this post was submitted on 09 Mar 2024

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What's the deal with Stalin? (hexbear.net)

submitted 8 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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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.

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[–] [email protected] 75 points 8 months ago (2 children)

70% good 30% bad. Absolutely must be analysed within the historical context of the time. Should not be seen as a cartoon character monster, a constructed image that has been built up as a means of opposition to socialism as he represents the first socialist experiment and its incredibly fast rise against capitalism.

Strongly recommend Domenico Losurdo's book - Stalin: History and Critique of A Black Legend

[–] [email protected] 26 points 8 months ago

Ooh, didn't know he wrote one on Stalin. Reading "Liberalism: A Counter-History" right now, and he goes hard

[–] [email protected] 17 points 8 months ago (2 children)

I just read the front matter of the English translation and I definitely want to read more and other works of his.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 8 months ago (1 children)

He confronts mistakes and faults quite honestly, which is how it should be and the only way the myths can be swept away.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (3 children)

Coincidentally, I was just listening to a podcast interviewing Marxists who released a translation of this book, if you're interested in listening to a discussion about it before reading, @[email protected].

Youtube link: Actually Exiting Socialism Podcast: Critiquing Stalin's Black Legend w/ Henry Hakamäki & Salvatore Engel-Di Mauro. Piped link: https://pi.ggtyler.dev/watch?v=plFyR9yIt-c

Henry Hakamäki (@huck1995), host of Guerrilla History podcast (@guerrilla_pod) and Professor Salvatore Engel Di-Mauro join the show to talk about their recent English translation of historian Domenico Losurdo's "Stalin: History and Critique of a Black Legend".

This episode is the first part of a longer discussion. In this part we talk about what a black legend even is, the general thesis behind Domenico Losurdo’s controversial book, what academic consensus has to say about the realities and myths surrounding historical presentations of Stalin, and how his often distorted legacy impacts left wing movements to this day. And that just gets us started!

They also released the book/translation as a free .pdf here: https://www.iskrabooks.org/stalin-history-and-critique

So there you go... podcast discussion for the notes and primary points you were asking about, and the book itself for the real reading suggestion.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 8 months ago

Awesome thanks!

[–] [email protected] 4 points 8 months ago

Yes that's a great episode.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Do you know if the rest of the discussion has been released anywhere?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Sorry for the late response, I just now saw your comment.

If you didn't already find it, the following episode, "Stalin vs MLK Jr: Soviet Anti-colonialism & Anti-racism w/ Henry Hakamäki & Salvatore Engel-Di Mauro" is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6heIlF_Ntbs (also here)

This episode is the second and final part of a longer discussion. In this part we move into the specifics of the often airbrushed history of anti-racist and anti-colonial policies under Stalin’s Soviet Union and even ponder whether Stalin’s impact on these material objectives was more substantive than that of civil rights figure and fellow socialist - Martin Luther King Jr. We also discuss the equally airbrushed links between liberal democracies and nazi fascism. In the spirit of Domenico Lusurdo we continue to deconstruct, evaluate, and critique the black legends attributed to Stalin.

It's been a really informative podcast and I'd recommend it in general. These are some other recent episodes:

How to Visit North Korea w/ Zoe Stephens

Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic 101: Pre-history to World War II w/ Iskolat

The Propaganda War Against China w/ Carlos Martinez

How China Avoided The Soviet Union's Fate w/ Carlos Martinez

Black Girl From Pyongyang, North Korea w/ Monica Macias

How the Soviet "Threat" Benefited Workers in the West w/ Alice Malone

etc.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

Thank you! I saw that in my search but didn't realize it was the second part.

I'm almost halfway through the book now, it's really good not just as a look at Stalin but for understanding the complexities of revolution.

Thanks for the recs!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:

[–] [email protected] 11 points 8 months ago

Stalin does a great job of boiling down Lennin in a lot of his writings.