Ok y’all, let’s talk about tankies!
To start, Lesley Rimmel, a specialist in Soviet history, recently came on the podcast to rebut Stalinist apologetics popular among young tankies:
https://www.marxisthumanistinitiative.org/episode-24-combating-tankie-denialism-specialist-in-soviet-history-rebuts-grover-furr

But why has Stalinism gained popularity with youth &how do we fight it?

Instead of being consigned to the dustbin of history, Stalinism has resurged with the growth of the "Left" in the past decade, especially among youth
Anne Jaclard discussed this trend and possible reasons for it in an earlier episode of our podcast: https://www.marxisthumanistinitiative.org/episode-9-the-tankie-craze-resurgent-stalinism-among-youth

Some of these Stalinist youth later left the milieu. A couple of these ex-tankies came on our podcast earlier this year to discuss their experiences, their disillusionment, how to combat Stalinism, and their own turn toward Marxist-Humanism:

https://www.marxisthumanistinitiative.org/episode-13-the-tankie-craze-part-2-disillusioned-radical-youth-fighting-stalinism

MHI has also taken efforts to theorize & confront Stalinism; our #LeftForum2019 panel on challenging authoritarianisms from the Right and "Left" highlights the need to simultaneously oppose right wing forces like Trumpism and its "Leftist" counterparts:

https://www.marxisthumanistinitiative.org/philosophy-organization/video-mhi-panels-at-left-forum-conference-confronting-right-left-authoritarianism-confronting-trumpism.html

Popular figures like Boots Riley & Richard Wolff offer apologetics for, or divert discussion away from the crimes & failures of Stalinism, such as on this 2019 panel with Andrew Kliman (filmed live in front of a Stalinist audience):
https://www.marxisthumanistinitiative.org/alternatives-to-capital/video-boots-riley-andrew-kliman-and-rick-wolff-debate-morality-of-stalinism-and-western-capitalism.html

As the crises we face become more urgent, it is essential to reclaim the cause of socialism by distinguishing genuine socialism from systems & ideologies of totalitarian control & unfreedom that have called themselves socialist.

Meme credits to Brad Vaughan, @/heterodoxmarxistbakuninposting on insta