Stalin Society

The Stalin Society is a British discussion group for individuals who see Joseph Stalin as a great Marxist–Leninist and wish to preserve his legacy, which they believe to be positive. The society originated as a consequence of the dissolution of the Soviet Union and what the members perceived as a subsequent increase in the criticism of Stalin.[1] According to the Stalin Society's website, "[t]he Stalin Society was formed in 1991 to defend Stalin and his work on the basis of fact and to refute capitalist, revisionist, opportunist and Trotskyist propaganda directed against him".[2]

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Organisation

The society is based on individual membership but political groups such as the Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist–Leninist), and the Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist–Leninist) are notably prominent within it. Many have pointed to a considerable overlap of membership with Arthur Scargill's Socialist Labour Party, including Scargill himself.[3] The Stalin Society's chair, Harpal Brar, for instance, was at one time a member of both organisations (although he subsequently left the SLP to head the CPGB-ML). Through Brar, the society was also linked to the Association of Communist Workers. One of the Stalin Society's founders, Bill Bland, was expelled in an organizational dispute.[3][4] Kamal Majid, a founding member of the Stalin Society, is a patron of the Stop the War Coalition.[5][6]

Views on mass deaths during Stalin’s leadership
Further information: Excess mortality in the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin

The Stalin Society puts forward unconventional views on events such as the Holodomor, a famine that killed millions of Ukrainians in 1932–33, the Great Purge, a campaign of political repression in the Soviet Union in 1936–38, and the Katyn massacre, a mass execution of Polish figures in 1940. The responsibility for these events is generally ascribed to the NKVD during the time of Stalin’s leadership, but articles published online by the Stalin Society deny this, citing Nikolai Yezhov, and not Stalin as responsible.

The Holodomor is said to have resulted from poor weather conditions and sabotage by rich peasants. The belief that Stalin intentionally brought the famine about in order to break the Ukrainian national spirit is attributed to 1930s anti-Soviet propaganda perpetuated by Ukrainian nationalists and McCarthyists.[7] The Great Purge is regarded as a fair legal process designed to thwart an anti-Soviet coup, for which the numbers of imprisoned and dead have been exaggerated by anti-Soviet propagandists.[8] The Katyn Massacre is said to have been committed by Nazi German forces who captured Polish prisoners of war held by the Soviets. Nazi propaganda is said to have been responsible for its attribution to the Soviets.[9]

21st century
Hasan Fakri addressing a meeting of the Stalin Society, Bangladesh

The society continues to hold public meetings,[10]. The Stalin Society has produced many booklets on subjects including CPSU purges, famines and George Orwell.[11]

The "Stalin Society of Pakistan" was formed in 2013 and has a website and Facebook account. The society has claimed on Facebook that it "stands for communist revolution in Pakistan"[12] and on its website it states that it is "not a political party but an academic venture" which aims to "refute anti-Stalin propaganda and revisionism".[13] Stalin Societies have also been formed in the United States and Canada, Tunisia, India, Italy, Ireland, and Argentina, and an International Stalin Society was formed in 2014.[14]

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See also

References
  1. "Iris Mary Jessie Cremer, 1943-2014". Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist-Leninist). 5 April 2014.
  2. "Official web site". The Stalin Society. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  3. Andy McSmith and Severin Carrell, "Stalin apologists drink to the memory of Uncle Joe", The Independent, 2 March 2003
  4. "The antagonisms in the Stalin Society (an attack on Bill Bland)". London. 5 March 1995. Archived from the original on May 25, 2005.
  5. "Stop the War Patrons, Officers and Steering Committee". Stop the War coalition. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  6. Ed Miliband's friends of Assad - Daily Telegraph Sep 8, 2013
  7. John Puntis, "The Ukrainian famine-genocide myth", July 2002
  8. Mario Sousa, "Lies concerning the history of the Soviet Union", March 1999
  9. Ella Rule, "The Katyn Massacre", July 2002
  10. "Stalin Society Meetings". The Stalin Society. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  11. "Stalin Society Publications". The Stalin Society. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
  12. "Facebook on the rise in Pakistan". Asharq Al-Awsat. 24 October 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  13. "About Us". Stalin Society of Pakistan. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  14. Tahir Asghar; Malem Ningthouja; Ashim Roy; Vijay Singh; C.N. Subramaniam, eds. (September 2014). "International Stalin Society Formed". Revolutionary Democracy. XX (2).
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