It’s absolutely true that the Soviet Union played a major role in the defeat of Nazi Germany in WW2. For this, for the courage displayed and the suffering endured, the armed forces of the USSR might be admired.
However, for me, this admiration must be counterbalanced against the other deeds of the Soviet regime.
In the famine of 1921 alone, estimates are that some five million Russians perished. Most authorities place the total loss of Russian life for the years 1914 to 1922, the period of war and civil war, foreign intervention, drought and famine at 20 million. In addition, industrial production and capacity were driven back to levels existing prior to 1900.
This is, after all, the same country that deliberately starved about 6 million of its own Ukrainian population in 1932-33.
This is, after all the same regime that imprisoned many of its own population in the Gulag Archipelago ~1936-1938 with grim results. How many of those died?
http://www.gendercide.org/case_stalin.html“In the original version of his book The Great Terror, Robert Conquest gave the following estimates of those arrested, executed, and incarcerated during the height of the Purge:
Arrests, 1937-1938 - about 7 million
Executed - about 1 million
Died in camps - about 2 million
In prison, late 1938 - about 1 million
In camps, late 1938 - about 8 million
Conquest concluded that "not more than 10 percent of those then in camp survived." Updating his figures in the late 1980’s based on recently-released archival sources, he increased the number of "arrests" to 8 million, but reduced the number in camps to "7 million, or even a little less." This would give
a total death toll for the main Purge period of just under ten million people. About 98 percent of the dead (Gendercide Watch's calculation) were male.”
Can you say “Russian Holocaust”?
This is, after all, the same regime that signed a mutual non-aggression treaty with Nazi Germany on August 23, 1939, the Molotov- Ribbentrop Treaty.
http://www.humboldt.edu/~rescuers/book/Makuch/molrib.html“Molotov Ribbentrop Treaty
On August 23, 1939 Hitler and Stalin signed a non-aggression pact, called the Molotov-Ribbentrop Treaty. Secret protocols of the treaty defined the territorial spheres of influence Germany and Russia would have after a successful invasion of Poland. Hitler had been creating justifications and laying plans for such an invasion since April.
According to the agreement, Russia would have control over Latvia, Estonia, and Finland, while Germany would gain control over Lithuania and Danzig. Poland would be partitioned into three major areas. The Warthland area, bordering Germany would be annexed outright to the German Reich, and all non-German inhabitants expelled to the east. Over 77,000 square miles of eastern Polish lands, with a population of over thirteen million would become Russian territory. The central area would become a German protectorate, named the General Government, governed by a German civil authority.
On September 1,1939 Hitler's forces invaded Poland from the west. According to plan, Soviet troops invaded Polish territory from the east on September 17. Poland surrendered on September 27. The next day Poland was partitioned according to the treaty's scheme, ending a brief twenty year period as an independent nation. “
When the Soviet Union invaded Poland there were in effect the following treaties and agreements between the governments of Poland and the Soviet Union:
The Peace Treaty between Poland, Russia and the Ukraine signed in Riga, on March 18, 1921, by which the Eastern frontiers of Poland were defined.
The Protocol between Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Rumania and the USSR regarding renunciation of war as an instrument of national policy, signed in Moscow on February 9, 1929.
The Non-Aggression Pact between Poland and the USSR signed in Moscow on July 25, 1932.
The Protocol signed in Moscow on May 5, 1934 between Poland and the USSR, extending until December 31, 1945, the Non-Aggression Pact of July 25, 1932.
The Convention for the Definition of Aggression signed in London on July 3, 1933.
Fine Fellows, don’t you think? Trustworthy, admirable, worthy of adulation.
Wait, don’t decide yet…there’s more “good deeds” to recount before we get to the sacrifice of the Soviet Union in fighting the Germans.
http://members.spree.com/ojoronen/eastbalt.htm“On June 17th and 18th of 1940, hundreds of thousands of Red Army troops crossed the frontiers and took over the Baltic States.
Between July 14th and July 17th, "elections" were held in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Stalin had so many Baltic Communists killed in purges in 1936 and 1937 that he had trouble finding candidates. However, the Communist majorities were 92.8%, 97.8% and 99.19% respectively. Finally on August 5th, the Supreme Soviet very generously agreed to admit the three republics as constituent members of the USSR
In this way three independent, prosperous and civilized countries vanished from the map of Europe.Stalin was now in a position to implement 0RDER N 0. 001223. During the first year of Soviet occupation of Estonia more than 60,000 persons were killed or deported (on the night of June 13-14, 1941 more than 10,000 people were removed in a mass deportation). During 1941-1944 the Nazis occupied Estonia.
Before the Soviets returned in 1944, over 60,000 Estonians managed to escape from the country. In 1945-1946 Stalin deported another 20,000 people. On March 24-27, 1949, 70,000 more persons were deported.
These were mainly farmers who resisted collectivization.
In Lithuania, on the night of June 14-15, 1941, 30,455 members of the Lithuanian intelligentsia (national guard, civil servants etc.) were deported to Siberia. When the Germans advanced in 1941, Stalin had the approximately 5,000 political prisoners still held in Lithuanian jails executed. When the Nazis took over, approximately 170,000 Jews were exterminated. Before the Soviets returned in 1944, approximately 80,000 Lithuanians managed to escape, but 60,000 were deported to Siberia. In 1945 - 1946 approximately 145,000 Lithuanians were deported. Another 60,O00 were deported in March of 1949 because of collectivization.
During the Winter War the Finns lost 25,000 people fighting the Soviet Union. If they had given in to the Soviet demands, like the three other Baltic States, the chances are that they would have had over 400,000 people killed. It seems that they made the right decision, and at the same time saved the N K V D officers a lot of work.”
Wait! Don’t form an opinion yet! There’s more before the Soviets resist the evil Germans!
Remember Poland? There was a place called Kaytn Forest….
http://members.spree.com/ojoronen/eastbalt.htm“Fifteen thousand Polish prisoners of war were taken illegally to the Soviet Union and kept in three camps, Kozielsk, Starobielsk and Ostashkov. Many of these people were officers. There were also many reserve officers consisting of University professors, surgeons, engineers, lawyers, teachers, journalists, etc…
