As a child (I was born in 1948) I knew the name Jozef Stalin (1878-1953) because my father (1909-1992) hated him deeply. Until his death he regularly spoke about Stalin. Also about “de Rus”, Dutch for “the Russian”. To me “de Rus” was a synonym for fear. That fear arose when “de Rus” invaded Hungary (1956), and during the Cuba crisis (1962). My parents had conversations at the kitchen table about an imminent war, while not so long before they themselves had gone through World War II, each with horrible experiences. So another war was imminent. Their fear was utterly strong. though I did not understand anything, I was sensing something that I never sensed before: fear. Fear was since then connected with “de Rus”, The Russian, the Russians, Russia.

Now that I have seen the two hours and 12 minutes long documentary “State Funeral” (divided into parts, fragmented by myself) I understand my father’s hatred for Stalin, and also my parents’ fear of “de Rus”. Now that I’ve seen that documentary, I’m pretty sure that “de Rus” was also afraid of who “we” are. The West. “De Rus” however, was not only afraid of the West. Also for Stalin. Though there are Russians who admired him, and still. Admiration and fear can walk hand in hand, though. The same might is used in religions..

Although the documentary only shows footages of Stalin’s state funeral, and nothing else than that, but at the same time encompassing it all, I now understand how indescribably great the might of Stalin’s regime was, AND the agony for him, so intense, that you really have to watch, those more than two hours, to be able to fathom what that man did to the Russian people, and what has nourished that unprecedented glorification of Stalin: fear. Even after his death. That is my impression. I am certain that not one Russian dared to stay home. Not one who did not dare NOT to cry, or to look relieved. That is my sincere conclusion.

The documentary ends with this text:

According to historical research, more than 27,000,000 Soviet citizens were murdered, executed, tortured to death, imprisoned, sent to Gulag labour camps, or deported during Stalin’s regime. An additional 15,000,000 people are estimated to have starved to death.

Note: my fear for “de Rus” disappeared completely, during my life. I write about that in my article: Russian troll? In my article I explain the word “Russophobia“.