[truffdog]

> “Your grand-granddad was a torturer for the KGB” should be public knowledge, and it should be to the youths to decide what to do with that knowledge. It is not anybody’s to hedge.

Why though? If the great grandkid isn't torturing anyone, why should they be held responsible for that? They literally were not present and could do nothing to prevent it.

[nearmuse]

If you are asking why, you are not acquainted well enough with the russian mentality with (dis)respect to the west. Unless somebody rubs the scale of atrocity their ancestors commited into the following generations, they will feel like they got away with it, and perceive the west as soft and weak. Much in the same vein as Russia brazenly buying weapon tech and luxury items and electronics from the west, its rich and powerful spending holidays in and sending their kids to study in EU and US. All the while being a part of the global autocracy club and annexing its neighbors. Oh, and MH17 as a bonus, if you need a reminder.

[demetrius]

> If the great grandkid isn't torturing anyone, why should they be held responsible for that?

They shouldn't.

But at the same time, they should take the words of their grandparents about how great Soviet Union was with a grain of salt.

This is not about shaming the grandchildren, this is about having a more realistic picture of the past.

This is especially important because the past is used as a justification for doing things in the present: Putin doesn't think he is conquering a real country, he's just restoring a precious situation. And many Russians would think "well, we did live in Soviet Union together, why not join again" without knowing how much violence was needed to keep Soviet Union together.