Discussion of Stalinism

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

I'm just showing that even a quick check of something as plain and as available as population numbers discredits those figures.

As said, demographics do not tell the whole story - and obviously so, as many historians have looked at those killed by the Soviet Union, including demographics, and come out with the same story. In fact, I think there is a demographics section somewhere on the website I linked to.

[Sarmatian]

Moscow had no importance but yet they tried to capture the city?

It had no importance in June 22, when attack on USSR commenced. The goal was to destroy so much of the Red Army that Soviet Union has no choice but to surrender or at least accept the peace at extremely unfavourable terms. Quick victory was the main objective, like in the case of Poland, the Low Countries or France. When in September it became clear that quick victory by destruction of the Red Army is impossible, as Red Army deployed its numerous reserves, Germany changed the plan. They hoped they could achieve the same results (surrender of the USSR or at least getting them bloody and battered to the peace table) by taking Moscow. Even if Soviets continued to resist, taking Moscow would have been of great symbolic value, not to mention how important transportation hub it was.

Sound reasoning no doubt, problem is it didn't work and it is highly questionable would USSR surrender after losing Moscow. That's my point.

As said, demographics do not tell the whole story - and obviously so, as many historians have looked at those killed by the Soviet Union, including demographics, and come out with the same story. In fact, I think there is a demographics section somewhere on the website I linked to.

They don't but, they form the basis. Let's say I try to discern how many soldiers Country A lost in a battle against Country B. Eyewitness account says 12,000 for example. Then I take a look at official numbers, number of provisions taken on the campaign etc... and I see that the size of the army of the Country A could have been no more than 10,000. Obviously, even if I have an eyewitness estimate, I must take at as wrong.

Also, I'm not staking my claim only on demographic data.

The main reasons are:
1) Virtually all data that show such huge numbers are before the 1990's, when Russia was pretty much closed for any serious research by anyone outside.
2) A good chunk of that data comes from people who defected for one reason or the another, such people can not be a priori considered unbiased
3) In that period Cold Was was very real and both sides used propaganda extensively.
4) In the same period, exaggerating those numbers was very politically convenient and useful (getting published or getting research grants, getting attention in the press or TV, that sort of stuff)
5) Demographic data show that those kind of numbers are highly improbable if not impossible outright, depending on which figure we are talking about
6) Data available in the 1990's and afterward casts doubts on those figures.


We've seen this time and again. There are still misconceptions about Eastern Front in the WW2. Still most people in the West believe it was mass frontal attacks by the Red Army during the entire war what defeated Wehrmacht, that pretty much all Red Army commanders were rigid, unimaginative and poorly skilled (soldiers and lower rank commanders, too, btw), that it was allied landing in Normandy what defeated Germany, that it was actually land-lease what made it possible and so on... There are still misconceptions and bias about Russia in general and much more so about USSR. When intervention in Georgia was on the table, every possible media story was about strategical or geopolitical goals of Russia, how they were just waiting for the right provocation... It included little or no story from the Russian side and Russian sources were practically ignored. On the contrast, in 1999 no one in the media doubted or dared to doubt that NATO bombing campaign was anything but a humanitarian crusade against the wicked to protect the oppressed. God forbid that anyone thought there was any gain in it for US or NATO.

[A Terribly Harmful Name]

Demographics can and did register the impacts of the Holocaust, let alone of the Holodomor.

[Aemilius Paulus]

Demographics can and did register the impacts of the Holocaust, let alone of the Holodomor.

Once again, did you even read the whole thread? That is helpful sometimes, you know. There was this whole argument here, with hundreds of points and here you drop as if from the sky and quack once. What are you even saying? We are debating on the extent of Stalin's Purges. We all know it happned, just not how large it was. Sarmatian was right in the sense that nothing close to official statistics exist. The once the Western world uses were not much better than conjured by a couple of out-of touch eggheads, with one leg over the other, at comfortable chairs, enjoying cigars in a library. Alright, that was an obvious overstatement, but really, the death claims are ridiculous. It seems as if they are pulled out of the mist, so varied they are.

....

[A Terribly Harmful Name]

Ah, yes. All hail the Great Leader, AP. Sorry but if you read a classic named "The Black Book of Communism" you will come across a dedicated and well sourced study with not the lowest or most flattering numbers.

It could be all Zionist, Illuminati or Capitalist propaganda, of course, but I'm not so eager to fall into con theories as some nationalists do.

[A Terribly Harmful Name]

You know, I was preparing a lenghty response but I just realized you're trying to bait me. Good luck with your brawling .

And let the discussion continue. It's a good read for now.

[Brenus]

“Demographics can and did register the impacts of the Holocaust, let alone of the Holodomor.”
No. We can’t be sure of victims of holocaust.
If you think so, give me the number of Serbs killed by the Utase regime in extermination camp and mass execution… Or the number of Tziganes (Gypsies) killed in German’s extermination camps…

Holodomor: A Stalin’s famine specifically created for Ukraine? The fact is all Russia suffered of this one.
Still, you can’t know because no reliable statistics are available. All of them would have come either from the Tsar, or the Red Commies you don’t trust ant way…

“The Black Book of Communism”: Well, the intention is in the title and is clear: bad commies…
And from where their figures are coming from?