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FINROSFORUM

FINROSFORUM  //  The Finnish-Russian Civic Forum strives to promote cooperation between the peoples of Finland and Russia by supporting civic initiatives for democracy, human rights, and freedom of speech.

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Mar 16 / 4:16am

Burying Lenin

by Kerkko Paananen

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"Russians should not bury Lenin until they uncover his lies," writes Walter Rodgers, former senior international correspondent for CNN, in Christian Science Monitor. Russians must face up to Lenin’s brutal legacy – as Germans did Hitler’s, he says. "Burying Lenin would be terribly dishonest. It would risk erasing the brutally violent communist legacy he spawned. His strain of socialism bankrupted Russia morally and economically, leaving it in many respects a third-world country – even today," Rodgers opines. "When new nationalist saviors like current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin appear on stage, flaunting the same arrogance Lenin practiced with his messianic vision, Russians ought to be able to look at Lenin’s tomb for a chilling reminder that rigid, intolerant ideologies are usually flawed and destructive beyond imagining," Rodgers writes.

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Filed under  //  Bolshevism   Communism   History   Hitler   Lenin   Moscow   Nazi   Putin   Russia   Totalitarianism  
 
Jan 25 / 11:20pm

Putin against Totalitarianism and Despotism

by Mikael Storsjö

On Friday, Putin warned against the dangers of totalitarianism and despotism:

We should not allow the "Ukraine-ization" of political life in Russia but we should on no account slide in the other direction, towards totalitarianism and despotism.

Putin also called for cautious reform of the Russian political system:

We need to bring in necessary amendments but we need to act extremely carefully. Any effective political system needs a healthy level of conservatism. A political system should not wobble like liquid jelly every time it's touched.

Putin harshly rejected a call for officials to examine complaints on the Internet about vote rigging in the recent regional elections:

On the Internet, 50 percent is porn material. Why should we refer to the Internet?

Putin was speaking at a major meeting chaired by President Dmitry Medvedev and attended by Russia's political elite. Putin's stern comments contrasted with a speech by Medvedev, who called for a shake-up of the country's political system to promote opposition parties, criticising "non-existent" competition in local government. The more tech-savvy Medvedev is also a keen user of the Internet and has a video blog.

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Source AFP.

Filed under  //  Elections   Internet   Medvedev   Opposition   Putin   Russia   Totalitarianism  
 
Jan 13 / 7:44pm

Rehabilitating Joseph Stalin

by Kerkko Paananen

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Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin is enjoying a resurgent popularity in Russia. The Russian government has been sending clear signals in recent years that Stalin's achievements must be revered. What is behind the government's move to rehabilitate his image? Some opposition politicians believe it is tied to the efforts of Vladimir Putin's United Russia party to solidify its power.

"The state is hinting that Stalin's tactics are also part of its arsenal for controlling the country," says Sergei Mitrokhin, leader of the opposition Yabloko party. The widespread sympathy toward Stalin, he adds, is also a result of the lingering impact of Soviet propaganda, which the Russian government never tried to erase from the public consciousness after communism fell.

"All countries emerging from totalitarianism and evolving into a normal form of government carried out a long and difficult program of reforms and re-education, of coming to grips with the past," Mr Mitrokhin says. "Germany is still carrying out de-Nazification, while we never even began this process." The government is succeeding in dispelling the outrage toward Stalin's terror-filled reign.

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1949500,00.html

Filed under  //  History   Kremlin   Russia   Soviet   Stalin   Totalitarianism