perm filename MEDVED.NS[W89,JMC] blob
sn#869587 filedate 1989-02-06 generic text, type T, neo UTF8
a065 0651 04 Feb 89
PM-Soviet-Stalin,0764
40 Million Fell Victim to Stalin, Soviet Paper Says
By ANDREW KATELL
Associated Press Writer
MOSCOW (AP) - A Soviet newspaper said about 40 million people were
arrested, executed or otherwise repressed under Josef Stalin, and it
gave the most detailed breakdown of his victims ever reported in the
official press.
The tabloid's figures indicate up to 15 million of those people died
as a result of the dictator's policies. Western historians, who also
include estimates of farmers believed to have died after they were
forced from their land, put the number at 20 million.
About 20 million Soviets are estimated to have died in World War II.
The figures were not new for Western readers, but their appearance
in this week's Arguments and Facts, whose circulation is 20 million,
marked a new attempt to fill in what Soviets call ''blank spots'' in
their history.
Historian Roy Medvedev gave the 40 million figure in an interview
with the newspaper and said it included all ''victims of Stalinism.''
He said he based the number on his own calculations of the number
arrested, executed and otherwise punished.
The figure is much higher than the vague estimate previously on the
official record. Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev said in a
November 1987 speech that ''many thousands of people . . . were
subjected to wholesale repressive measures'' under Stalin.
Western historians believe that about 20 million Soviets died under
Stalin, who ruled from 1922-1953.
In the new report, the Soviet historian wrote that 6 million to 7
million were killed in the famine of the early 1930s, 5 million to 7
million were executed or died in labor camps during mass arrests in
the late 1930s, and 1 million died in forced relocations of ethnic
minorities during World War II.
Also today, the daily Sovietskaya Rossiya reported that a mass grave
had been discovered in Gorno-Altai, 1,900 miles southeast of Moscow.
It said construction workers found the human remains, including 50
skulls of men ages 30 to 50 who were shot in the head.
The report said a Stalin-era prison camp had been located in the
region and that authorities could not yet guess at how many people
were buried there.
Sovietskaya Rossiya suggested the mass gravesite was similar to one
found last year in Kuropaty, an area of the Byelorussian republic.
Authorities say Kuropaty was used as a graveyard for at least 30,000
people killed from 1937 to 1941 under Stalin, apparently for
political reasons.
In the Arguments and Facts article, Medvedev gave this breakdown for
Stalin's victims:
-From 1927-1929, about 1 million Soviets, mostly former members of
political opposition groups and figures in Soviet founder Vladimir I.
Lenin's New Economic Policy, were in jails or exile.
-From 1930-1932, nine million to 11 million peasants were deported
to Siberia and other remote regions or fled to cities. At least 1
million more peasants were deported in 1933.
-From 1932-1933, 6 million to 7 million people died in a famine
blamed on Stalin's agricultural policies.
-About 1.5 million to 2 million other peasants were arrested for
violating various ''extremely cruel'' laws on state property.
-In 1935, 1 million former officials, merchants and nobelmen were
branded ''class strangers'' and deported from Leningrad, Moscow and
other cities.
-During 1937-1938, 5 million to 7 million people were arrested in
the ''Great Terror.'' Of them, 1 million were sentenced to death and
the rest sent to labor camps, where most died.
-Mass repressions struck 1 million people from 1939-1941 in the
Baltic republics and the western sections of the Ukraine and
Byelorussia.
-During World War II, up to 2 million ethnic Germans were deported.
About 3 million Moslems were forced to move. One million of those
deported died.
-After 1940, 2 million to 3 million people were arrested for
reporting late to work, a crime punishable by up to five years in a
labor camp.
-From 10 million to 12 million Soviets were deprived of certain
rights or sent to labor camps because they lived in areas the Nazis
occupied during the war.
-After the war, from 1946 to 1953, from 1 million to 1.5 million
people were arrested for political reasons.
Medvedev was expelled from the Communist Party in 1969, and his
major works on Stalin's repression and other topics were banned from
publication. Under Gorbachev policy of glasnost or more openness,
Medvedev is back in favor and has been quoted frequently in the
official press.
AP-NY-02-04-89 0933EST
- - - - - -
a066 0654 04 Feb 89
PM-Soviet-Stalin, CORRECTION, a065,0039
MOSCOW SUB 7th graf: Western historians xxx 1922-193 to CORRECT year
Stalin came to power
Western historians believe that about 20 million Soviets died under
Stalin, who ruled from 1924-1953.
In the: 8th graf
AP-NY-02-04-89 0948EST
***************
a065 0651 04 Feb 89
PM-Soviet-Stalin,0764
40 Million Fell Victim to Stalin, Soviet Paper Says
By ANDREW KATELL
Associated Press Writer
MOSCOW (AP) - A Soviet newspaper said about 40 million people were
arrested, executed or otherwise repressed under Josef Stalin, and it
gave the most detailed breakdown of his victims ever reported in the
official press.
The tabloid's figures indicate up to 15 million of those people died
as a result of the dictator's policies. Western historians, who also
include estimates of farmers believed to have died after they were
forced from their land, put the number at 20 million.
About 20 million Soviets are estimated to have died in World War II.
The figures were not new for Western readers, but their appearance
in this week's Arguments and Facts, whose circulation is 20 million,
marked a new attempt to fill in what Soviets call ''blank spots'' in
their history.
Historian Roy Medvedev gave the 40 million figure in an interview
with the newspaper and said it included all ''victims of Stalinism.''
He said he based the number on his own calculations of the number
arrested, executed and otherwise punished.
The figure is much higher than the vague estimate previously on the
official record. Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev said in a
November 1987 speech that ''many thousands of people . . . were
subjected to wholesale repressive measures'' under Stalin.
Western historians believe that about 20 million Soviets died under
Stalin, who ruled from 1922-1953.
In the new report, the Soviet historian wrote that 6 million to 7
million were killed in the famine of the early 1930s, 5 million to 7
million were executed or died in labor camps during mass arrests in
the late 1930s, and 1 million died in forced relocations of ethnic
minorities during World War II.
Also today, the daily Sovietskaya Rossiya reported that a mass grave
had been discovered in Gorno-Altai, 1,900 miles southeast of Moscow.
It said construction workers found the human remains, including 50
skulls of men ages 30 to 50 who were shot in the head.
The report said a Stalin-era prison camp had been located in the
region and that authorities could not yet guess at how many people
were buried there.
Sovietskaya Rossiya suggested the mass gravesite was similar to one
found last year in Kuropaty, an area of the Byelorussian republic.
Authorities say Kuropaty was used as a graveyard for at least 30,000
people killed from 1937 to 1941 under Stalin, apparently for
political reasons.
In the Arguments and Facts article, Medvedev gave this breakdown for
Stalin's victims:
-From 1927-1929, about 1 million Soviets, mostly former members of
political opposition groups and figures in Soviet founder Vladimir I.
Lenin's New Economic Policy, were in jails or exile.
-From 1930-1932, nine million to 11 million peasants were deported
to Siberia and other remote regions or fled to cities. At least 1
million more peasants were deported in 1933.
-From 1932-1933, 6 million to 7 million people died in a famine
blamed on Stalin's agricultural policies.
-About 1.5 million to 2 million other peasants were arrested for
violating various ''extremely cruel'' laws on state property.
-In 1935, 1 million former officials, merchants and nobelmen were
branded ''class strangers'' and deported from Leningrad, Moscow and
other cities.
-During 1937-1938, 5 million to 7 million people were arrested in
the ''Great Terror.'' Of them, 1 million were sentenced to death and
the rest sent to labor camps, where most died.
-Mass repressions struck 1 million people from 1939-1941 in the
Baltic republics and the western sections of the Ukraine and
Byelorussia.
-During World War II, up to 2 million ethnic Germans were deported.
About 3 million Moslems were forced to move. One million of those
deported died.
-After 1940, 2 million to 3 million people were arrested for
reporting late to work, a crime punishable by up to five years in a
labor camp.
-From 10 million to 12 million Soviets were deprived of certain
rights or sent to labor camps because they lived in areas the Nazis
occupied during the war.
-After the war, from 1946 to 1953, from 1 million to 1.5 million
people were arrested for political reasons.
Medvedev was expelled from the Communist Party in 1969, and his
major works on Stalin's repression and other topics were banned from
publication. Under Gorbachev policy of glasnost or more openness,
Medvedev is back in favor and has been quoted frequently in the
official press.
AP-NY-02-04-89 0933EST
- - - - - -
a066 0654 04 Feb 89
PM-Soviet-Stalin, CORRECTION, a065,0039
MOSCOW SUB 7th graf: Western historians xxx 1922-193 to CORRECT year
Stalin came to power
Western historians believe that about 20 million Soviets died under
Stalin, who ruled from 1924-1953.
In the: 8th graf
AP-NY-02-04-89 0948EST
***************
a225 1202 04 Feb 89
AM-Stalin's Victims, Bjt,0756
Soviets Learn Shocking Figure that 40 Million Repressed Under Stalin
By ANDREW KATELL
Associated Press Writer
MOSCOW (AP) - The number Soviets have wondered about for more than
30 years appeared in print Saturday: more than 40 million arrested,
killed or otherwise repressed in the bloody political terror of Josef
Stalin.
In the most detailed account of Stalin's victims reported in the
Soviet press, the weekly tabloid Arguments and Facts said 15 million
people died because of the dictator who took power in 1924.
Its article came as a daily newspaper reported bullet-fractured
skulls were found in what may be a mass grave of Stalin's victims.
Although figures on Stalin's victims have been known to Westerners,
Soviets have not seen them published officially. Almost every Soviet
living today had relatives who suffered under Stalin, and since his
death in 1953 they have hoped to put a number on the human toll.
Historian Roy Medvedev gave the 40 million figure to Arguments and
Facts and said it included all ''victims of Stalinism'' based on his
own calculations.
The toll was much higher than previous vague estimates.
In 1987, Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev said ''many thousands of
people . . . were subjected to wholesale repressive measures'' under
Stalin.
Western historians believe 20 million Soviets died under Stalin. The
same number of Soviets were killed in World War II.
Medvedev said 6 million to 7 million people were killed in an early
1930s famine, 5 million to 7 million were executed or died in labor
camps after mass arrests in the late 1930s, and 1 million died during
forced relocations of ethnic minorities during World War II.
Also Saturday, the daily Sovietskaya Rossiya reported construction
workers discovered a mass grave Jan. 19 in Gorno-Altai, 1,900 miles
southeast of Moscow. Human remains they found include 50 skulls of
men 30 to 50 years old who were shot through the temple or back of
the head, it said.
Before World War II, a greenhouse and vegetable storage facility
were on the site, next to a camp for political prisoners run by the
dreaded NKVD secret police, the newspaper said. Investigating
prosecutor I. Gushchina told the newspaper: ''One thing is clear: a
tragedy happened here.''
Sovietskaya Rossiya likened the killing field to one found last year
in Kuropaty, in the Byelorussian republic. Authorities said that
field is a mass graveyard for at least 30,000 people killed from
1937-1941, apparently for political reasons.
Medvedev, a dissident historian who recently has received official
backing, gave Arguments and Facts this breakdown for Stalin's
victims:
-From 1927-1929, about 1 million Soviets were jailed or in exile.
Most were former members of political opposition groups and figures
in Soviet founder Vladimir I. Lenin's New Economic Policy.
-From 1930-1932, 9 million to 11 million peasants were deported to
Siberia and other remote regions or fled to cities when Stalin forced
collectivization of Soviet agriculture. At least 1 million more
peasants were deported in 1933.
-From 1932-1933, 6 million to 7 million people died in a famine
blamed on Stalin's policies.
-About 1.5 million to 2 million other peasants were arrested for
violating ''extremely cruel'' laws on state property.
-In 1935, 1 million former officials, merchants and nobelmen were
branded ''class strangers'' and deported from Leningrad, Moscow and
other cities.
-Five million to 7 million people were arrested in the ''Great
Terror'' of 1937-38. One million of them were sentenced to death. The
rest were sent to labor camps, where most died.
-Mass repressions struck 1 million people from 1939-1941 in the
Baltic republics and western sections of the Ukraine and Byelorussia.
-During World War II, up to 2 million ethnic Germans were deported.
About 3 million Moslems were forced to move. A million of those
deported died.
-After 1940, 2 million to 3 million people were arrested for
reporting late to work, a crime punishable by up to five years in a
labor camp.
-From 10 million to 12 million Soviets were deprived of certain
rights or sent to labor camps because they lived in areas the Nazis
occupied during the war.
-Between 1 million and 1.5 million people were arrested 1946-53 for
political reasons.
Medvedev was expelled from the Communist Party in 1969 and his major
works on Stalin's repressions and other once-taboo topics were banned
from publication. Under Gorbachev's policy of glasnost or openness,
he is back in favor.
AP-NY-02-04-89 1446EST
***************