Stalinism is a term that refers to the
political system of the
Soviet Union under the leadership of
Joseph Stalin, leader of the
Soviet Union from 1928–1953.
[1] The term implies an inherently oppressive system of extensive government
spying,
extrajudicial punishment, and political "purging", or elimination of political opponents either by direct killing or through exile, and it involves a
state making extensive use of
propaganda to establish a
personality cult around an
absolute dictator to maintain control over the nation's people and to maintain political control for the
Communist Party. The term was originally coined in a positive sense by
Lazar Kaganovich, but nonetheless rejected by Stalin himself
[citation needed].
The term "Stalinism" is almost never used as a positive term. Those who subscribe to the ideas of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin and Mao almost never describe themselves as Stalinists; they see the term as not only disparaging but also indicative of an erroneous certainty among detractors of Stalin's legacy that his current supporters are "Stalin-worshippers". Even today, Stalin is seen as having been a positive figure by many in Russia. Typically, so-called Stalinists will either defend Stalin overall or will defend the most defensible aspects of his legacy, such as the victory over fascism in World War II, and will describe themselves as either Maoists or revolutionary communists or, if they desire to be more specific, as anti-revisionists.
Stalinism has been additionally described as "red fascism", especially in the United States after 1945,[2] but the term Stalinism had already gained international currency in the 1930s when the fight for political supremacy between Stalin and Trotsky was at its peak.
In connection with the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact an OSCE parliamentary resolution has condemned both Stalinism and fascism for starting World War II and called for a day of remembrance for victims of both Stalinism and Nazism on August 23. The Russian representatives in response to the resolution threatened the OSCE with "harsh consequences".[3][4]
