Posted on 01/02/2008 2:31:52 PM PST by John Semmens
Calling most existing textbooks “Russophobic, the Putin Regime has approved a revised version. The new Russian history textbook praises President Vladimir Putin as “a savior in the heroic tradition of Joseph Stalin.”
"I have analyzed books on Russian history in neighboring countries and come to the conclusion that our neighbors excel at educational Russophobia," said Alexander Filippov, editor of the new textbook. “They portray Soviet domination of Eastern Europe as a bad thing. Overlooked is the fact that Russian tanks are all that stood between these nations and Western decadence. As we have seen, since the withdrawal of this protection these countries have been flooded with Western goods. They now wallow in a pit of material abundance and temptation.”
The new textbook’s coverage of much of the twentieth century’s history will likely be regarded as controversial in many circles. Stalin, for example is called “efficient” and a “genius.”
The purges of the 1930s that saw fake trials send many to summary execution or torture in harsh prison camps near the Arctic Circle are described as “delousing” campaigns aimed at “ridding the state of saboteurs, counterrevolutionaries and parasites.”
The 1939 non-aggression pact with Hitler that launched World War II is characterized as a clever ploy to lure the fascist dictator to his doom. The 23 million Soviet citizens killed in the war are said to be the necessary price paid for “liberating Eastern Europe from Nazi tyranny.”
Over all, the Stalin era is portrayed as a veritable “golden age.” “The people were united behind a great leader,” Filippov said. “Troublemakers were easily dealt with. We won the war. It was a great time for Russians.”
The textbook also has good things to say about the Brezhnev regime, which is lauded for imposing the discipline needed to overcome the laxities of the Khrushchev years. Gorbachev is seen as “an unwitting tool of capitalism.” And the 1990s under Yeltsin, Russia's first post-Soviet leader, are described as a "crisis" that Putin has had to work mightily to abate.
read more...
http://www.azconservative.org/Semmens1.htm
You know the world is in bad shape when the satire is this close to reality.
As the “savior” of Russia, what kinds of poison did the “savior” use on his political enemies?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.