The Soviet Story

In The Soviet Story, Latvian filmmaker Edvins Snore offers a serious reconsideration of Soviet Union history circa the 1930s and '40s, highlighting various events either stubbornly ignored by Western media and historians or glossed over as mere footnotes in a wider account of World War II–era Europe, including the genocidal famine aimed at the Ukrainian population, the U.S.S.R.'s participation in Hitler's invasion of Poland, the Soviets' war against Finland, their conquest of the neutral Baltic republics, and the massacre of Polish soldiers at Katyn. Snore builds his case using rare newsreel and photographic evidence, along with interviews of aged survivors of the atrocities who provide chilling first-person accounts of this bloody era. Even more disturbing is vintage footage of Western intellectuals supporting the Stalinist concepts of eliminating entire populations—most strikingly, George Bernard Shaw's vocal prewar support of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Story laments the West's continued inability to acknowledge the Soviets' gross human rights violations during these years; in fact, Stalin's belated alliance with the United States and Great Britain in defeating Nazi Germany is still considered by many to be more significant than the horrors committed under his command. DVD extras include bonus interviews. A disturbing, uncompromising, and powerful documentary, this is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)