Seventy years ago today Stalin deported the Crimean Tatars from the Crimea in an act of racist genocide.
Every year, the Tatars come into the streets in a peaceful demonstration to honor the memory of the victims of Stalin’s deportation.
This year, the occupational Russian authorities have prohibited the peaceful memorial service and have spent all day trying to intimidate the Tatars into not holding it.
Russia has been rewriting history and labeling Stalin “an effective manager” and the world’s savior instead of a bloody tyrant, so the demonstration to remind the world of his crimes is not allowed.
Clarissa's Blog 
This is sad but not unusual. I see Putin as an extreme Russian nationalist who, as US influence wanes, wants to make Russia the world superpower. That (plus his love of sports) was a factor in the sponsorship of this year’s Olympic Games, as well as his desire to restore territory that was formerly part of the Soviet Union.
Other nations and groups have tried to rewrite history. I understand that some Japanese texts have turned Pearl Harbor into a defensive response to US aggression, and eliminated any trace of the crimes committed in Nanking. Some in the US have tried to rewrite the start of the American Civil War, to remove slavery as the cause. The Armenians and Jews have to deal with those who say the horror they suffered never happened.
Countries and their leaders are fallible. Everyone needs to know that. The actions leaders take don’t necessarily reflect the views of the citizenry. Romanticizing history by making failures disappear is a disservice to all, and an insult to those who experienced those failures.
LikeLike
Yes, you are absolutely right! But what’s scary is that Putin’s approval ratings in Russia are soaring. This is really sad.
LikeLike
They held the commemoration in Simferopol anyways despite the ban by the Russian government.
http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2014/05/window-on-eurasia-thousands-of-crimean.html
LikeLike
Yes, these are brave people!
What kind of a vicious freak bans a commemoration for a 70-year-old genocide???
LikeLike
Perhaps this movie which I have not seen, but want to can offer some insight.
. http://jpohl.blogspot.com/2014/05/blog-post.html
LikeLike