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Betreff: [ANAR.wien] MBHR Statement
Datum: Mittwoch, 16.
November 2011 09:27
Moscow bureau for human rights
115455 Moscow P.O.
Box No 6.
Tel.: (495) 670-69-75, +7-926-936-72-36
E-mail:
humanrights@list.ru
Website
http://antirasizm.ru
Director of MBHR
Alexander Brod
For reprinting the reference to MBHR is compulsory
Statement of Moscow bureau for human rights – about rehabilitation of Stalinism
On November 6, 1991 the first
President of Russia Boris Yeltsin signed the decree “On activity of CPSU and CP
of RSFSR” where dismissal of governing organizational structures of CPSU and CP
of RSFSR was executed legislatively.
The decree was a completion of
tumultuous processes of early 1990s when the Soviet Union collapsed and the
putsch was suppressed. Communist leaders supported the putschists, and this was
an additional stimilus for historical decree.
Prohibition of the
Communist party became a completion of a lasting stage of life of enormous
country, Soviet Union, where omnipotent CPSU ruled. Having come to power in 1917
as a result of armed coup, Communists (they were called Bolsheviks then)
emphasized at once the tools that were used by them for governance of the
country afterwards, namely: terror and repressions accompanied by massed and,
what should be admitted, successful propaganda. Already under Lenin first
concentration camps were created long before Nazi ones where the best
representatives of old Russia found themselves – intellectuals, most laborious
peasants, military men, clergy, and representatives of famous aristocratic
families. Civil war unleashed by Bolsheviks led to millions victims, peasant
rebellions were suppressed with savage cruelty, and the best pick of
pre-revolutionary professorship was expelled from the country.
During the
period of Stalin’s rule many times more of people’s blood was shed. Endless
purges of party, economic bodies, army, and elimination of various social
groups. Executions and sending to camps of millions people. Up to the beginning
of war with fascist Germany the country was drained, and it was just due to
gigantic efforts of Soviet people and due to inconceivable victims that it was a
success in conquering the enemy. But after the war repressions also continued in
every way possible, and it was only Stalin’s death that hampered further
brutalities. Stalinism also touched upon the countries of Eastern Europe and
remained a stigma in their history.
During later years of Soviet
power, there were no mass repressions any more but totalitarian regime,
inefficient planned economy, cynicism of authorities and disbelief of people led
to final economic crash and, as a consequence, to collapse of the Soviet Union.
And the Communist party is behind all these sad pages of Soviet history.
This does not mean that all the Communists were bad – a great number of honest
and decent men were among them – but the Communist ideology itself and its
Soviet inspirers brought enormous evil to Russian and other peoples.
And no wonder that the last flash of Communist revanche – SCES putsch - was
followed by the famous B. Yeltsin’s decree. The decree caused heated response in
society – approval of numerous democratically orientated citizens and appeal of
Communists to the Constitutional court with demand to acknowledge the decree
illegal. Unfortunately, though the journalists called this procedure in the
Constitutional court a “trial over CPSU” in fact there was no real trial over
this party and no objective estimate of its crimes against its own people.
Rather not prohibition of CPSU as some organization had to be a task of “trial
over CPSU” but analysis and discussion of the Communist ideology itself.
Fundamentals of process similar to de-Nazification (Entnazifizierung) of Germany
had to be laid.
Alas, this did not take place. After heated democratic
enthusiasm we found ourselves again in the epoch similar to stagnation of
Brezhnev’s epoch where officials’ arbitrariness rules, unprecedented corruption
has flourished and most part of population is still in poverty. Former Communist
leaders reproduce Stalin’s ideological clichés and laud Lenin and Stalin.
Criminal coloration of Soviet years, under the influence of current economic and
social misfortunes, begins being erased from the people’s memory, and it is no
coincidence that today B. Yeltsin’s decree about prohibition of CPSU seems
rather incorrect to the Russians according to VTsIOM – 47% of interrogated hold
this opinion. Only every fourth (26%) approves this idea. The idea of trial over
CPSU is not approved by most Russians either: 52% consider such trial needless
and only 20% think that it should be held.
Nevertheless B. Yeltsin’s
decree and its consequences are of great historical significance. It was a
signal to a talk about Communist crimes. Now every schoolchild can read about
crimes of CPSU in textbook. With all its vices, the country became radically
different. But the process of “de-Communization” should be continued – until
misanthropic ideology and practice becomes a subject of just historical studies
completely.
On October 30 the Day of memory of victims of the
political repressions was marked in Russia. Public activities timed to this day
assembled very few participants – one-two hundred people. These are first of all
people belonging to democratic spectrum of our society represented both by
common citizens whose friends once suffered from Stalin’s repressions and
representatives of various parties that use this activities as another occasion
to declare themselves and their political demands.
Repressions in
Russia were monstrous by their scale; they touched upon all the strata of
society. Starting from 1917, repressions defined the whole character of
political life in the country, they gave birth to mixed feelings of fear, hate
and fanaticism in people when, according to a figure of speech, “half country
was in prison and half country squealed”. Scale of memory about evil deeds must
correspond to the scale of evil deeds. So the words of chairman of St.
Petersburg Association of victims of groundless repressions Lucia Bartashevich
are absolutely fair: “only preservation of historical memory of people may
protect from repetition of tragedy of the 20th century”. Indeed, by two hundred
people who assemble on the Day of memory in big cities – this is very few
people. Youth must know about repressions, materials about Lenin’s and Stalin’s
repressions should be included into school program.
Russia may become
a really democratic country only in case it comprehends its past completely,
only if all its citizens know what did their grandfathers and grand-grandfathers
had to go through, so that this all could not repeat.
It is revealing
that up to 70th anniversary of military parade that took place on November 7,
1941 at the Red square in Moscow, in several cities of Russia and Ukraine an
action began that can’t but cause a feeling of anxiety.
In Irkutsk,
Tyumen, Chita, Kaliningrad and Sebastopol “Stalin-buses” started running – buses
with drawings of Josef Stalin. Similar buses will run in Tomsk, St. Petersburg
and Kirov. According to NTV report, the action is devoted to jubilee parade at
the Red square of 1941, and this is done for the sake of “historical positive”.
The action seems to be a matter of private persons who buy the advertisement
places in city routes and stick Stalin’s portraits on buses. Activists of
“Stalin-buses” insist that they are also a “part of civil society” and have a
right to state their civil position. It should be reminded that first
“Stalin-bus” appeared in St. Petersburg last year and caused indignation of some
liberal movements of the city. The bus was covered with dirt then but it was
washed afterwards and came to the streets again.
Yes, no law about
Stalin is adopted in Russia like in Germany where it is prohibited to hang out
Hitler’s portraits. People are alive yet who shed their blood for the country
and, being captured with ideology of total deception, worshiped Stalin at the
same time. We can’t prohibit old people still to believe in their idol and all
the more persecute them. Finally, Stalin, whoever he might be, - is a
constituent of Soviet and Russian history. And problems appear inevitably that
are connected with impossibility to remove Stalin from the country history.
That’s why so heated disputes were caused at one time by historical restoration
of vestibule of underground station “Kurskaya-circular” that initially included
words from Soviet hymn of Stalin’s time: “Stalin brought us up for fidelity to
the people”. At the same time it should be remembered: Stalin is one of most
terrible tyrants in history of mankind, a murderer whose hands were covered with
blood of millions people, a man who killed best representatives of Russian
science, culture, who eliminated peasantry, who achieved economic and military
victories at the expense of lives of hundreds thousand prisoners, millions
soldiers who became cannon fodder. Continuing the cause of Lenin, he laid a
strong basement of unfreedom in souls and minds of people, implanted fear and
slavish belief in leader of genius that would vanish for much more than a
decade. And every new reproduction of name and drawing of Stalin will serve as a
sign of revival of ideology of Stalinism for hundreds thousand and millions
people, a sign of nostalgia of authorities about totalitarianism. Under current
conditions of sharp political situation in Russia, of growth of nationalistic,
xenophobic, aggressive-imperial moods this would be a most dangerous sign of
non-democratic development of Russia and another dangerous signal for democratic
public.
And signs of revival of Stalin’s fame are already on hand
under conditions of hard economic, social situation in Russia. In 2008 during a
popular TV show Stalin occupied the third place in voting for a title of a great
historical figure getting more than 519 thousand votes. Recent interrogations of
public opinion showed that from one third to half of Russians have positive or
quite positive attitude towards Stalin.
Is it necessary under these
conditions to urge the protest moods of the society that are expressed in new
putting of tyrant-murderer onto a pedestal? We think no. And even in situation
of lack of legislative solutions federal and local authorities should not
encourage such dubious activities.