Scott Whitlock: Newsweek Seriously Asks: 'Was Russia Better Off Red?'
[Scott Whitlock is a news analyst for the Media Research Center.]
Proving yet again how out of touch the publication can be, the October 12 issue of Newsweek seriously asked the question: "Was Russia Better Off Red?" The "Back Story" page of the magazine featured a graphic comparing life under communism to now and bizarrely asserted: "Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia has seen an increase in oligarchs and Louis Vuitton outlets. But by many other measures, Russians are worse off."
Yes, despite the fact that 20 million people were murdered in Soviet Russia, this unsigned feature in Newsweek contrasted the crime rate under communism, the number of hospitals and the total number of cinemas (among other factors) to those in the country today. Sadly, there are only 1,510 movie theaters today. Under the brutal repression of communism, however, there were 2,337.
For sources, Newsweek cited the Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Labour Organization, National Statistical Office of Federation, UNESCO and the World Health Organization. The publication didn’t explain why readers are supposed to assume that the original communist numbers are accurate.
Other statistics compared: Population, life expectancy at birth, divorces, diseases, agricultural land (in acres), forest land (in acres) and alcohol consumption. All of these, according to Newsweek, were better under some undated time of communism...
Read entire article at Media Research Center (conservative media watchdog)
Proving yet again how out of touch the publication can be, the October 12 issue of Newsweek seriously asked the question: "Was Russia Better Off Red?" The "Back Story" page of the magazine featured a graphic comparing life under communism to now and bizarrely asserted: "Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia has seen an increase in oligarchs and Louis Vuitton outlets. But by many other measures, Russians are worse off."
Yes, despite the fact that 20 million people were murdered in Soviet Russia, this unsigned feature in Newsweek contrasted the crime rate under communism, the number of hospitals and the total number of cinemas (among other factors) to those in the country today. Sadly, there are only 1,510 movie theaters today. Under the brutal repression of communism, however, there were 2,337.
For sources, Newsweek cited the Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Labour Organization, National Statistical Office of Federation, UNESCO and the World Health Organization. The publication didn’t explain why readers are supposed to assume that the original communist numbers are accurate.
Other statistics compared: Population, life expectancy at birth, divorces, diseases, agricultural land (in acres), forest land (in acres) and alcohol consumption. All of these, according to Newsweek, were better under some undated time of communism...