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"Understanding" Stalin-or Critically Judging Him?

"Understanding" Stalin-or Critically Judging Him? FREDERICK C. BARGHOORN (New Haven, Conn., U.S.A.) "Understanding" Stalin-or Critically Judging Him? Professor Von Laue's somewhat apocalyptic plea for "fairness" and a "re- sponsible focus" on Stalin, and Russia and the Soviet Union generally is arrest- ing and thought provoking. It is also puzzling and more than a little disturbing. I am impressed by Von Laue's moral earnestness, the benevolence of his intentions and the erudition he brings to bear in support of what I regard as faulty arguments. However, it seems to me that he comes perilously close to equating explanation with justification. Perhaps because he senses the weak- ness of much of his plea, he uses evidence very selectively, or so I believe. He disregards a wealth of data that casts doubt on any defense of Stalin, particu- larly the one that he has so eloquently and skillfully presented. He is, I think, supremely indulgent toward Stalin, and consequently very unfair to the victims, opponents and critics of Stalinism. To an unfortunate degree, in my opinion, his plea for "fairness" involves justifying the unjusti- fiable. If one can justify Stalin one can justify anything. In any case, I cannot see a logical connection between our attitude http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png The Soviet and Post Soviet Review Brill

"Understanding" Stalin-or Critically Judging Him?

Barghoorn, Frederick C.
The Soviet and Post Soviet Review , Volume 8 (1): 29 – Jan 1, 1981
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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© 1981 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
1075-1262
eISSN
1876-3324
DOI
10.1163/187633281X00047
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

FREDERICK C. BARGHOORN (New Haven, Conn., U.S.A.) "Understanding" Stalin-or Critically Judging Him? Professor Von Laue's somewhat apocalyptic plea for "fairness" and a "re- sponsible focus" on Stalin, and Russia and the Soviet Union generally is arrest- ing and thought provoking. It is also puzzling and more than a little disturbing. I am impressed by Von Laue's moral earnestness, the benevolence of his intentions and the erudition he brings to bear in support of what I regard as faulty arguments. However, it seems to me that he comes perilously close to equating explanation with justification. Perhaps because he senses the weak- ness of much of his plea, he uses evidence very selectively, or so I believe. He disregards a wealth of data that casts doubt on any defense of Stalin, particu- larly the one that he has so eloquently and skillfully presented. He is, I think, supremely indulgent toward Stalin, and consequently very unfair to the victims, opponents and critics of Stalinism. To an unfortunate degree, in my opinion, his plea for "fairness" involves justifying the unjusti- fiable. If one can justify Stalin one can justify anything. In any case, I cannot see a logical connection between our attitude

Journal

The Soviet and Post Soviet Review – Brill

Published: Jan 1, 1981

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