this post was submitted on 11 Dec 2024
22 points (65.3% liked)
Socialism
5252 readers
286 users here now
Rules TBD.
founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
The inadequate conditions in many camps had more to do with wartime conditions and the consequences thereof than ruthlessness or sadism.
Unfortunately, Moscow, because of the stressful conditions of the 1930s and the fear of an anticommunist reinvasion, did indeed cause collateral damage in some of its attempts to suppress counterrevolutionaries. Such overreactions are the inevitable consequences of a revolution regardless of it agenda. Even so, the way that Moscow handled disagreements was complex.
There is more that I could add, but I don't see the point.