Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-03-12
Stain and Mr.. K.

Few things could seem less credible
than Nikita Khrushchev's assertion that
he and other Soviet bigwigs were I'M
aware of Josef Stains crimes during
the dreaded tyrant's lifetime. Surely, to
believe that, one must also believe that
throughout decades Of terror that had
long been obvious to the outside world,
these highly placed Russians performed
their duties in trance-deaf, dumb and
blind to all the grim realities around
them.
Yet, as far as this matter goes, and
for reasons best known to himself, Mr..
Khrushchev has not heSitated to strain
credulity to the breaking point. He has
done so by telling gathering Of leading
Soviet artists, writer's and other intellec-
tuals that he and his colleagues Learned
about the abuse Of power by Stain "a.
only after his death" and the subsequent
exposure Of Lavrenti Beria, the secret
police head, "this inveterate enemy of
the Party and people, this spy and in
famous provocateur." Accordingly, since
the evil was still hidden from them at
the time, Mr.. X. and others, as he has
been at pains to explain, had sincere
tears" in their eyes at the old dictator's
burial.
In sense, these remarks appear to
be curiously defensive, as II the Soviet
Premier were still having to reckon with
an undercurrent of persistent Russian
questioning as to why he and other top
officials failed to restrain Stain, instead
Of acting as his most fawning sycophantS
until the day he died. Nevertheless, while
seeking to account for this by claiming
to have been ignorant Of the psyche
pathic despot's criminal excuses, Mr..
Khrushchev has made point Of declar-
ing that mot everything in that period
was bad" and that Stain himself, despite
his many grave sins, twas devoted to
communism" and carried out a number
Of constructive" projects, such as the
liquidation, the killing-off, Of '"rrotsky-
ites," bourgeois nationalist" and sim
liar "class enemies" and subverters Of
the line laid down by the Communist
Party Of the USSR.
With that said, Mr.. Khrushchev has
gone on to warn the intelligentsia that
aC"ONoAAAAAA1oSAOh AAao dA4Q ID 1lUb
to be interpreted as allowing-as far as
the arts are concerned, for example-any
peaceful co-existence with or aping of
bourgeois standards. On the contrary,
Soviet painters, poets, novelists, musi-
clans, dancers, etc., must rededicate
themselves to Socialist realism" and
must show answering obedience to the
party line" In sum, as the Premier has
put 1t, the end Of the Stalinist person
atty cult" is good, but "this certainly
does not mean that now. the time
has come to let things drift, that the
reins Of government have been relaxed,
that the ship Of society is sailing where
the waves carry it, and everyone is free
to- do and behave as he pleases. No."
And that seems definitely to be that.
Defensive as he may be as regards his
past unawareness Of Stains reign Of
terror, Mr.. Khrushchev apparently has
no intention Of letting any Russian, no
matter how intellectual, run counter to
whatever the party line may be at any
given moment. To that extent at least,
Stalinism-the tough brand Of Red TO-
talitarian augmentation by no means
entirely dead In the Soviet Union.