Stalin Encourages Bill Payment

Joke, advertising campaign, or something more sinister? Posters that depicted Stalin urging residents to pay their bills have been removed.

Stalin, responsible in the minds of many Ukrainians for a 1930s famine that killed millions, has been resurrected as a voice of conscience for Ukrainians who have refused to pay skyrocketing utility bills. The posters, threatening punishment for non-payment, were removed after protests from Ukraine citizens and human rights groups.

It seems unthinkable that anyone would consider Stalin a good spokesperson for punctual bill payment. And yet, somene carried out a deliberate media campaign using his likeness. What was the intent? It couldn't have been as simple as urging residents to pay utility bills - not with such loaded messages that effectively scratch at a nation's scabs.

Some posters read, "Those who do not pay for heating will be punished!" Stalin's punishment of choice was death. If these billboards were meant as a cruel joke, they certainly aren't funny. If they were meant to be a part of a scare tactic, Ukraine should re-evaluate which of its citizens are more dangerous criminals - those who protest too-high heating bills, or those with the power to spread terrorizing messages through the media.