RUSSIA : Putin/Medvedev...No-Shows At Stalin Victims Ceremonies.

http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFBRE89T1KP20121030?sp=true

     PM Dmitry Medvedev condemned brutal dictator Josef Stalin...in a blog posting...but neither he nor President Putin showed at Moscow ceremonies honoring millions of  the dictator's Russian victims.

     Medvedev blogged: 'Josef Stalin and other leaders of the Soviet state at the time deserve the harshest assessment. It must remain in the annals of our history so that it never happens again. Because war with one's own people is a very serious crime.'
     A teacher at a ceremony observed: 'Our government does not like this kind of memory and that is why it keeps silent. It's uncomfortable to live with such history.'
     But...one poll shows that 50% of Russians still regard Stalin's historical role...as positive.
     Historians say Stalin caused the deaths of at least 13 million Russians during the Great Purge of 1937-38.