his film Kolyma: The Home of Our Fear. "But I wanted to understand: Where does the older generation's fear come from? Why are they convinced that acts of courage, no matter how small, are bound to be punished?"

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WNU Editor: Russians are not ignorant on who and what Stalin was. To put it bluntly, only the nuts go on TV to defend him. But it is good to see that younger Russians who live on social media are exposed to who he really was. And this effort is successful, as you can tell by the view count in the above video.

Is Stalin Making A Comeback In Russia?

The Atlantic: Is Stalin Making a Comeback in Russia?

A statue of the Soviet dictator in Russia’s third-largest city says much about the country today. But it’s not necessarily a win for the Kremlin.

NOVOSIBIRSK, Russia—To find Joseph Stalin here in Russia’s third-largest city, drive down the main thoroughfare, Red Аvenue, past Lenin Square. At the Ob River, turn left on Bolshevik Street until you reach a two-story wooden building with traditionally carved window trimmings.

There, at the Communist Party’s local headquarters on a sunny day in May, the city’s mayor unveiled the bust of the “Generalissimo” to the dramatic opening chords of Beethoven’s Fifth.

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WNU Editor: Stalin is not making a comeback in Russia. I have seen these Russian polls on Stalin. They are written in such a way that even I would agree that Stalin played a pivotal role in Soviet history, and in defeating Germany in the Second World War. But that does not mean that I have a favourable view of that monster. I also know that when the question is asked .... would you want someone like Stalin ruling you. The answer among Russians is an overwhelmingly no.

This Gulag Documentary Is Taking Russian YouTubers By Storm

Moscow Times: Gulag Documentary Takes Russian YouTube by Storm

Russia's online community has been abuzz over the past week with praise for popular YouTuber Yury Dud's documentary about life in the land of the gulag labor camps.

It’s a departure for the 32-year-old sports editor, whose 5.1 million subscribers tune in to watch him interview personalities from all walks of life about their personal lives. More often than not, Dud’s questions have been said to “border on the tabloid-esque.”

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WNU Editor: Russia needs more of these documentaries.

Do A Majority Of Russians Approve Of Stalin?

Moskva News Agency

Moscow Times: Stalin’s Approval Rating Among Russians Hits Record High – Poll

A record 70 percent of Russians approve of Soviet leader Josef Stalin’s role in Russian history, according to a poll published by the independent Levada Center pollster on Tuesday.

Stalin’s image has been gradually rehabilitated in the 2000s from that of a bloody autocrat to an “outstanding leader.” President Vladimir Putin has revived the Soviet anthem, Soviet-style military parades and a Soviet-era medal for labor during his presidency.

Seventy percent of Russian respondents told the Levada Center in 2019 that Stalin played a positive role for Russia. Stalin’s previous record approval rating stood at 54 percent in 2016.

A record low of 19 percent viewed Stalin’s role negatively, down from 32 percent in 2016.

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WNU Editor: The poll is here .... The perception of Stalin (Levada Center). My read of the poll is different from what the Moscow Times is saying. Some of the questions that were asked would result in even me saying yes to Stalin, such as this one .... “REGARDLESS OF THE MISTAKES AND FLAWS ATTRIBUTED TO STALIN, THE FACT THAT OUR PEOPLE WON THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR UNDER HIS LEADERSHIP IS WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT”? What the pollster should have asked is something like this .... would you vote/support for someone like Stalin to be the leader of Russia today? On this question I can guarantee that over 95% would say no.

Stalin Is Back In Vogue In Russia

A monument to Joseph Stalin is unveiled in Yakutsk before Victory Day. (RIA Novosti / Bolot Botchkarev) / RIA Novosti

USA Today: As Confederate statues fall in U.S., Russians are erecting statues for dictator Stalin

MOSCOW — While controversial statues of Confederate icons who fought for slavery come down in the United States, Russia is erecting new monuments to a once-disgraced Soviet Union dictator who killed millions: Josef Stalin.

This summer marked the 80th anniversary of the "Great Terror," a massive purge Stalin ordered against political opponents. Yet the milestone was barely noticed by Russians, who increasingly see Stalin as a national hero who defeated the Nazis in World War II as a valued U.S. ally rather than the brutal mass murderer reviled by historians.

Many here apparently don't know that on July 30, 1937, Stalin’s secret police launched a campaign that would see more than 1.5 million "anti-Soviet elements" arrested and nearly 700,000 of them killed, according to Soviet archives. Historians say that during Stalin’s three decades of rule, which ended with his death in 1953, an estimated 15 million to 30 million people were executed or died in labor camps or starved to death.

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WNU Editor: Ignore the past. Doom to repeat it. Robert E. Lee and the KKK are pikers when compared to what Stalin and his KGB thugs did.

Hat tip to Fred for this very timely link. (Even though it gets my blood boiling).

Is Capitalism Doomed?

Malcolm Harris, New Republic: What If Stalin Had Computers?

A new book contemplates the end of capitalism (again)—it's a nice story, but a terrible plan

When will capitalism end? It’s not a new idea, and even the capitalists suspect it will happen. After all, every other mode of production has fallen, and capitalism isn’t a steady-state system. It simply isn’t built to stay the same. As firms incorporate new technologies, capacity increases per-capita, and jobs change, so too does the nature of commodities and consumption. It happened with the assembly line, and it’s happening again with information technology. In 1930, John Maynard Keynes famously predicted these trends would reduce everyone’s daily toil to part-time by now, while Karl Marx thought the same developments would compel workers to seize the whole system and abolish wage-labor in general. But the system still lives.

Update: Yes, Computers Have Improved. No, Communism Hasn't. -- Megan McArdle, Bloomberg

WNU Editor: My father .... who lived under Stalin and Communism through much of his life .... summed it up best to me after living in the West in the last part of his life .... "Son, there are more Communists in the West than in the entire Soviet Union". This New Republic post only reinforces what he said.

Is Stalin's 'Cult Of Personality' Coming Back In Russia?

AFP: Russia raises Stalin's ghost amid nostalgia for past glories

Moscow (AFP) - Law student Mikhail Kosyrev used to have a negative view of Stalin but his attitude has drastically changed in recent years, he said, insisting the wartime tyrant meant well.

"Over the past five years I've often watched documentary films about Stalin, about that time on television and learnt more about him," the 29-year-old told AFP.

"And now I don't have any negative feelings towards him. He had good intentions."

Since President Vladimir Putin took power in 2000, there has been a growing chorus of Russians who take a positive view of the Soviet tyrant's role in history.

WNU Editor: Stalin, Hitler, Mao, Pol Pot .... these monsters will always have their supporters .... regardless of the evidence of the crimes that they did. In regards to Stalin .... when I hear people say that "he had good intentions" .... I just cringe .... and that is when I explode in anger at those who say such stupid things.

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.

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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.