Noticeably, if there’s a revolution in some country, it’s much better for the new government to murder all of the people who would want to leave than let them leave.
At Yalta conference, Stalin requested that all captured Russian soldiers be returned to Soviet Union. Especially the ones who turned and fought against Soviet Union during WW2. After hearing about the deal, many of them committed suicide rather than return. Those who were returned (both those who turned and those who did not) were sent to death camps. According to Soviet policy, all prisoners of war were automatically considered traitors. They were supposed to fight harder, duh.
Then there was no one to contradict the Soviet propaganda, and many left-wing people in the West parroted it completely uncritically. So as a part of propaganda, Russian expatriates who left before the WW2 were asked to return and help rebuild their war-ruined country, because “it’s completely different now”. Those naive enough to believe the message and actually return were also sent to death camps.
By the way, speaking about Armenians, who remembers all those ethnic groups exterminated by communists? (“Which ethnic groups?” My point exactly.) Even in the recent debate about whether Crimea was historically inhabited by Russians or Ukrainians… susprisingly, the correct answer is: neither.
At Yalta conference, Stalin requested that all captured Russian soldiers be returned to Soviet Union. Especially the ones who turned and fought against Soviet Union during WW2. After hearing about the deal, many of them committed suicide rather than return. Those who were returned (both those who turned and those who did not) were sent to death camps. According to Soviet policy, all prisoners of war were automatically considered traitors. They were supposed to fight harder, duh.
Then there was no one to contradict the Soviet propaganda, and many left-wing people in the West parroted it completely uncritically. So as a part of propaganda, Russian expatriates who left before the WW2 were asked to return and help rebuild their war-ruined country, because “it’s completely different now”. Those naive enough to believe the message and actually return were also sent to death camps.
By the way, speaking about Armenians, who remembers all those ethnic groups exterminated by communists? (“Which ethnic groups?” My point exactly.) Even in the recent debate about whether Crimea was historically inhabited by Russians or Ukrainians… susprisingly, the correct answer is: neither.