There are differences between Stalin's and Hitler's crimes

The OSCE has passed a declaration which puts the crimes committed by Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin on an equal footing. The Russian parliament has protested this move. Writing in the conservative daily Rzeczpospolita, Rafał A. Ziemkiewicz comments: "In a sense I agree with the indignant Russian MPs who have unanimously and harshly protested the OSCE's comparison between Hitler's crimes and those committed by Stalin. ... Anyone who knows his history from serious sources and not just from television series will admit that Hitler was merely a very talented pupil of Stalin's … The crimes of Hitler also differ from those of Stalin in that apart from a few lunatics there are no Germans left who would justify his crimes and even exhibit him at the pantheon of national tradition. On the other hand to this day the Russian elites see Stalin above all as the creator of an imperial power. ... But did he commit murder?"

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