STALIN NOSTALGIA

Anders, Jaroslaw (2005) Dead souls, NEW REPUBLIC, 2/14, P. 35-37

Josef Stalin is thought to be one of the most ruthless dictators of the 20th century and is generally placed in the same list with Adolph Hitler. However, Russian youth are pining for the old days when Stalin and the USSR were kingpins.

In fact, there was a deStalinization of the man in the USSR under Krushev. However, the USSR with its 11 time zones is now deconstructed down to the Russian Federation. Further, ships are sunk in harbors or are getting rusty. Russia is still very strong, but not in the same league as the United States.

Additionally, in Stalin's time, nostalgia had it that everybody had a job, welfare, and health care. Today, Russian capitalism is run by the mob or oligarchs and welfare, jobs and the like are a scarcity. Democracy to Russian means chaos. Putin is moving a communism to Capitalism County now to fascism.

Russian youth want out. Stalin had his problems but time and nostalgic revisionist history make him out to be a leader in good times after the World War II.

Perhaps Russian was really #1 back then? No? Leftist in the rest of the world have soured on Stalin and apologized for his behavior. This new nostalgia is born of bad times.