Putin's love of Stalin should terrify us all

Yahoo

29-05-2025

When Britain released the satirical film the Death of Stalin in 2017, Russia accused the British Government of waging a psychological war by seeking to insult Soviet history, and banned it almost immediately. Ironically, the Kremlin itself is now engaging in a psychological campaign against its own citizens using Stalin's legacy.
Last week, a statue honouring Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin was unveiled in Moscow's metro station. This is not the first time that Vladimir Putin has sought to glorify the authoritarian leader. More than 100 such statues have been erected across Russia. These monuments are emblematic of a decades-long Kremlin-led effort to rehabilitate Stalin's image.
In 2015, for example, when his government took over Russia's last intact Gulag, the 'Perm-36' memorial complex, it replaced content about the lives and struggles of prisoners with content honouring the guards and the camp's role in World War II timber production. Likewise, since 2020, Moscow law enforcement has prevented demonstrations commemorating victims of the Great Terror.
In 2021, the government forcibly shut down Memorial, an organisation which documented Soviet human rights abuses, arguing that 'Memorial besmirches our history [by making] us – a generation of victors and the heirs of victors – to justify our history.'
In 2023, Putin introduced new mandatory high school textbooks that effectively absolved Stalin of blame for the effects of Stalinism while unequivocally praising his successes. As Stalin himself stated: 'education is a weapon whose effects depend on who holds it.' In 2024, the government even began rescinding symbolic acquittals granted under Gorbachev and Yeltsin to millions of falsely accused defendants whom Stalin's regime tortured and killed
These moves collectively reveal the regime's effort to rehabilitate a totalitarian dictator – one who orchestrated mass attacks and deliberate starvation against his own citizens, condemned millions to death in Gulag labour camps, and perpetrated atrocities across multiple countries during World War II – as a national hero.
This makes perfect sense for Putin, who is capitalising on and amplifying Stalin's popularity to justify his own imperial ambitions in Ukraine.
The two leaders have much in common. Both have committed horrific war crimes, both seek the subjugation of Ukraine, both demonise and persecute internal opposition, both control the information space entirely, and both see their citizens as replaceable pawns to be manipulated and taken advantage of.
This overlap is no accident. Putin has shaped his rule in the shadow of Stalin's, and it is thus imperative that he reinforces positive public opinion about his reign. It seems to be working, with 39 per cent of Russians naming Stalin as 'the most outstanding figure of all times and nations' in 2021. Through these domestic information operations, nationalism has steadily risen in Russia as well, with 70 per cent of citizens regarding Stalin as a 'great leader' in 2019.
To effectively respond to Putin's orchestrations, the UK must confront the realities of public opinion. Sending tales about Western democracy will not resonate with the Russians – London must instead appeal to nationalism by portraying Putin as a weak leader who destroyed Russian glory with his war in Ukraine.
As the Kremlin basks in the glow of its recent Victory Day celebrations, the UK should revive old jokes about Stalin, unsettling the image of power and historical legitimacy that Putin seeks to construct. Effective information operations could show Russians how their country went from a nation of international respect and prestige to a global pariah. The UK should demonstrate that instead of 'Making Russia Great Again,' Putin has 'Made Russia Weak Again.'
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.