Joseph Stalin, Russia's National HERO!

That is incredible.  The article even says that virtually every family was affected by his repression.  So you would think that all of the people being polled would know of their family history that someone they loved and cared about was murdered, tortured or imprisoned by this man. 

yup, shows you exactly how nuts the people of Russia are, how coyuld they even nominate him for such an honor is so far beyond my thinking it is just crazy to me.

for centuries russia has been the equivalent of a horribly dysfunctional family headed by an outrageously abusive parent.  incomprehensible as it may be for those of us who weren't born into or raised in such an environment, it's not unusual for victims to love the monsters they call mom or dad.

life in russia befoe stalin was no picnic. most of russia and its people were property of the tsars. under stalin, russia became a major world power--an accomplishment which eluded every tsar no matter how ambitious.  on top of all that, i believe we all tend to forget the worst of the past and embellish our remembrances of the best. 

 playing on that has been as effective for putin as it was reagan.

LOL....ok....

Anyways, this shows how backward the world really is.  But then again, the liberals keep telling me I need to care about what they think.

I know many Russian Jews who for some reason escaped the environment.

Why exactly would it be difficult for a non-Jewish Russian to see through this?

T

i've no idea why you feel that question relevant but lemme reply to it with a couple questions of my own.

how many russian jews remain?  what prevented  them from leaving after the ussr imploded?  do they consider themselves essentially russian or essentially jews?

are non-jewish russians (nearsighted or not) eligible for adoption by the state of israel?

I thought it was relevant because you argued that there is something in Russian society that forces them to accept totalitarian rulers as heroes.

I figured since that is not true at least for Russian Jews, it's just a matter of decision, not force.

There remain anywhere between a few hundred thousand and up to three million. Nobody knows. Some have left for Israel, some have left for Germany (which also grants citizenship to Jews), some have stayed.

Most of them consider themselves Jewish rather than Russian. In the Soviet Union people were organised according to nationality. You could be Russian, Ukrainian, Lithuanian, Jewish, or one of the other nationalities. (You could be more than one, I suppose.)

(Why would they consider themselves Russian?)

Each of the nationalities had their own territory, a member republic of the SU, one of the republics within Russia, or a territory or province. You didn't have to live in the territory assigned to you nationality. The Jewish territory was/is in eastern Siberia, bordering China or Mongolia. (Very few Jews live there. The official language is Yiddish.)

No.

OMG!!~! it's you!!! it's sooooooooooooooooo good to see your name again, what a great gift for Hanukkah-X-mas, new years

Yeh that happens to me too dog, they insist I must be converted to their cause or I will remain some kind of oddball.

I believe all that waiting in breadline for stale bread over the years caused brain damage.

From what I have heard (and I was sitting in the first row among the audience), Russian Jews were usually last in line.

Not unusual for Jews to be shit on, no matter where they are, which is one reason I stay so heavily armed, some of my friends think I am paranoid, I say I am prepared for what ever happens, I believe anti-semitism is on the rise in America. I guarantee if they ever come for this Jew there will be a large body count before I am taken or killed.

People tend to be cooperative when you put a gun to their heads.

Yup the move towards "democracy" has been killed by Putin, but what else would you expect by someone that was a leader of the old KGB? Once again Bush failed to recognize a real time threat to America. Bushes Judgment of Putin was so far off base that not only was he tricked by Putin, but he was shown to be a fool internationally.

What could he have done?

Bush, should have realized he was dealing with a practiced liar in Putin and taken anything said by Putin with a huge grain of salt, I mean come on now, Putin's trade was a spy in the KGB one of the most feared covert agencies in the world.

Yes, but what should Bush have _done_ (not thought) differently?

Definitely NOT trusted Putin to keep his word on any matters of state or security or believe that Putin was a possible Allie in international matters.

Again, what should Bush have _done_?

You keep telling me what Bush should have _thought_, not what he should have _done_.

I believe everyone (in the west at least) wanted Russia to succeed under Yeltsin and early in Putin's first term. It didn't make any sense to have a starving 500 pound gorilla on the loose. Only Putin knows if this was his plan from the beginning. Personally, I think he acquired the taste for power as time progressed. I don't see how Bush, or anyone else externally could have stopped it. Apparently the Russian people are nostalgic for the good old communist days. There are few left from the Stalin era and of those they probably had steady jobs at a state run factory.

I think the mistake will be if we abandon our new east European allies, as Putin seems bent on intimidating them. Georgia should be granted NATO membership (as well as the Ukraine). Install the missile shield in Poland and Czech Republic. So what if Russia threatens to aim missiles at them, this could be done anyway in just a few minutes, and it shows the world just how insecure Russia is. Now is the time for this while Russia's petro-dollars are low, it won't be that way forever. Europe needs to become less dependent on Russian oil too, or be prepared to be their puppet. Russia has all ready proved it is willing to turn off the gas valve if it doesn't get what it wants.

well then I do not believe I can answer your question, maybe you could educate me and give me an answer so I can learn. I love being taught things.!

When explained this way it all comes together in a nice neat package. I must give you heartfelt thanks.

I don't know the answer. I was asking you.

You said Bush should have acted differently. But what alternatives do you see?

Russians are sure deluded creatures these days. What more can we expect from a people led by a former KGB assassin? I guess all we can do is be greatful for the German people not regarding Hitler as the 3rd greatest German, or holding out any hopes that Angela Merkel will become "worlds most colorful despot" or something. Lets count our blessings. :-) 

Germans do what they are told. They were told to dislike Hitler, and so they do now.

Apart from that, nothing much has changed. A very large groups of Germans still believe that Jews (at least middle-eastern such) are the cause of poverty and war. And they also still believe that attacking Jewish civilians and murdering Jewish children is an acceptable form of "resistance".

They don't do it any more, because they were told not to; but many Germans, especially on the left, support the groups that still try.

The LPO was founded by the nephew of Hitler's friend Al-Husseini who called for all Jews to be exterminated. And the PLO was supported by left-wing groups from West-Germany and the East-German government.