Russia brings Moldova back into the fold....

[gcartwright]

Just days ago, I reported on the realignment of Moldova, which has been brought back into the Russian sphere of influence. This is despite a desire, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, for Moldova to merge with Romania, and subsequently for further integration with the EU.

Now there comes an interesting development, which should be viewed not only in the context of this realignment, but also in that of Medevedev's law on "historical revisionism", which to many observers seems little more than an attempt to whitewash the crimes of the Soviet Union, particularly those committed under Stalin. The Association of Historians of Moldova has recommended that teachers should not use newly introduced school curriculam programs claiming that they are a deviation from the historical truth and represent “a refection of the Communist ideologue”.

The Association highlighted the fact that the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact, whereby the Stalinist government annexed Romanian territories, is excluded from the new curriculum.

As a result of that pact, of course, the Nazi bombers that darkened the skies above London during the Blitz were powered by Soviet supplied engines, a fact that is too often overlooked - the Kremlin itself has never been shy of a little "historical revisionism" when it suits their purposes. All credit to the Association of Historians of Moldova for speaking out, let us hope that they do not pay too high a price for their academic integrity.



Historical Revisionism in Moldova: Academics Speak out. | cartwright.eu.com

[nickcsadler]

Many countries conveniently forget their history when it suits them... not only Russia.. Great Britain does along with others..

[Max_the_Highlander]

Last time Russia turned into absolutely separate isolated space which has own rules of development.

Whatever happens in Moldova now, the days of communism there are counted.

Btw, Moldova is perfect example how pure parliamentary republic may be dictatorial, reprerssive and regressive. It's warning for Ukraine too.

[gcartwright]

Originally Posted by nickcsadler

Many countries conveniently forget their history when it suits them... not only Russia.. Great Britain does along with others..

I agree with you. I try to address this in my book, "Putin's Legacy", which is currently in production. I would welcome your comments on the following...


Although the Gulag was officially disbanded in the 1960s, so-called free-labour camps remain in operation in Siberia, as a part of the Russian penal system, to this day, accommodating up to one million inmates. The Russians have a word - "etapirovanie" - which means "transport in stages". In 2005, Valerii Abramkin, head of the Moscow Centre for Prison Reform, was quoted in the Moscow Times as saying the time during which prisoners are in transit is used to "shock them and break their spirit." Unable to communicate with the outside world, with up to 20 prisoners in a six-berth compartment, they are at the mercy of their guards. Abramkin told the newspaper that during stops, prisoners are often pulled out and made to lie down or kneel in the snow or dirt for hours while being beaten. A Labour camp in the far northern Yamal Peninsula, near the Arctic Circle, also remains in service, and it was rumoured that Mikhail Khordokovsky, the oligarch who fell out with the Kremlin after he sponsored pro-democratic political parties, has served part of his sentence there. Relatives have the right to know where loved ones are incarcerated, but there is no time-frame laid down within which this information must be imparted, so in reality many prisoners simply disappear into the system. Traditionally, NGOs would fight for the rights of such individuals, but Putin has shut many of these down, of course....

As recently as 2001, the St Petersburg Times reported that North Korea was sending prisoners to Siberian Labour camps as a means of paying off its Soviet-era debt to Russia.

A Russian observer might point, quite fairly and reasonably, to the murderous excesses of the British in South Africa, where our concentration camps and the atrocities committed against Boer civilians predated the horrors of Hitler and Stalin. I would accept such points, as I would accept that the treatment of the indigenous people of Kenya during the Mau Mau uprising was almost on a par with the deeds of the Nazi and Red armies, albeit on a far smaller scale. We are not innocent, and our own history is littered with atrocities. Sadly, Russia still appears to be stuck in that phase of its development.

If we criticise the Kremlin for the way in which Gazprom, and the energy sector in general, is used as a tool of Russian foreign and economic policy, how can we possibly defend the past activities of exploitative organisations as the East India, or Hudson Bay Companies, on which much of Britain's wealth was built?

Medvedev's law banning certain interpretations of Soviet history to be discussed publically causes a sharp intake of breath amongst historians, instinctively wary of any form of censorship. But we should remember that more than a dozen European countries have laws that ban 'denial' of the Holocaust. Certain Western nations wallow in nostalgia over the Second World War, so why should not Russia try to protect the memory of its vast numbers of casualties? We might well argue that this law is abusing that memory as a smokescreen for the horrors of Stalinism, and that the dictator's bungling approach to foreign policy and incompetent handling of the war effort probably contributed more than almost any other factor to his country's suffering; but one could equally argue that those countries that have enacted Holocaust denial laws are simply wracked with guilt about their own collaboration with the Nazis, and are seeking to make amends to the victims.


Eu - Russia relations | cartwright.eu.com