Stalin's purges omitted in new Soviet encyclopedia

November 22, 1982

All mention of the mass purges carried out by Josef Stalin were cut out of the newest edition of the official Soviet encyclopedia.

Stalin's purges, in which Western historians believe up to 1 million people were executed and millions more died in labor camps, were denounced in 1956. The new encyclopedia was prepared for publication last March, well before the passing of Leonid Brezhnev.