So, the author Jan Guillou has been awarded the ’Lenin prize’ by the author Jan Myrdal.
It is by no means a surprise that Jan Myrdal has founded a Lenin-award. This man has embraced most dictatorships whose official names consisted of “People’s-“ or “Democratic-” (oh the irony) during the last seven decades. I still have no problem with the fact that he still has access to major newspapers’ culture sections, I like when the debate is broad and inclusive.
What is a bit sad is the lack of reactions to the fact that one of the most popular authors of the country (Guillou) receives and – as I understand it – accepts a prize called “Lenin prize”. Guillou is not ignorant, he knows exactely what Lenin did, which makes it even more tragic, but the general knowledge about what communist regimes have actually done is ridiculously low. Otherwise a Lenin Prize would not be met with zero-reaction.
Lenin and his bolsheviks didn’t overthrow the tsar. Others did. The communists overthrew, by force of course, a democratic government which consisted of social democrats and liberals eight months after the tsar resigned. Lenin then founded a regime of terror and horror which only seem modest in the comparison with the even crazier guy who came after him, Stalin.
Myrdal has by the way also founded the “Robespierre prize”…
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My grandmothers friend was a governess for Jan Myrdal when he was a child. All she had to say about that was: ”I feels sorry for Jan”. A comment about the love and attention given to him by his parents.
By the way, I actually attended last years price Lenin-price ceremony, since it was held here in my hometown. I would guess that the mean age was something like 65 years old. 20 more years and those old radicals will be gone.