[Iran Press TV Latest] Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has criticized the Soviet Union as a totalitarian state that crushed individual liberties. Medvedev's comments, which also included stinging criticism of the historical role of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, are the bluntest statements on the USSR by a Russian leader in recent times.
In an interview with the newspaper Izvestia published two days before Russia marks the 65th anniversary of victory in World War II, Medvedev said the crimes of wartime dictator Joseph Stalin could never be forgiven.
"Despite the fact that he worked a lot, and despite the fact that under his leadership the country recorded many successes, what was done to his own people cannot be forgiven," Medvedev said.
He also spoke out strongly against efforts to rehabilitate Stalin and sought to distance the Kremlin from a series of recent moves to rekindle his memory.
Medvedev's comments may be an indication that he is trying to distance himself from Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who has adopted a more ambiguous stance on Russia's often tragic history.