Russia’s Yabloko party calls for liability for denial of crimes of Stalinism

The opposition party “Yabloko” is proposing to make justifying the mass repression and murder of millions of innocent victims a criminal offence, as well as denial of the mass repression and destruction of social and national groups. This is to be included in their programme “on overcoming Bolshevism, Stalinism and nationalism in political practice and public consciousness”.  The move is an appropriate counter-response to the suggestions made last week by Russia’s Prosecutor General and Minister for Emergencies (the latter also holding an important post in the ruling “United Russia party”.

The statement speaks of the need “at state level to give a clear and unequivocal legal, political and moral assessment of the violent seizure of power by the Bolsheviks in 1917-1918, the character and nature of the political regime they created and its political activities.”

Interfax reports that the Yabloko statement has been supported by the Head of the Moscow Helsinki Group Ludmila Alexeeva, the Head of the Board of “Memorial”, Arseny Roginsky and member of the Board Yan Rachinsky.

Please see the links below for more details about the statements made last week by high-ranking Russian officials, and apparently echoed by President Medvedev.

It is also important to note how relevant such measures are in the new Russia which developed under President Putin.  Over the last two years there has been a strong drive to change the way children in schools learn about history.  The new “positive” approach not only propagandizes Putin, badmouths opponents, such as Khodorkovsky, but also to a large extent whitewashes the crimes of the Stalin regime. http://khpg.org.ua/en/index.php?id=1219789707  and http://khpg.org.ua/en/index.php?id=1223054959