German mathematician Emmy Noether was born #OTD in 1882.
One of her most significant contributions is Noether's Theorem, which establishes a fundamental connection between symmetries & conservation laws in physics. This theorem has had profound implications in fields such as quantum mechanics, particle physics & field theory. Despite facing discrimination as a woman in academia during her time, Noether persevered & made enduring contributions to mathematics and physics.
After the Nazis took power she tried to go back to the #SovietUnion but she failed.
On the other hand, her brother Fritz was able to move to the Soviet Union, but then he was arrested during #Stalin's Great Purge and subsequently he was killed in a mass execution ordered by the #Soviet regime.
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New Russian high school textbooks – introduced in August 2023 on the instruction of President Vladimir Putin – attempt to whitewash Stalinist crimes and rehabilitate the Soviet Union’s legacy.
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Putin’s efforts to redeem the Soviet past may help explain why Stalin is up in the polls, with 63% of Russians asked in June 2023 expressing a positive attitude toward the Soviet dictator.
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Much of the analysis of the reshuffle in the Russian government seems to be missing how much it is about coup-proofing Putin's regime rather than making smart decisions for Russia.
#Khrushchev once said that one of his greatest accomplishments as leader of the #SovietUnion was when he promoted #Malenkov to director of a hydroelectric power plant in Kazakhstan and #Kaganovich to director of a potash works in the Urals: he didn't kill them, as #Stalin would have done in his place.
Mikhail Myagkov, the scientific director of the Russian Military Historical Society, said Monday that Russia’s new history textbook will provide an “objective” view of Joseph Stalin’s role in Russian history. He contrasted the book’s approach to that of past Russian history textbooks, including “the ones financed by...
"Vladimir #Putin has decided to run in the March presidential election, a move that will keep him in power until least 2030, as the Kremlin chief feels he must steer Russia through the most perilous period in decades, six sources told Reuters.
Putin, who was handed the presidency by Boris #Yeltsin on the last day of 1999, has already served as president for longer than any other Russian ruler since Josef #Stalin."
Hungary, 1952. Draughtsmen going about their work under the watchful eye on Stalin and Lenin. Four years later the country would rise up against such oppressive, Stalinist rule and start a revolution. Over the coming days I'll be posting photos from the Fortepan archive from that 1956 revolution.
Gifted article, 30 days, [The New York Times]: Re-Stalinization of a Moscow Subway Station
A central Moscow subway station reopened this week after a restoration that included words of praise to Joseph Stalin, adding new fuel to a debate about the Soviet dictator’s role in Russian history. By Sophia Kishkovsky, Aug. 27, 2009
Today in Labor History August 10, 1923: Italian-American anarchist and IWW organizer Carlo Tresca was arrested in the United States on the charge of publishing anti-fascist literature. Tresca opposed fascism, Stalinism and mafia-infiltration of unions. He was assassinated in 1943. Some believe the Soviets killed him in retaliation for his criticism of Stalin. The most recent research suggests it was the Bonanno crime family, in response to his criticism of the mafia and Mussolini. Tresca wrote two books. His autobiography was published posthumously in 2003. He also wrote a book in Italian, “L'attentato a Mussolini ovvero il segreto di Pulcinella.”
Today in Labor History December 18, 1878: Joseph Stalin was born. He ruled the USSR from 1922-1952. There were up to 1.2 million executions during the Great Purge (1936-1938). Another 1.7 million died in his gulags. While up to 9 million more starved during the famines that occurred during his reign. The Ukrainian famine (1932-1933), during which 3.5 million died, is considered by many to be a genocide. Various historians estimate that anywhere from 10-60 million people total were killed under Stalin’s policies, placing him up there with Hitler and Mao as one of the top three most murderous rulers of all time.
As well, since 1945, the USSR had a spy ring within Yugoslavia[128] and Stalin attempted to assassinate Tito several times. Stalin remarked "I will shake my little finger and there will be no more Tito".[129] However, these assassinations would fail, and Tito would write back to Stalin "Stop sending people to kill me. We've already captured five of them, one of them with a bomb and another with a rifle. [...] If you don't stop sending killers, I'll send one to Moscow, and I won't have to send a second."[130] Yugoslavia would go on to become one of the main founders and leaders the Non-Aligned Movement.[131]
Today in Labor History June 16, 1937: The POUM, a significant constituent of the Spanish Republican anti-fascist forces (and the group with which George Orwell fought) was outlawed and its militants persecuted by the counter-revolutionary Stalinists and the Republic's police, thus making both the Republic, and the Stalinists, more vulnerable to the fascists, who ultimately defeated them. Orwell had to flee because of this betrayal by the Stalinists. For a good fictionalization of the Spanish war against the fascists, and the POUM's and anarchist's betrayal by the Stalinists, see Ken Loach's Tierra y Libertad. Also, Orwell himself wrote about it in his excellent book, “Homage to Catalonia.” Another great book from this war is Hemingway’s, “For Whom the Bell Tolls.”
#effectivealtruism is the believe that doing harm now, in the quest for improving things that will cause greater good later evens itself out. Its not new #Stalin believed that if he ran the workers into the ground in a few decades they have a fully automated utopia that Marx had talked about as the outcome of industrialization, and that included sending nearly 3% of the nation to the gulags. Its not #altruism, it doesn't save futre lives in the long term it just creates a cycle of trauma that ensures no one is mentally healthy and that's assuming the effective altruists actually does anything to save future lives.
Do you think #Biden is evil, for his support of #Israel's #genocide? If so, cool! I'd hope so!
Now, do you think #Stalin is evil, for his support of the #Nazi's genocide of the #Jewish people? if so, cool! I'd hope so!
If one of these things are evil to you, and the other isn't, you really need to dig down deep to ask yourself "Why?" Both used "Political necessity" as the excuse for their support. Both said "But we asked others to help!" as an excuse why.
In reality, they are both either evil for doing the same thing, or they are both not evil for it. You cannot have one, without the other and remain #logically consistent.
"We must not forget the functions of the State in the bourgeois world.
The State is an institution that organises the defence of the country, organises the maintenance of "order"; it is an apparatus for collecting taxes. The capitalist State does not deal much with economy in the strict sense of the word; the latter is not in the hands of the State. On the contrary, the State is in the hands of capitalist economy."
Just like #Stalin ignored warnings from western intelligence that Hitler was about to attack The Soviet Union in 1941 and dismissed it as "provocation", #Putin did the same thing with warnings about today's terrorist attack in Moscow. He was warned by the British and the Americans over a week ago, that something was brewing in Islamist circles and did nothing. Now he is surely going to blame in on Ukraine regardless.
Today in Labor History April 1, 1976: Surrealist artist, Max Ernst, died. In addition to his artwork, he was an anti-Fascist, who was literally chased out of France by the Gestapo. He opposed Stalin’s Moscow trials. And much of his art had anti-Fascist and anti-Stalinist themes. He produced his painting “Fireside Angel” (or “Angel of the Hearth and Home”) after the Spanish Republicans were defeated by the Fascists. Ernst said, “Now this was naturally an ironic title for a sort of ungainly beast that tramples down and destroys everything in its path. It was the impression I had at the time of what was likely to happen in the world, and I was right.”
80 years ago at the orders of #Stalin the #Crimean Tatars -around 220 thousand of them,- were deported to Central Asia. Nearly half of them died en route or in the first few years of their forced exile.
Russian Military Historical Society representative says new history textbook presents Stalin ‘objectively’ (rather than as a ‘tyrant’) — Meduza (meduza.io)
Mikhail Myagkov, the scientific director of the Russian Military Historical Society, said Monday that Russia’s new history textbook will provide an “objective” view of Joseph Stalin’s role in Russian history. He contrasted the book’s approach to that of past Russian history textbooks, including “the ones financed by...
Popularity of Stalin in Russia (red) and Ukraine (blue) from 2012 to 2023.