The West’s Deal With The Devil
Bear the guilt
Time to hear an apology for the Great Terror in the Soviet Union
By Eric Margolis
This seems to be historic guilt month. Germany just opened a new memorial to Jewish victims of Nazi persecution. Armenians demand Turkey admit Ottoman-era massacres were genocide. Japan is being blasted anew for denying wartime atrocities.
Yet the greatest crime in modern history, and bloodiest genocide, have almost vanished from our collective memory. Last week marked the 70th anniversary of the Great Terror in the Soviet Union in which tens of millions were murdered or imprisoned.
Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, at least commemorated for the first time what he termed “colossal” Soviet crimes by attending a memorial this week for its victims.
It was interesting watching Putin, former head of the FSB security service, denouncing crimes of its direct predecessors, KGB and NKVD. The same Putin who recently called the Soviet Union’s collapse a “tragedy.” Still, we applaud his long-overdue recognition of Communist-era crimes.
The Soviet terror began in the 1920s when Lenin ordered the extermination of Cossacks and opponents of the Bolsheviks. Next came Catholics of White Russia, and resisters to communism in the Baltic states and Moldova. Stalin then ordered liquidation of two million small farmers, known as “Kulaks.”
In 1932-33, Stalin unleashed genocide against Ukraine’s independent-minded farmers.
Six to seven million Ukrainians were shot or purposely starved to death. The man who directed this genocide, Lazar Kaganovich was made Hero of the Soviet Union and died in Moscow in 1991. (more…)

















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