Oleg Anatolyevich Platonov (russian: Оле́г Анато́льевич Плато́нов; born 11 January 1950) is a

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

ultranationalist Ultranationalism or extreme nationalism is an extreme form of nationalism in which a country asserts or maintains detrimental hegemony, supremacy, or other forms of control over other nations (usually through violent coercion) to pursue its sp ...

writer and

Holocaust denier Holocaust denial is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that falsely asserts that the Nazi genocide of Jews, known as the Holocaust, is a myth, fabrication, or exaggeration. Holocaust deniers make one or more of the following false statements: * ...

. He is the Director General of the '' Institute for the History of Russian Civilization'', a Moscow-based

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...

. He is known for promoting the

antisemitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

conspiracy theory A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...

Judeo-Bolshevism Jewish Bolshevism, also Judeo–Bolshevism, is an anti-communist and antisemitic canard, which alleges that the Jews were the originators of the Russian Revolution in 1917, and that they held primary power among the Bolsheviks who led the r ...

, which claims that Jews were responsible for the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...

Biography

Platonov was born in

Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg ( ; rus, Екатеринбург, p=jɪkətʲɪrʲɪnˈburk), alternatively romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( rus, Свердло́вск, , svʲɪrˈdlofsk, 1924–1991), is a city and the administra ...

, Russia, then known as Sverdlovsk. In 1972 he graduated from

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

College of Consumer Cooperation. He worked in the international department of TsSU and, since 1977, in the Institute for Labor. In 1995 he organized a research institution ''Russian Civilization''. He lived for seven months in the United States then returned to Russia. He published the encyclopedic dictionary ''Holy Rus'' and four volumes of ''The Great Encyclopedia of Russian People'' (out of a proposed twenty volumes), in which he praises the civilization of "Holy Rus'″ which, however, he claims has been undermined since the 17th century by various foreign elements ("чужебесия″) - forerunners of " Jewish-Masonic plotters" which he claims organized the

Bolshevik Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolsheviks, Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was ...

. Although Platonov holds the Bolshevik regime responsible for 87 million lives, he argues

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

made "the first step toward the salvation of Russia from

Jewish Bolshevism Jewish Bolshevism, also Judeo–Bolshevism, is an anti-communist and antisemitic canard, which alleges that the Jews were the originators of the Russian Revolution in 1917, and that they held primary power among the Bolsheviks who led the revo ...

.″ Since 2003, Platonov's encyclopedia publishing center was transformed into the independent think tank 'Institute for the History of Russian Civilization' (short name 'Russian Institute'), whose goal is stated as research and dissemination of the ideas of Metropolitanbr>Ioann of St Petersburg and Ladoga
(né Ivan Snychev; 1927–1995) with Platonov as the Institute's Director General. In his work ''The History of the Russian People in the Twentieth Century'', Platonov treats the February and October revolutions of 1917 as handiwork of Judæo-Masonic conspirators, the agents of the Entente and of the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

. Similarly, he regards the leaders of Ukrainian and Baltic independence movements as spies and German agents.

Holocaust denial

An article in the ''

Journal of Historical Review The ''Journal of Historical Review'' was a non-peer reviewed, pseudoacademic periodical focused on advancing Holocaust denial. It was published by the Institute for Historical Review (IHR), based in Torrance, California. It ran quarterly from 19 ...

'' of a special issue of ''Russky Vestnik'' promoting

Holocaust denial Holocaust denial is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that falsely asserts that the Nazi genocide of Jews, known as the Holocaust, is a myth, fabrication, or exaggeration. Holocaust deniers make one or more of the following false statements: ...

describes Platonov's preface:

...Russian historian Dr. Oleg A. Platonov writes of the "myth of the 'Holocaust', namely, that six million Jews were allegedly put to death in
gas chamber A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing humans or other animals with gas, consisting of a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiant gas is introduced. Poisonous agents used include hydrogen cyanide and carbon monoxide. Histor ...
s during the Second World War." This myth, he continues, "has taken hold in the mass mind with particular force," with the aim of encouraging non-Jews to "feel a sense of guilt, repent and pay restitution."

Platonov further claimed that " e myth of the Holocaust insults humanity".

Reception

The Russian

human rights activist A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing campai ...

Alexander Brod Alexander Semenovich Brod (born 1969; russian: Александр Семёнович Брод) is a Russian human rights activist. He was a member of the Public Chamber of Russia between 2008 and 2012 and is a director of the Moscow Bureau for H ...

, writer and historian

Semyon Reznik Semyon Efimovich Reznik (Russian: Семён Ефимович Резник) (born 13 June 1938, in Moscow) is a Russian writer, journalist, man of letters and historian, noted in particular for his study of the blood libel and the resurgence of Neo ...

, and the

Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia The Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia (FJCR; russian: Федерация Еврейских Общин России, ) is a Russian religious organization that unifies communities of Orthodox Judaism, mostly of Chabad Hassidic movement. I ...

regard Platonov's works as

. Reznik also notes that Platonov is one of the main promoters of the

blood libel Blood libel or ritual murder libel (also blood accusation) is an antisemitic canardTurvey, Brent E. ''Criminal Profiling: An Introduction to Behavioral Evidence Analysis'', Academic Press, 2008, p. 3. "Blood libel: An accusation of ritual mur ...

.Semyon Reznik,"The Nazification of Russia: Antisemitism in the Post-Soviet Era", Challenge Publications (VA) (December 1996), ,

Works

*''Russia's Crown of Thorns: The Secret History of Freemasonry 1731-1996'' (Moscow, 1996) *Еврейский вопрос в России (''The Jewish Question in Russia''; Moscow: Presskom, 2005); *''Why America is dying'' (''Почему Погибнет Америка''; Moscow, 2008);

References

External links