In my continued exposure to leftist spaces and a leftist view on history it has become clear that all I understand about Stalin is the reactionary rhetoric I've been fed my whole life. I have only just started on reading theory and exposing myself to a leftist view, so Stalin as a topic isn't something I've reached yet.

But I have to ask, and I think this is the place to ask it, what is the deal with Stalin?

The vibe I get is that people at a minimum don't hate Stalin, but also maybe at most appricate Stalin. I'm aware that the efforts of the USSR during WW2, especially in regards to Nazi aggression are a credit to his administration and leadership, but is that really where the vibe starts and stops?

I'm not looking for a dissertation on the guy, but just the notes or primary points. I'll take reading suggestions too.

Thanks comrades.

    • MaoTheLawn [any, any]
      ·
      8 months ago

      Are there any resources you could recommend about Jewish Nationalism in Russia? Whenever I look it up I just get swamped with stuff about Stalins relationship to Zionism, I suppose because Zionism is a current issue so it dominates my search algorithm.

      Thanks for your insight.

    • Rod_Blagojevic [none/use name]
      ·
      8 months ago

      When you say Jewish nationalism are you talking about zionism? This is probably the most common liberal critique of Stalin, conflating antizionism and antisemitism. If anything, history has shown that the USSR should've been more aggressive and consistent when repressing zionism.

      I think the experience of the holocaust made it pretty clear that rightwing ethnic nationalism is extremely dangerous and very damaging to the working class solidarity needed to fight racism.