War and Truth

Gavril Popov, Moscow’s first elected mayor, presents a revisionist view of WWII that sent a tremor through the Russian leadership, and prevented its publication in Russia.

No other historical event has dominated the Russian politics and the national historical awareness as the war against Nazi Germany. Surprising as it may sound, the nation has not yet undergone the process of deep historical revelations about its true details and the consequences of this period.

To this day, May 9th (Victory Day), is considered a national holiday, but it is being celebrated within the political framework set up by Stalin!

Indeed, in 1965, on the 20th anniversary, the Russian historian Aleksandr Nekrich wrote a pamphlet “June 41” asking some obvious and pertinent questions related to that period. For this daring behavior, he was castigated and eventually was forced into exile.

The fact that the present day regime has decided to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the end of this war along the old clichés, as well as the values introduced and set up by Stalin, is indicative by its very nature. It also explains why this book was prevented from being published in today’s Russia in its entirety, or serialized in any of Moscow’s newspapers.

The author’s main theme is that it is impossible to build a new Russian polity, on the basis of the implosion of the communist regime, without respect or regard for the Truth.

“Without undergoing a goal-oriented revision of the past, we for sure will be unable to establish in the New Russia an immunity against lies. Without conducting an earnest evaluation we will remain defenseless against boasting and false pride.”

Popov calls the present leaders to address the key questions of the Russian people, which must be resolved in order to heal the nation and move it toward the patterns of liberal democracy.

In May 2005, the author’s own copies of this book were unable to reach him in Moscow; they were rejected by the Russian government and sent back to the United States.

171 pages

War and Truth is also available as an ebook from Apple Books, Google Play Books,  Barnes & Noble – $6.99.