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

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 An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations ( research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes c ...

'', 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-governmental ...

. 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. Ant ...

conspiracy theory Judeo-Bolshevism, which claims that Jews were responsible for the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of 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 adopt a socialist form of government ...

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 administrat ...

, 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 The Central Statistical Administration (or Board or Directorate) (russian: Центральное Статистическое Управление), abbreviated TsSU (russian: ЦСУ), was the main statistical organization of the former Soviet ...

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 Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mome ...

. 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

Metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

br>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 Entente, meaning a diplomatic "understanding", may refer to a number of agreements: History * Entente (alliance), a type of treaty or military alliance where the signatories promise to consult each other or to cooperate with each other in case o ...

and of the German Empire. 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'' 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 Alexander Brod, writer and historian Semyon Reznik, and the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia 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 mu ...

.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