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Show hmr I lie I lurcka Ucpurtcr March 7. 2lH)3 former Soviet citizen remembers A lit Paul Keillor Hie men departed. ami Curt I.. SIirukuiKusI .uvk n;.uk ihe 5fth liis I aiuii-- - it . i lie iLmiIi nt it tllf nil'll irmu ihf I92IN Polls. Hisimi.ms will jiulff it .in appropriate time to delve into the past l.iuif lit jlile pa- -t tliat ilk ikies a man wlio'f very life iroiii- eally led to tiie death o! millions, f or those too omie to remember the unspeakable trucltv ot this man. it mav Ik a time to learn. For the who smvUor tragically the atrocities experienced peipetuated hy this man. it may he a time to mourn. We recently spoke to one such individual. Dr. Valen line Kefoli was horn in Moscow in 1937 and lecently U.S. citizenship. gained Alter spending W) years in the USSR, he is now a professor of biology in the Macosky ('enter at Slippery Rock University, a small in Western Pennsylcollege vania. A genial, good hearted man. Valentine vividly recalls one especially chilling occasion that was all too common during the Stalin era. It was 3 a.m. and there was a knoik at the door. Valentine, a child at the time, awoke only to enter into a real life nightmaie. lie lemembcrs his father emerging Iioiii bed and hiavelv declaring. "I am ready." As answered the unsolicited knock, the men on the other side asked him. "Is this apartment 52?" "No, its apartment 50," he replied. St.lllli. iliiMtnr J)f)Sl Sti. ut i i rlif I -a 1 Valentines father closed the door and breathed a sigh of relief. I lie) had made a mistake, and the present nightmare was over tor the Keteli family. Uidortunately , it was just beginning for manv individuals and families agio's Soviet Russia. This was life in Russia dating the 1U3K. It was the height of the Stalin purges. Valentine was born amid the the Red "(ireat Purge." milwhiv.li claimed Terror, lions of lives from 193b to 938 alone, the doomed were swiftly arrested and executed by subsequently A their own government. countless multitude was enslaved in forced labor camps, known as the gulag. In his gripping narrative of life in the gulag. "Man is Wolf to Man," Dr. Janus Hurduch recalls a young girl he met who had been imprisoned because she was 10 minutes late tor work. Valentine know of similar stories: Tor five minutes late, you got an administrative write up- - a memo in your records. For 20 minutes, you got the 1 gulag." 'This was all deemed necessary tor creating the the communist utopia-f- or workers paradise. Although the numbers .ary widely, Stalin was believed to be responsible for 20 to 30 million deaths. Russian officials admit that at least 20 million were victims of Stalins purges. Some 5 to 10 million died as a direct result of famines cause by Stalin's collectivization of agriculture. In an attempt to put Stalin's brutality inti) perspective, one could compare his mass murder to that of Adolf Hitler, who killed 6 to 10 million Jews anJ others he labeled "misfits." To further get a feel for the numbers, the United States lost 300.00 men in all of World War II and 118.00 in all of World War I. Among all the nations who participated in World War I, a total of 8.5 million died- -a pittance when comthe body bags that to pared Stalin produced. Some of history's worst plagues killed fewer people than Stalin. Staling had a simple rationale for his penchant for murder-aetua- lly he had a "The death of a couple. is indiv idual a tragesingle dy," he averred. "The death of a million is a statistic." He also surmised: "Death solves all problem. No man. no problem." As ghastly as these remarks were, there may actually be a remnant of truth within his second comment. After all. many Soviets rightly saw Stalin's death on March 5, 1953 as a problem solved. And yet, oddly enough, d affection in the which Stalin was elevated to god-lik- e to omniscience, status-l- eft many of his subin state brainwashed a jects of cognitive dissonance upon his demise. state-eoeree- Valentine remembers Stalin's death. Some people openly cried out, "What will we do? Our father is dead? How will we survive?" This was what Stalin wanted- -a paternalistic state of complete communist dependency. Valentine said that his family, however, knew better. "We knew' that we were members of Animal Farm." this Ironically, while week marks the 50th anniversary of Joseph Stalin's death, it also marks the 20th anniversary (March 8, 1983) of ronald Reagan's Evil Empire speech, in which Reagan declared the USSR "the focus of c il in the modern world." In a nefarious system that innumerable lives, Stalin managed to stand out as the most evil of them all. took Paul Kengor is associate professor of political science at Grove City College. His forthcoming book is "Reagan. God, and the Evil Em" pire. Cory Shreckengost is a research fellow at the Shena-ng- o Institute for Public Polia think tank located in cy, Western Pennsylvania. Computerized Genealogy Conference Genealogy experts and beginners can observe the latest in technology during the sixth annual Computerized Genealogy Conference on Thursday and Friday, Mar. 13 and 14, at Brigham Young University. Workshops, speakers and vendors will provide updated information and training on genealogical software programs. computer databases, and the Internet to help genealogists make better use of traditional research methods. will also Workshops review existing computer programs and evaluate new programs genealogists may consider acquiring. In addition the worklabs will be shops, hands-o- n ail offered on the evenings of the conference days and on Saturday, Mar. 15, for an additional cost. Cost is SI 15 for the two-da- y conference, with an additional $39 fee for each lab. Attendees must register for the entire conference to attend the lab sessions. For more information or to register for the conference, contact BYU Conferences and Workshops at (801) Weed free order signed Regional Forester Jack G. Troyer signed an order effective Feb. 11, 2003 requiring individuals possessing, storing or transporting non-pel-letiz- ed hay, straw or mulch on National Forest System lands in the Intermountain Region to have documentation it is weed free. Under the order, each bale and container must be tagged or marked as weed free, or the individual must have original and current evidence of weed free certification present. In addition, all markings must meet State andor County standards for certification as weed free. The order applies to all National Forest System lands Intermountain the within Region, including the Ashley, Boise, Bridger-Teton, Caribou-Targhe- e. Dixie, Fishlake, Humboldt, Toiya-b- c, Manti-LaSaSaimon-Challi- Payette. Sawtooth, l, s, Uinta and Wasatch-Cach- e National Forests. Violation of this prohibition is punishable by a fine of not more than $5,000 for an individu-al-o- r SI 0,000 for an imprisonment of not more than six months.' Persons will permit specifically authorizing them from the effect of the order and any member of an organized rescue force in the performance of an official duty are exempt. organi-zation-and- or Womens Legislative Council Womens Legislative Council of Utah County will meet Thursday, Mar. 6, 9:45 a.m. at the Library at Academy Square, 550 N. University, Provo. Guest speaker will be Ken Crook, F.B.I. investigator. He will speak on "What Does the FBI Actually Do? When? How?" Plus updated on the war. 378-485- 3. Factory Authorized HOME & GARDEN MARCH 14 & 15 ft HEALTH SPANISH FORK FAIRGROUNDS Fri. Noon to 8 pm Sat. 10 AM Dealer & Service Center WEALTH to 7 PM This 12th annual event will provide Utah Valiev residents means of adding spring sparkle to home and yard. Plan now to attend for new St. Patrick's Day Snow Blowers Chainsaw Repair and Saturday, March 15 7:30 p.m. - Elks Lodge Sharpening, Small Engine Machines, etc. ideas, price comparisons and valuable infonnation. HE Snrr Fun!! Prizes!! Games!! K0SY 106.5 by II I . SBfflftBBK Bmri.wrM.iiii.)!' The Good Life Expo March 14 & 15 Spanish Fork Fairgrounds 2 for 1 K,ss,on Regular Admission S3 Refreshments!! il Save one half. VAIUABII COUPON S Sponsored by: ST. PATRICKS CHURCH Faith and Begorra Join us for an evening of fun! Carpenter Seed Company 1030 So. State Provo 373-374- 0 |