...to the Candidates to the European Parliament, June 7, 2009

Concerning the Rebirth of Stalinism in the Russian Federation

Step by step, whether by veiled tricks or public measures, Stalinism is on the rise in the Russian Federation. Until now, each step in this direction has been relatively small, contributing to the illusion that the general situation has remained relatively unchanged, and that, for this reason, it is unnecessary to take measures against it.

The most recent steps towards the rebirth of Stalinism are, first, the bill proposed by Konstantin Zatulin, the Acting Chairman of the Committee for Russian Affairs Abroad of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, for “Counteracting the Rehabilitation of Nazism, Nazi criminals, and Nazi collaborators in the newly independent States that were former Soviet Republics”. And second, the “Commission for the Prevention of the Falsification of History against the Interests of Russia,” created by Dmitri Medvedev, President of the Russian Federation.

The activites in question are extremely one-sided. All attention is turned to Nazism and to the alleged falsification of history for the sake of Russian interests. The fact that many crimes were and continue to be perpetrated by individuals whose ideological views are different from those of the Nazis is utterly ignored. At the same time, there are ever more frequent attempts to falsify history, which are useful in promoting the interests of certain groups in Russia.

We, the undersigned, believe that all criminals should be punished, independent of the uniforms they wore while committing their crimes, or the ideology they use to justify those crimes. Turning attention solely to Nazi crimes is simply a technique for ignoring or even justifying other (including Communist) crimes.

Both Nazi and Communist crimes became possible to a great extent owing to the fact that many states gave them their tacit consent. Let us remember the Munich, Tehran, and Yalta agreements! In order to prevent the recurrence of totalitarian crimes in the future, it is necessary to forego this one-sided approach to the past and to demand the punishment of all criminals.

We, the undersigned candidates to the European Parliament, propose that the State Duma of the Russian Federation and the above-mentioned Commission replace the word “Nazi” with “all” in their bill and publications. If the one-sided measure is still adopted by the Duma, we propose that all those members of the Duma who voted on its behalf be denied entry to the member states of the European Union for 25 years. We also find it unacceptable to limit oneself only to those falsifications of history which prove damaging to alleged Russian interests. Falsifications of history must be taken whole, regardless of whom they help or harm!

Estonia. May 24, 2009
Kalju Mätik,
Mart-Olav Niklus,
Candidates to the European Parliament from Estonia

Contact: Mart-Olav Niklus, , Estonia, 51006 Tartu, Vikerkaare 25, Tel. (372) 7422590.

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