Chapter 11

Stalin, at least in the western world, is not thought of as a controversial figure.  Most would agree that he was a dictator, and a tyrant that caused much more harm than good.  But for those who lived under the legendary shadow of Stalin, for those who helped build Stalinism, Stalin is still a heroic figure.  His grave still receives the most flowers of all the communist leaders, more so than even grandfather Lenin.  Why?  Because politics are much more complicated than stories allow them to be.  It is easy to vilify Stalin, to point out his flaws in retrospect, but it is much harder to look at the issue abjectly, and to purge ourselves of prejudice.  Indeed, perhaps, only through prejudice can we lose our own.