Lawsuit to defend Stalin divides Russia
MOSCOW 鈥� Both sides are hoping that a lawsuit that opened Tuesday in a Moscow court will turn into Russia鈥檚 trial of the century 鈥� of the last century, that is.
On first blush, it鈥檚 a simple libel case. Yevgeny Dzhugashvili, grandson of former Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, alleges that Russia鈥檚 leading opposition newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, falsely accused Mr. Stalin of signing 鈥渄eath lists鈥� and committing 鈥渃rimes against [his] own people鈥� in an article last April by historian Anatoly Yablokov. He is suing for $300,000 in damages. Novaya Gazeta stands by its publication, and its editor, Dmitri Muratov says the paper is ready to take part in any legal action 鈥渂ecause we are anti-Stalinists,鈥� dedicated to establishing the historical truth.
Both sides say they are ready for a long and tough court battle. They believe any judgment rendered will have sweeping social repercussions, and be seen 鈥� rightly or wrongly 鈥� as an indication of where today鈥檚 Kremlin stands on this most sensitive of historical issues.
Stalin鈥檚 legacy: Golden age or nightmare?
Though Stalin died more than half a century ago, his legacy remains the focus of fierce controversy, both in Russia and among its former Soviet-dominated neighbors.
Many Russians still view the Stalin years as a golden age, in which the USSR was transformed from a backward peasant nation into an industrial dynamo, defeated Nazi Germany, developed the A-bomb, and rose to become a global superpower. Others associate Stalin鈥檚 rule with the horrors of collectivization, the gulag prison camps that swallowed up millions at their peak in the 1930s, mass executions by the Soviet secret police, catastrophic mistakes during World War II, and an authoritarian hangover that lingers in Russian political culture.
An early September poll released by the independent Levada Center in Moscow shows the public almost evenly divided on how to view the record of the man who iron-fistedly ruled the USSR for three decades, with 38 percent agreeing with the statement that Stalin was a 鈥渟tate criminal鈥� and 44 percent disagreeing.
Some experts believe the dispute is rooted in a generation gap that will fade as elderly Russians, many of whom are nostalgic for the old days, pass away.
鈥淓ven though my own father was repressed [in the purges]. . . I believed in Stalin and thought he was a great leader,鈥� says Roy Medvedev, Russia鈥檚 leading historian of the Stalin era. 鈥淎 considerable part of the older people, like myself, cannot accept condemnation of Stalin. In Stalin鈥檚 times they lived, they went to war, they thought they lived in a great state. Later, under [former Soviet leader Mikhail] Gorbachev and [Russia鈥檚 first president Boris] Yeltsin, they had a hungry life, full of humiliations,鈥� he says. 鈥淪o, they have nothing left but Stalin.鈥�
鈥楶ropaganda鈥� to justify the present?
Russian liberals, who back Novaya Gazeta, warn that under Mr. Yeltsin鈥檚 successor, Vladimir Putin, Russia has moved sharply in an authoritarian direction 鈥� accompanied by a growing tendency to reach back to Stalin-era 鈥渁chievements鈥� as a source of legitimacy. They point to small signals that seem to whitewash the old dictator, such as the restoration of a Stalinist mural in a Moscow metro station last month, and a new school text that describes Stalin as 鈥渁n effective manager.鈥�
More seriously, the Kremlin has established a special commission aimed at combating 鈥渉istorical falsifications,鈥� which critics fear may be used to impose a pro-Stalin orthodoxy on the media and educational establishment.
鈥淚 think the authorities intend to change our constitutional system away from democracy towards authoritarianism,鈥� says Lyudmilla Alexeyeva, a Soviet-era dissident who heads Russia鈥檚 oldest human rights organization, the Moscow Helsinki Group. She says the Kremlin is praising the positive achievements of the USSR while blocking exposure of the crimes that lay at its heart.
鈥淭his is not a simple dispute between generations,鈥� she says. 鈥淧eople of my age remember how things were in Stalin鈥檚 times, but the youth doesn鈥檛. It鈥檚 easier to deceive young people through propaganda, and some people are making good use of this.鈥�
Lamenting the fall from superpower
Lined up behind Mr. Dzhugashvili is a coalition of old-time Communists and Russian nationalists, who argue that Stalin led the USSR to superpower status and national greatness, and that his successors wrecked the empire and turned Russia into a global laughingstock.
Denunciations of Stalin began in the USSR with a secret speech in 1956 by his successor, Nikita Khrushchev, and reached a peak under the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev.
鈥淔or more than half a century, lies have been poured on Stalin鈥檚 name,鈥� says Leonid Zhura, Dzhugashvili鈥檚 lawyer, who says he became an admirer of Stalin by studying the historical record. He says the upcoming trial is not simply about defending Stalin鈥檚 reputation, but about affirming his methods as legitimate.
鈥淩ussia鈥檚 development should be different from the Western, democratic, liberal way,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he discussion about Stalin鈥檚 role going on in society... is a dispute about the future development of humanity.鈥�
A court decision affirming Stalin鈥檚 innocence might help the public see the inadequacy of today鈥檚 leaders, President Dmitri Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin, he suggests. 鈥淲hat are they as compared to Stalin?鈥� Mr. Zhura asks. 鈥淭hey are so small.鈥�
In a letter written on behalf of his father, Dzhugashvili鈥檚 son Yakov, a Tbilisi-based artist, told the Monitor that the main purpose of the lawsuit was to force Novaya Gazeta to provide documentary proof of its specific claims against Stalin. He blamed the media for spreading lies about Stalin, which sap the strength of society and play into the hands of Russia鈥檚 enemies in the West. 鈥淭he elites of the West and Russia are terrified, and that鈥檚 why they are doing their best to prevent the truth about Stalin to penetrate into the media,鈥� he insisted.
Some are hoping that Dzhugashvili vs. Novaya Gazeta, however it turns out, will begin a process in which the old dictator and his legacy can finally be put to rest. But pessimists worry that it may be too little, too late.
鈥淧ublic condemnation of Stalin is ceasing, while glorification of him is going full speed,鈥� says Ernst Cherny, secretary of the Committee in Defense of Scientists, a human rights group. 鈥淚 fear [in this atmosphere] no one will even come to watch the trial at all.鈥�
