Stalin Society
Encyclopedia
The Stalin Society is a British
discussion group for individuals who see Joseph Stalin
as a great Marxist-Leninist
and wish to preserve what they believe is his positive legacy. According to its 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."
, 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
. 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 its founders, Bill Bland
, was expelled in a doctrinal dispute.
The society’s website also contains documents that deny the responsibility of the Soviet government during the time of Stalin’s leadership for the Holodomor
, the Great Purge
, or the Katyn Massacre
, which they variously dismiss as propaganda, describe as fair process, or blame on the Nazis
.
The society continues to hold public meetings, most often at Conway Hall in central London
. The Stalin Society has produced many booklets on CPSU purges, famines and George Orwell
.
described a meeting of the society in a highly critical fashion in New Statesman
of 10 June 2002. Hari wrote that a meeting of the society at which he attended consisted only "of around 30 people is primarily - as you might expect - elderly to the point of decrepitude" and that "for these people, Stalinism has become a habit they can't shake off" (although he noted there were a few young people). Hari compared the Stalin Society to the "Flat Earth Society
, or Elvis fans who insist that the King is still alive." Finally, Hari criticized what he views as the society's complete dismissal of any criticism of Stalin.
The Independent gained an (unpublished) response from the Stalin Society, which criticised Johann Hari's reference to the society and Joseph Stalin in a later article for The Independent. The letter written by Harpal Brar
and Joti Brar, criticized what it described as Hari's "unfounded and vituperative attacks on Stalin and the USSR that he led" and accused him of making "baseless and scurrilous assertions." The letter also praised the "monumental achievements of the Soviet Union under the leadership of Stalin in the fields of industry, agriculture, education, science and culture."
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
discussion group for individuals who see Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
as a great Marxist-Leninist
Marxism-Leninism
Marxism–Leninism is a communist ideology, officially based upon the theories of Marxism and Vladimir Lenin, that promotes the development and creation of a international communist society through the leadership of a vanguard party over a revolutionary socialist state that represents a dictatorship...
and wish to preserve what they believe is his positive legacy. According to its website, "[t]he Stalin Society was formed in 1991 to defend Stalin and his work on the basis of fact and to refute capitalist
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
, revisionist, opportunist
Opportunism
-General definition:Opportunism is the conscious policy and practice of taking selfish advantage of circumstances, with little regard for principles. Opportunist actions are expedient actions guided primarily by self-interested motives. The term can be applied to individuals, groups,...
and Trotskyist
Trotskyism
Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party of the working-class...
propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
directed against him."
Organization
The society is based on individual membership but political groups such as the Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist)Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist)
The Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain is a British communist political party. It was originally named the Communist Party of England , until it was reorganised after rejecting Maoism. The party's thinking is based on the politics of Hardial Bains, who died in 1997...
, and the Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist-Leninist)
Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist-Leninist)
The Communist Party of Great Britain is a British communist party which has a close relationship with the Workers' Party of Korea.-History:The party was founded on July 3, 2004 in London...
are notably prominent within it. Many have pointed to a considerable overlap of membership with Arthur Scargill
Arthur Scargill
Arthur Scargill is a British politician who was President of the National Union of Mineworkers from 1982 to 2002, leading the union through the 1984–85 miners' strike, a key event in British labour and political history...
's Socialist Labour Party
Socialist Labour Party (UK)
The Socialist Labour Party is a far left socialist political party in the United Kingdom. The party is led by former trade union leader Arthur Scargill, who established it in 1996 as a breakaway from the Labour Party...
. The Stalin Society's chair, Harpal Brar
Harpal Brar
Harpal Brar is an Indian-born communist politician, writer and businessman based in Britain.Born in Muktsar, Punjab, British India, Brar has lived and worked in Britain since 1962, first as a student and lecturer in law at Harrow College of Higher Education , and later in the textile business...
, 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
Association of Communist Workers
The Association of Communist Workers was an anti-revisionist political party in the United Kingdom.It originated in 1969 as a split from the Revolutionary Marxist-Leninist League around Harpal Brar. Initially regarded as Maoist, it spent time working in the women's movement through its "Union of...
. One of its founders, Bill Bland
Bill Bland
William 'Barbosa' Bland was a British Marxist-Leninist and optician who was notable as a worldwide leader of a movement that backed Enver Hoxha, the Albanian communist leader, in the struggles over Marxist-Leninist orthodoxy in the later 1960s...
, was expelled in a doctrinal dispute.
The society’s website also contains documents that deny the responsibility of the Soviet government during the time of Stalin’s leadership for the Holodomor
Holodomor
The Holodomor was a man-made famine in the Ukrainian SSR between 1932 and 1933. During the famine, which is also known as the "terror-famine in Ukraine" and "famine-genocide in Ukraine", millions of Ukrainians died of starvation in a peacetime catastrophe unprecedented in the history of...
, the Great Purge
Great Purge
The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...
, or the Katyn Massacre
Katyn massacre
The Katyn massacre, also known as the Katyn Forest massacre , was a mass execution of Polish nationals carried out by the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs , the Soviet secret police, in April and May 1940. The massacre was prompted by Lavrentiy Beria's proposal to execute all members of...
, which they variously dismiss as propaganda, describe as fair process, or blame on the Nazis
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
.
The society continues to hold public meetings, most often at Conway Hall in central London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The Stalin Society has produced many booklets on CPSU purges, famines and George Orwell
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...
.
Criticism
British journalist Johann HariJohann Hari
Johann Hari is an award winning British journalist who has been a columnist at The Independent, the The Huffington Post, and contributed to several other publications. In 2011, Hari was accused of plagiarism; he subsequently was suspended from The Independent and surrendered his 2008 Orwell Prize...
described a meeting of the society in a highly critical fashion in New Statesman
New Statesman
New Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
of 10 June 2002. Hari wrote that a meeting of the society at which he attended consisted only "of around 30 people is primarily - as you might expect - elderly to the point of decrepitude" and that "for these people, Stalinism has become a habit they can't shake off" (although he noted there were a few young people). Hari compared the Stalin Society to the "Flat Earth Society
Flat Earth Society
The Flat Earth Society is an organization that seeks to further the belief that the Earth is flat instead of an oblate spheroid. The modern organization was founded by Englishman Samuel Shenton in 1956 and was later led by Charles K...
, or Elvis fans who insist that the King is still alive." Finally, Hari criticized what he views as the society's complete dismissal of any criticism of Stalin.
The Independent gained an (unpublished) response from the Stalin Society, which criticised Johann Hari's reference to the society and Joseph Stalin in a later article for The Independent. The letter written by Harpal Brar
Harpal Brar
Harpal Brar is an Indian-born communist politician, writer and businessman based in Britain.Born in Muktsar, Punjab, British India, Brar has lived and worked in Britain since 1962, first as a student and lecturer in law at Harrow College of Higher Education , and later in the textile business...
and Joti Brar, criticized what it described as Hari's "unfounded and vituperative attacks on Stalin and the USSR that he led" and accused him of making "baseless and scurrilous assertions." The letter also praised the "monumental achievements of the Soviet Union under the leadership of Stalin in the fields of industry, agriculture, education, science and culture."
External links
- British Stalin Society's homepage
- Moscow: Stalin 2.0 - video report by Global Post