More on Racism in the USSR

Despite the Soviet claims to the contrary racism always existed in the Soviet Union and not just in an unofficial underground fashion. The broad social racism expressed against certain groups drew its inspiration from official institutionalized discrimination endorsed from the top down. The Soviets and many Western apologists have tried to skirt this issue by claiming that the victimized groups were not "races", but "nationalities." Nobody brought this trick when the South Africans tried it, although most American liberals buy it when the Israelis pull it. This defense appears to be based completely upon the official terminology used by the regime itself uses rather than any empirical analysis of the actual function of the category and the practice of the regime. I can only assume that the people making this argument are well aware of how weak it is in reality and making it for reasons that have nothing to do with attachment to the truth.