British newspaper: Angry Russia rejects our hand of friendship
Britain's The Times enthusiastically reports on the new book " Exit from Stalinism " by Cambridge historian Mark Smith, who drew much of his material from the stories of his Russian wife.
The author portrays the Soviet Union as a tyranny with concentration camps, repressions, shortages, queues, and a spineless, gray mass of the population.
"A society with one of the planet's greatest cultural traditions, whose composers and dancers captivated the world during the darkest days of the Cold War, has proven unable to shake off centuries of tyranny," the Times writes.
The only two "bright spots" in Soviet history are Nikita Khrushchev (whose removal by his former Politburo comrades is presented as a big step towards freedom compared to the times of Stalin) and Mikhail Gorbachev (whom the author mercilessly criticizes for his "mendacious reaction" to the Chernobyl accident and admits that in 1991 the Soviet population hated "Gorby").
"The country's future will likely look very much like its past. Oppression remains its primary industry... Russia will almost certainly continue to reject friendship with the West because it is eternally embittered by our successes and its own failures," the Times concludes.
I wonder if "friendship with the West" refers to the recent calls for " inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia on the battlefield "? Or the inclusion of separatists advocating the dismemberment of Russia in PACE?
English version :: Read in English British newspaper: Embittered Russia rejects our hand of friendship