I guess countries with mass murder in their recent histories don’t like to be reminded of it. Japan has been having this problem some. Now it is the Russians turn:

Glaring omissions abound in Nikita Zagladin’s textbook, “History of Russia and the World in the 20th Century.” The Holocaust is never mentioned. The book barely acknowledges the Gulag labor camps.

Josef Stalin oversaw a murderous regime that killed millions of Russians. But with the country’s celebration of the 60th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany, the Georgian-born ruler has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity. The Siberian city of Mirny erected a statue of Stalin earlier this month, calling him “a great son of Russia who gave the people everything he had.” The city of Orel recently asked the federal government for permission to change street names to honor Stalin.

… It is in Russian classrooms, however, where authorities particularly want a renewed sense of national pride to take root.

… Dmitry Ermoltsev, a Moscow teacher … said he believes Kremlin attempts to polish the history taught in classrooms simply reflect a national reluctance to examine and learn from low points in Russian history.

Ermoltsev explains:

“Russians don’t like sharp criticism of their country’s history–it makes them feel humiliated,” Ermoltsev said. “Revising history and history books helps them overcome this discomfort …”

Now we wouldn’t want the Russian people to feel uncomfortable by openly discussing the facts of history. Uncle Joe, well, he killed people by the millions - mass starvations, mass executions, or you could just hang out in a gulag until you died - just minor stuff like that. But I guess that is a little discomforting.

I don’t see any good coming out of grossly whitewashing your history, especially when you are overlooking one of the most prolific mass murderers in history. The Russians could find plenty of heroics to celebrate in their history, in spite of the relentless oppression they have faced throughout their history, without glossing over the hard parts. I know that the Russians are made of tougher stuff than that. In fact, I would think that they would want to know their real history. There is a need for some leadership here coming from the Russian political class.

The whole notion that Stalin built up Russia is a sham. What if around 1900 Russia had adopted solid free-market principles, enforced strict anti-corruption laws, established clear and fair property rights, maintained transparency in taxation and government policies, and in general the government worked hard to promote business development? Russia would have developed very rapidly and prospered like the rest of Europe. Their vast natural resources would have helped also. Forced labor camps, forced collective farms, and a general communist terrorizing of the population is not an efficient means to develop a country.

Grrr. Let’s hope that the CIA goes into a full onslaught with their rapid-lake-draining equipment. I say, drain ‘em dry.

Update: If Uncle Joe did such a great job developing Russia, how come they rank today at #82 in GDP per capita? This makes them the poor man of Europe. Their GDP per capita is about the same as Mexico (ranked #85).

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