According to opinion polls, most Russians would not want to live in the times of Joseph Stalin. For fans of the tyranny of Stalin’s role in modern plays the Russian President Vladimir Putin, says the journalist Vitaly Portnikov.
The survey “Levada-center” showed that more than half of Russians believe that Stalin played a positive role in the history of Russia, while 60% of respondents would not like to live under Stalin.Journalist Vitaly Portnikov does not see contradictions. He wrote about this in an article for “Radio Liberty”.
“54% believe that Stalin played a positive role in Russian history. 67% believe the famous killer of the wise leader. With 62% at the same time believe that Stalin was a cruel tyrant, but perhaps there is no contradiction. A wise leader does not have to be a cruel tyrant? In Russia such a claim seems odd,” said Portnikov.
The reluctance to live in Tirana is connected not with fear of repression, the author.
“Admirers of tyranny already have a modernized Stalin – Putin. It is no coincidence that the number of people with a positive attitude towards Stalin for the first time exceeded the number of negative responses in March 2014, after the occupation of Crimea and the beginning of the war in the Donbass. Putin began to openly act like Stalin and the Stalinists recognized him as,” said Portnikov.
The survey “Levada-center” was held March 11-14. 54% of respondents consider Stalin a wise leader who brought the Soviet Union to prosperity.
In 2013, the Carnegie Foundation published a report that said that with the arrival of Putin in Russia “the beginning of the quiet rehabilitation of Stalin”. If in 1989, Stalin’s support rating was 12%, in 2012 it increased to 49%. and now exceeds 50%.
In recent years, in Russia there are dozens of monuments to Stalin, and in 2015 in Penza opened the “Stalinist centre”.
