Stalin Society - Criticism

Criticism

British journalist Johann Hari described a meeting of the society in a highly critical fashion in New Statesman of 10 June 2002. Hari wrote that a meeting of the society at which he attended consisted only "of around 30 people is primarily - as you might expect - elderly to the point of decrepitude" and that "for these people, Stalinism has become a habit they can't shake off" (although he noted there were a few young people). Hari compared the Stalin Society to the "Flat Earth Society, or Elvis fans who insist that the King is still alive." Finally, Hari criticized what he views as the society's complete dismissal of any criticism of Stalin.

The Independent gained an (unpublished) response from the Stalin Society, which criticised Johann Hari's reference to the society and Joseph Stalin in a later article for The Independent. The letter written by Harpal Brar and Joti Brar, criticized what it described as Hari's "unfounded and vituperative attacks on Stalin and the USSR that he led" and accused him of making "baseless and scurrilous assertions." The letter also praised the "monumental achievements of the Soviet Union under the leadership of Stalin in the fields of industry, agriculture, education, science and culture."