Stalin Making a Comeback

[William Haskins]

The former Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin may have killed millions of his own people but this weekend he could be chosen by Russians as their greatest-ever countryman.

Inspired by the British competition 100 Greatest Britons, one of Russia's biggest television stations Rossiya has been conducting a nationwide poll for much of this year.

From an original list of 500 candidates now there are just 12 names left from which viewers can select their all-time hero.

The winner will be announced on Sunday.

More than 3.5 million people have already voted and Stalin - born an ethnic Georgian - has been riding high for many months.

In the summer he held the number one slot but was knocked down several places after the producer of the show appealed to viewers to vote for someone else.

Amongst the others on the list are Ivan the Terrible, Lenin, Catherine the Great and Alexander Pushkin. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7798497.stm

[Ol' Fashioned Girl]

Ol' Boy's grandfather on his father's side (born in Sweden) thought Stalin was the greatest man alive (during his life, obviously). He had a huge, framed picture of him hanging in a place of honor in their home in Nebraska for many, many years.

[robeiae]

WHAT?!?! No Trotsky?!?!?

What's this world coming to?

[Shadow_Ferret]

Cool. Then we'll have a return of Marx Brothers film festivals, too.

[William Haskins]

it's characteristically russian to crave and remember fondly strong, even brutal, rulers. but it also speaks to the disillusionment in post-communist russia that people would wistfully recall a man who was so brutal, so recently.

[BenPanced]

I'm gonna get a Stalin poster and hang it up next to my Che Guevara poster! I'll be the reactionaryist guy on the block!

[Albedo]

I think it's worth remembering that 'great' doesn't necessarily mean 'good'.

Of course, the voters in this contest might not care about such a fine distinction.

[cethklein]

One trend I've noticed among those who praise Stalin is that none of them ever lived under his rule. Kind of like how whenever you hear someone singing the praises of Communism, they're usually doing so from a house in a middle class neighborhood in California.

[MattW]

Yakov Smirnoff wins.

[/voting]

[whistlelock]

To borrow from Harry Potter: Stalin? He did many great things. Terrible. But great.

[Beach Bunny]

I think it's worth remembering that 'great' doesn't necessarily mean 'good'.



To borrow from Harry Potter: Stalin? He did many great things. Terrible. But great.
Quoted for truth. Stalin was undoubtedly a monster, but his impact on the history of Russia has to be the greatest in terms of size. Is there anyone in their history who even comes close?

[MattW]

Is there anyone in their history who even comes close?Not another Russian.

I would offer Hitler, Napoleon, and even Batu Khan (his conquering & subsequent rulers separated Russia from "the West") as having major impact on the direction the Russian people have taken.

[Joe270]

One trend I've noticed among those who praise Stalin is that none of them ever lived under his rule. Kind of like how whenever you hear someone singing the praises of Communism, they're usually doing so from a house in a middle class neighborhood in California.

I have rarely agreed with you, Ceth, but this is smack on.

An old friend of mine, who I've lost touch with over the years, was born in Russia. He remembers fleeing Stalinist Russia, eating grass to survive. They made it out, and on to the USA. In retaliation, Stalin killed everyone in their family, from their grandparents on both sides, all the way down to fifth or sixth cousins.

Stalin tried to erase their dna from the gene pool.

In Stalin's Russia, it was a death sentence to get a letter from overseas. Nothing existed but Russia, so that was subversion and treason. All soldiers who had contact with foreign soldiers in WWII were executed. Thanks for fighting for your motherland, you die.

This is someone honor? Fuck that.

[Beach Bunny]

Not another Russian.

I would offer Hitler, Napoleon, and even Batu Khan (his conquering & subsequent rulers separated Russia from "the West") as having major impact on the direction the Russian people have taken.
Yes. I was only thinking of Russians, not others.

Holy crap, Joe, I was going to say something about there still being kids who escaped from the former Soviet Union, then I realized that 2009 will be the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Then a check of wikipedia for when the collapse of the Soviet Union began --> 1986. Over twenty years. Something that I thought I would never see the end of in my lifetime and the 20 somethings aren't old enough to even remember it. I think I need a drink.

[Bill Ward]

What's possibly almost worse than Russians overlooking Stalin's brutality, is them overlooking his actual record. It's all well and good to say strong men have to break eggs to make omelets, but Stalin was a ruler who also made tremendous mistakes and miscalculations, and made his Russia bleed not because it was expedient or part of a ruthless necessity, but because he was a paranoid monster.

He wasn't just as asshole, he was an incompetent and delusional asshole.

[StevenJ]

Stalin was Georgian, not Russian, anyway. He was perhaps the most evil man who ever lived...why the organisers even allowed him to be an option in the poll is beyond me.

[MattW]

What's possibly almost worse than Russians overlooking Stalin's brutality, is them overlooking his actual record. It's all well and good to say strong men have to break eggs to make omelets, but Stalin was a ruler who also made tremendous mistakes and miscalculations, and made his Russia bleed not because it was expedient or part of a ruthless necessity, but because he was a paranoid monster.

He wasn't just as asshole, he was an incompetent and delusional asshole.I can't even guess which killed more people - purges or 5 year plans.

[donroc]

"More clouds of gray than any Russian play can guarantee."

Russians are not happy unless they are suffering? :Shrug:

[aruna]

Stalin lost.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article5409349.ece

[robeiae]

Stalin lost.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article5409349.ece
Not by much.

If Georgia could vote, I think he might have won...

Regardless, just you watch. Stalin will come back from the grave, round up the folks that voted against him, and force another vote...

He'll win, eventually.

[Tirjasdyn]

I was sitting in a coffee shop last year when I over heard a group talking about Russia. The man taking was a reporter. He said he decided to quit his Russian assignment when it came out that most Russians under twenty five thought Stalin was just misunderstood and the he was the best leader the Russians ever had.

I asked him about it. He told me that the kids in Russia are being taught that Stalin never did anything wrong. He couldn't clarify if that meant that Stalin never murdered anyone, or that murdering was a good thing.

:shudder: