• Allero
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    9 hours ago

    Tankies are factually left-wing. Their actions, however, sometimes play into the deck of right-wingers when they try to fuck around with the system.

    • Dragon Rider (drag)@lemmy.nz
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      8 hours ago

      Stalin criminalised homosexuality with a punishment of five years prison labour. Go ahead and repeat that fact on Hexbear, and see how many “radical leftists” are willing to make excuses for a homophobe

      • naught101@lemmy.world
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        1 hour ago

        Isn’t this just an argument that left-right is a bad categorisation?

        Tankies are authoritarian socialists. The american right are authoritarian and socially conservative individualists. Anarchists are libertarian socialists. American libertarians are also individualists.

        There are lots of other dimensions too, but the left-right designation has been kind of useless at least since communists started fucking over anarchists in various parts of Eurasia in the first half of last century…

      • IndustryStandard@lemmy.world
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        4 hours ago

        People have said that plenty on .ml. The only response I saw was people saying that was a bad move from Stalin and he should not have done that.

      • volodya_ilich@lemm.ee
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        5 hours ago

        Criminalising homosexuality was a mistake, and a consequence of a process of rolling back on some of the cultural progress achieved during the 1920s in the USSR due to fear of a situation like the pushback against early collectivisation efforts after the end of the New Economic Policy era. Nobody on hexbear will excuse this. What they will tell you is the massive boost in literacy during Stalin’s rule, especially among women; the guarantee of employment by the state, the immense equalisation of wages, the total elimination of private property through the collectivisation of agriculture and industry, the guarantee of free healthcare and education de jura and de facto, the world-unprecedented industrial growth and improvement of the economic situation of citizens of the Soviet Union, the massive push towards unionisation of workers and participation in policy through party membership, and the most intense struggle against fascism that costed 27 million Soviet lives.

        Now, you named one right wing policy, I named a list of communist policy, please explain me how the overall is “right wing”

          • volodya_ilich@lemm.ee
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            4 hours ago

            No, because that’s revisionist propaganda. The USSR had proposed mutual-defense agreements with Poland, France and England, which all of them rejected. The USSR offered to enter a war against nazism as a response to the Munich agreements and the annexation of Czechoslovakia by nazis and Poland, but France and England (and obviously Poland) didn’t want that. The Soviets went as far as to offer sending ONE MILLION soldiers to France, together with artillery, aviation and tanks, on exchange for a mutual-defense agreement with France and England. As was later discovered through released embassy wires, the French and English ambassadors were instructed not to make a peace agreement with the Soviets under any condition, but to pretend to be interested and to prolong the negotiations for as long as possible… presumably expecting Nazis to invade the Soviet Union, given that communists were their self-declared enemy and they held racial motivations to eliminate “the Slavic Untermenschen”. It was convenient, letting the Nazis deal with the communists (since England and France had failed to eliminate Bolshevism during their invasion of Russia in the Russian Civil War), two birds with one stone.

            The Soviet Union, which had only begun industrializing in 1928 with its first 5-year plan, compared to the century-long history of industrialization of Germany, simply didn’t have the material means to single-handedly fight nazism in 1939. This is further proven by the fact that, after the invasion of the USSR by the Nazis, 27 million Soviet lives were lost in the struggle against fascism. They DESPERATELY needed every single year they could buy, and they DESPERATELY needed to avoid facing the Nazis in a one-on-one struggle. Without the lend-lease program, and without the western front, who’s to say if the Soviet Union would have simply succumbed to Nazi Germany, and the horrifying additional extent of genocide that Nazis would have been able to perpetrate.

            In case you don’t believe me personally, I’ll leave you another comment below this one with quotes of western politicians and diplomats of the period, showing the revisionism that the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact has been subjected to.

            • volodya_ilich@lemm.ee
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              4 hours ago

              “ It is clear that Stalin had two courses open to him. He could seek a general coalition against Hitler, or he could come to an understanding with Hitler at the expense of the Western democracies. Stalin’s policy was guided by a profound conviction of the ultimate hostility of Nazi Germany, as well as by the hope that if the capitalist Powers became locked in mortal conflict, the Soviet Union might remain aloof, gaining strength while they tore one another to pieces. Certainly the principle of self-preservation lay at the heart of Moscow’s calculations ” Winston Churchill, The Gathering Storm, Chapter 20, The Soviet Enigma pub 1948.

              “ In those days the Soviet Government had grave reason to fear that they would be left one-on-one to face the Nazi fury. Stalin took measures which no free democracy could regard otherwise than with distaste. Yet I never doubted myself that his cardinal aim had been to hold the German armies off from Russia for as long as might be ” (Paraphrased from Churchill’s December 1944 remarks in the House of Commons.)

              “ It would be unwise to assume Stalin approves of Hitler’s aggression. Probably the Soviet Government has merely sought a delaying tactic, not wanting to be the next victim. They will have a rude awakening, but they think, at least for now, they can keep the wolf from the door ” Franklin D. Roosevelt (President of the United States, 1933–1945), from Harold L. Ickes’s diary entries, early September 1939. Ickes’s diaries are published as The Secret Diary of Harold Ickes.

              “ One must suppose that the Soviet Government, seeing no immediate prospect of real support from outside, decided to make its own arrangements for self‑defence, however unpalatable such an agreement might appear. We in this House cannot be astonished that a government acting solely on grounds of power politics should take that course ” Neville Chamberlain, House of Commons Statement, August 24, 1939 (one day after pact’s signing)

              “ We could not doubt that the Soviet Government, disillusioned by the hesitant negotiations with Britain and France, feared a lone struggle against Hitler’s mighty war machine. It seemed they had concluded, in the interests of survival, that an accord with Germany would at least postpone their day of reckoning ” Cordell Hull (U.S. Secretary of State), The Memoirs of Cordell Hull (Published 1948)

              “ *It must be said that the Soviet Government, having little confidence in swift military aid from the Western Powers, chose to protect its borders, however odious such a pact might seem. One perceives in their choice the determination to secure time—time they evidently believed we were not prepared to give them.” Édouard Daladier (French Prime Minister), Address to the French Chamber of Deputies, Late August 1939

              “ It seemed to me that the Soviet leaders believed conflict with Nazi Germany was inescapable. But, lacking clear assurances of military partnership from England and France, they resolved that a ‘breathing spell’ was urgently needed. In that sense, the pact with Germany was a temporary expedient to keep the wolf from the door ” Joseph E. Davies (U.S. Ambassador to the USSR, 1937–1938), Mission to Moscow (1941)

              “ British officials, for all their outrage, concede that Stalin, with no firm pledge of Allied assistance, and regarding Poland as a foregone victim, decided that if the Red Army must eventually face Hitler, it should not be without first gaining some strategic space—and time ” Joseph P. Kennedy (U.S. Ambassador to the UK, 1938–1940),Private Correspondence, September 1939

              Hopefully, you won’t accuse such sources, i.e. western diplomats and politicians who actually experienced WW2, of being tankies

          • volodya_ilich@lemm.ee
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            4 hours ago

            “ It is clear that Stalin had two courses open to him. He could seek a general coalition against Hitler, or he could come to an understanding with Hitler at the expense of the Western democracies. Stalin’s policy was guided by a profound conviction of the ultimate hostility of Nazi Germany, as well as by the hope that if the capitalist Powers became locked in mortal conflict, the Soviet Union might remain aloof, gaining strength while they tore one another to pieces. Certainly the principle of self-preservation lay at the heart of Moscow’s calculations ” Winston Churchill, The Gathering Storm, Chapter 20, The Soviet Enigma pub 1948.

            “ In those days the Soviet Government had grave reason to fear that they would be left one-on-one to face the Nazi fury. Stalin took measures which no free democracy could regard otherwise than with distaste. Yet I never doubted myself that his cardinal aim had been to hold the German armies off from Russia for as long as might be ” (Paraphrased from Churchill’s December 1944 remarks in the House of Commons.)

            “ It would be unwise to assume Stalin approves of Hitler’s aggression. Probably the Soviet Government has merely sought a delaying tactic, not wanting to be the next victim. They will have a rude awakening, but they think, at least for now, they can keep the wolf from the door ” Franklin D. Roosevelt (President of the United States, 1933–1945), from Harold L. Ickes’s diary entries, early September 1939. Ickes’s diaries are published as The Secret Diary of Harold Ickes.

            “ One must suppose that the Soviet Government, seeing no immediate prospect of real support from outside, decided to make its own arrangements for self‑defence, however unpalatable such an agreement might appear. We in this House cannot be astonished that a government acting solely on grounds of power politics should take that course ” Neville Chamberlain, House of Commons Statement, August 24, 1939 (one day after pact’s signing)

            “ We could not doubt that the Soviet Government, disillusioned by the hesitant negotiations with Britain and France, feared a lone struggle against Hitler’s mighty war machine. It seemed they had concluded, in the interests of survival, that an accord with Germany would at least postpone their day of reckoning ” Cordell Hull (U.S. Secretary of State), The Memoirs of Cordell Hull (Published 1948)

            “ *It must be said that the Soviet Government, having little confidence in swift military aid from the Western Powers, chose to protect its borders, however odious such a pact might seem. One perceives in their choice the determination to secure time—time they evidently believed we were not prepared to give them.” Édouard Daladier (French Prime Minister), Address to the French Chamber of Deputies, Late August 1939

            “ It seemed to me that the Soviet leaders believed conflict with Nazi Germany was inescapable. But, lacking clear assurances of military partnership from England and France, they resolved that a ‘breathing spell’ was urgently needed. In that sense, the pact with Germany was a temporary expedient to keep the wolf from the door ” Joseph E. Davies (U.S. Ambassador to the USSR, 1937–1938), Mission to Moscow (1941)

            “ British officials, for all their outrage, concede that Stalin, with no firm pledge of Allied assistance, and regarding Poland as a foregone victim, decided that if the Red Army must eventually face Hitler, it should not be without first gaining some strategic space—and time ” Joseph P. Kennedy (U.S. Ambassador to the UK, 1938–1940),Private Correspondence, September 1939

            Hopefully, you won’t accuse such sources, i.e. western diplomats and politicians who actually experienced WW2, of being tankies

      • Allero
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        8 hours ago

        Stalin is a conflicting historical figure, who is neither a monster nor a savior, and so the way you describe him would differ depending on the angle of the conversation.

        If the talking point is the rights of the LGBT+ people (or, really, people’s rights overall sometimes), there’s no excuse for him there, and I’m pretty sure Hexbear is not quite the place for a homophobic rhetoric.

        But they may point out in other terms that under Stalin’s rule the economy got insanely boosted, the WW2 was won, and many megaprojects used to this day were constructed.

        • chandlerbung@lemmy.cafe
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          2 hours ago

          No he’s a monster. You don’t stop being a monster because you also did good alongside the evil.

        • Valmond@lemmy.world
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          3 hours ago

          Being lucky oil prices went up (same for Putin) and people thinking it’s your magic leadership lol.

          • Allero
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            2 hours ago

            The oil prices boomed around WW2, while the highest wave of economic growth in the Soviet Union was in the 30’s.

            It is Khrushchev and following leaders that benefitted from oil

          • volodya_ilich@lemm.ee
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            5 hours ago

            You can’t say the same things about Churchill, there was no massive equalisation of wages in England during his rule, nor a planned economy guaranteeing a job to anyone who wanted a job, nor a collectivisation of agriculture and of the means of production, nor a state-backing of unions, nor an immense push towards literacy and women’s rights and education…

            • Valmond@lemmy.world
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              1 hour ago

              Equalisation of wages in the USSR: Lets lower all wages to the lowest of them all and introduce corruption as an obligation to survive!

              Handy tool against dissidents too, corruption.

              • volodya_ilich@lemm.ee
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                7 minutes ago

                Regarding corruption, I made a little writeup a while ago about why corruption is systematically overestimated in the USSR which, if you’re arguing from good faith, you won’t have a problem checking out. There was active fight against corruption in the Soviet Union (as you can see by the sign on the picture), the so-called “chiska”, i.e. purges of party members, were part of said campaigns, and citizens could legally organise committees to review the functioning and accounting of local public services and institutions.

                Regarding “lowering wages”, you’re simply wrong. That’s just from the 60s, but material wealth of people rose at unparalleled speed in the USSR, faster than any country before that. And when the USSR economy stagnated in the 70s, real median wages kept rising at around 3.5% yearly

        • vga@sopuli.xyz
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          3 hours ago

          Stalin is a conflicting historical figure, who is neither a monster nor a savior

          His one and only redeeming deed was that he finally, eventually, only after being stabbed in the back by his former ally Hitler, fought against him by throwing millions of russians at them and thanks to US support managed barely to win.

          In every other way he was a total monster, directly responsible for an amazing amount of human suffering that still lingers today in modern day Russia. If Communism had something good in it, Stalin personally ruined it for pretty much everyone for a long time.

        • Miaou@jlai.lu
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          6 hours ago

          And those two things you mentioned have nothing to do with his political alignment

        • j_overgrens@feddit.nl
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          6 hours ago

          Replace Stalin with Hitler and you understand how insane you sound. (Oh and ditch the part about winning ww2)

          • Allero
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            5 hours ago

            Hitler took an already established economy and rearranged it towards national capital while killing Jews en masse and initiating a World War.

            Not quite comparable.

            • j_overgrens@feddit.nl
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              4 hours ago

              Stalin took an already establishing economy and rearranged it towards national capital while killing Jews en masse and allied with Nazi’s.

              • Allero
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                2 hours ago

                Already establishing? What does that even mean, lol

                Stalin also didn’t promote national capital - aside from the fact the word “capital” does not reflect quite the same thing in the context of socialism, the policy of “socialism in a separate country” is nothing more than a reaction to the failure of world revolution. He continued international partnerships with socialist countries and participated in The Communist International.

                Soviet Union did not genocide Jews and was not tied to Holocaust. The alliance with Nazis only held through the first stage of WWII as long as it was seen more as a contained European issue. It is true, however, that Soviet Union participated in occupation of Poland.

                • j_overgrens@feddit.nl
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                  13 minutes ago

                  It means the USSR was already industrializing – and Stalin made sure that process would be (1) tightly controlled by the state & (2) would benefit primarily the imperial core of Russia.

                  If you think capital does not bear relevance to the development of the USSR, you have not understood Leninism.

                  The USSR killed Jews en masse, mostly as elements of a ‘cosmopolitan bourgeoisie’ (clear antisemitic dogwhistle) or simply as Jews. He also directed his cabinet to collaborate with the Nazi’s in their holocaust, firing Litvinov as FM and installing Molotov with clear instructions to comply with the Nazi’s. Heck, even Khrushchev admitted that Stalin died on the cusp of engineering a holocaust of his own. I will refrain on commenting how he treated other minorities.

    • pyre@lemmy.world
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      4 hours ago

      no they have right wing ideals. they just use left wing terminology to push a right wing worldview.

      edit: suddenly it seems tankie is about equality and support for the little guy, and more comically anti-imperialist. hmm I wonder where the word “tankie” comes from…

      • volodya_ilich@lemm.ee
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        5 hours ago

        “TaNkIeS hAvE rIgHtWiNg IdEaLs”

        The ideals: collectivisation of the means of production and of agricultural land, guaranteed employment, guaranteed housing, free universal healthcare and education to the highest level, guaranteed public pensions, equalization of wages between jobs, push towards unionisation, defence of LGTBQ and women’s rights, defence of indigenous movements and racial minorities, anti-racism, anti-imperialism…

        • Valmond@lemmy.world
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          1 hour ago

          “And that’s why Stalin was so good”

          All of that was soo bad under Stalin it’d be hilarious if it wasnt for the millions of easily prevented deaths and all the easily ore entable suffering.

          Lol

          • volodya_ilich@lemm.ee
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            26 minutes ago

            Source: my ass

            Besides, what’s with Stalin? I’m talking you about my ideals, not of the ideals of a Georgian man who died 70 years ago

      • Allero
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        8 hours ago

        As in economic equality and support for disadvantaged groups?

        • Miaou@jlai.lu
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          6 hours ago

          As in “we are anti imperialists, unless we’re the ones doing the oppression”. Honestly, ime, a common position amongst global south immigrants getting their first high-ish salary in Europe. All about wealth redistribution until you realise you can fly back home and live like a king off those inequalities.