I (heart) Stalin
So it’s 6:30 in the morning and I just got home. Somehow I managed to go out last night, come home and get 6 hours of sleep, then go out to dinner. We decided to pop into the shithole bar we hang out at for a beer or two, and before we realized it was six in the morning. (And somehow I’m able to type this blog post before I go to bed.)
We met a group of Russians in there and started talking to them. At one point my friend and I asked one of the girls in their group, “Who is your favorite Russian from history?”
“Stalin.”
“Really? Stalin? You like Stalin?”
“No. I not like Stalin, I love Stalin.”
You might find this surprising, but Stalin is hugely admired by the Russian people, much like Mao is here in China. The reason is that, despite all the nefarious shit these strongmen engaged in, nobody can deny that they made their respective countries great and powerful. The Russians, after the fall of the Soviet Union, saw their country splinter and become a shadow of its former self. And, with a proud people like the Russians, it’s inevitable that people will look back on the Stalin years with a great deal of pride, especially the younger generation who didn’t have to live through it. (Think of American teenagers who walk around with Ché Guevara t-shirts on. None of them would be wearing that shirt if they knew what an evil bastard he was by living through his years in Cuba.)
Remember my point about there being no universal definition of freedom that applies equally to all people? This is exactly what I’m talking about.
