Soviet Union: More Knocks For Old Joe

Since Joseph Stalin died in 1953, Soviet historians have condemned the policies of repression that led to torture and death for millions of innocent citizens. Until recently, however, public criticism of Stalin has left largely unscathed the crash industrialization program that he established in the '30s. Now, as Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev strives to revitalize Soviet society, a prominent scholar has stepped forward to blame Stalin for the country's economic woes.

Economist Anatoli Butenko traces the system's current disarray to the top-heavy bureaucracy created during the Stalin era. In an interview with the Novosti news agency, Butenko declared that the economy rewarded "lazybones" while allowing "modest toilers" to "lose interest" in their jobs. Declared Butenko: "We cannot make correct decisions regarding the future without an accurate idea of the mistakes of that period."