Stalinism and Putinism
Today we added a page to this website about the striking similarities between the current regime of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (°1952) and the regime of Ioseb dze Besarionis Dzhugashvili (1878-1953), better known as Joseph Stalin, in the time of Mikhail Bulgakov
When the late Alexey Anatolievich Navalny (1976-2024) had to undergo one show trial after another with the regularity of a clock, the situation in the Russian Federation was often compared to the dark times of the Stalin regime under which Mikhail Bulgakov suffered greatly, and to which he responded by writing, among other things, The Master and Margarita. On 20 July 2013, this even prompted Denis MacShane, the former UK Minister for European Affairs, to say: «Where are you, Mikhail Bulgakov, when we need you?».
MacShane was not far off the mark with this statement. In the Russian Federation, we are once again seeing unlimited propaganda tools supported by television channels, all of which are state-controlled without exception, in which opponents of Putin's regime are abused in the most vile terms for hours every day. The social media on the Internet are being flooded with messages dictated by the Kremlin, which are distributed worldwide every day by the young employees of the troll factories
The work of the Pioneers of the past is now being carried out by the Мишки [Mishki] or The Little Bears. The Komsomol is now called Наши [Nashi] or Ours, and the tasks of the infamous Narkompros in Bulgakov's time are now skillfully ensured by Roskomnadzor. And Never Speak to Strangers, the title of the first chapter of The Master and Margarita, is particularly topical again, because anyone who uses language that is considered undesirable by the Putin regime can be given the officially defined label of «foreign agent», which deprives him or her of almost all their civil rights
And it is hard for any reasonable person to believe, but on October 13, 2021, Roskomnadzor published a Register of colours and colour combinations that are «undesirable for use in the Russian Federation». The combination of the rainbow colours, from red to indigo, may not be shown, and pink and the combination of yellow and blue are also taboo. It would make us laugh if the consequences did not herald the beginning of a nightmare for many Russians
Just as in the time of Mikhail Bulgakov, far-reaching censorship measures are now being introduced again, and political show trials are being staged again against anyone who advocates fundamental human rights and freedoms. Prison sentences for those who are different or think differently are heavier than those for terrorists. Those who are not deterred risk being executed again, sometimes as a birthday present for the president, such as Anna Stepanovna Politkovskaya (1958-2006) on October 7, 2006. The Kamera, the notorious KGB laboratory No. 12, which specialised in preparing all kinds of poisons and was closed when Boris Nikolaevich Yeltsin (1931-2007) became president, has been allowed to open its doors again for «commercial» orders and produces the notorious poison Novichok, which is used to eliminate political opponents.
The Commissioner for Children's Rights, Maria Alexeevna Lvova-Belova, organises the abduction and «Russification» of thousands of children from the occupied territories in Ukraine, and has this carried out by employees who openly support Nazi organisations. She herself adopted one of those children and provides financial support to Russian families who wish to follow her «good example».
This list is incomplete, and more examples will undoubtedly be added as I write these words. However, we would like to provide a summary, if only to show that Woland’s most famous statement, «Manuscripts don't burn», was true. Although in these times it might be more correct to say «The Internet forgets nothing».
Nashi, or the new Komsomol
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