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Article: Putin: 'Stalin was a tyrant ... but not a Nazi'
- Article from:
- Chicago Sun-Times
- Article date:
- May 6, 2005
CopyrightCopyright 2005 Chicago Sun-Times. (Hide copyright information)
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BERLIN -- In unusually critical comments, Russian President
Vladimir Putin called Soviet leader Josef Stalin a tyrant in a
newspaper interview released Thursday and then said separately at the
Kremlin that the Soviet dictator's notorious purges failed to destroy
the "viability" of Russia.
Putin rarely criticizes Stalin, who is widely considered
responsible for millions of deaths before and after World War II.
Many of them took place during the 1930s and during purges that
decimated top Soviet military leadership.
The comments come days before Putin hosts world leaders Monday for
ceremonies marking the 60th anniversary of the Allied victory over
Nazi Germany. In a joint interview with German ...