Soviet dictator Josef Stalin was a “great politician,” but his brutal political repressions were “a big, big minus,” according to Russia’s new education minister.
Appointed in August, Education Minister Olga Vasilyeva has faced accusations that she praised the “efficiency” of the Stalin regime and claimed that the Stalinist purges were “necessary,” but “exaggerated” by historians and journalists. However, in a Nov. 7 interview with the Interfax news agency, Vasilyeva took the opportunity to deny that she is a Stalin supporter.
