Stalin

The AP is reporting that a whole lot of Russians still admire Stalin:

MOSCOW – Television viewers have voted Soviet dictator Josef Stalin — who sent millions to their deaths in the Great Purge of the 1930s — Russia's third-greatest historical figure. ....

The project, called "The Name of Russia," culminated with the announcement Sunday night that Russian medieval leader Alexander Nevsky had been voted the greatest Russian, with more than 524,000 Internet and SMS votes. Stalin garnered more than 519,000 votes, and even led in early voting.

Nevsky defeated various European invaders during his 13th-century reign and was subsequently canonized.

In second place was Pyotr Stolypin, a prime minister early in the 20th century under Czar Nicholas II. Stolypin was recognized for land reform but gained notoriety for his brutal quashing of leftist revolutionaries. He saw to it that thousands were hanged for attempting to overthrow the imperial rulers. Stolypin received more than 523,000 votes.

At a time when the current Russian government is increasingly authoritarian, large-scale popular approval of one of the most brutal mass-murderers in world history [Saddam Hussein's idol and model] ought to be a matter of considerable worry.From Gordon Chang at Commentary:

...[T]he clear message for us is that we should start seeing Russia as it sees itself. The Russians obviously hold values we find abhorrent. That should, at a minimum, make us rethink the nature of our cooperation with them and their government.

We should remember we tried working with Stalin once. Maybe Putin is no communist dictator, but he is reasserting hardline rule when he is not trying to destabilize the international community. It’s time to take a fresh look at him and his Russia.

Dictator Stalin voted third-greatest Russian - Yahoo! News, Democide in Totalitarian States, Commentary » Blog Archive » Stalin Comes in Third