Walter Duranty

Walter Duranty (* 1884, † October 3, 1957 in Florida ) was a British journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner, whose stalinism favorable coverage in the 1930s attracted controversial attention.

A native of Liverpool Duranty began his journalistic career in France and Riga, in 1921, he worked as a correspondent in the Soviet Union. 1929 granted him Joseph Stalin an exclusive interview. As a result, Duranty commented on the way the Soviet Union in Stalin -friendly way, which he did not deny the brutality of the regime, but told from the historical and economic conditions of Russia and justified. In a series of articles for the New York Times, Duranty 1932 Pulitzer Prize brought, he represented, for example, the opinion of the Russian people in need due to its " Asian mentality " of a despotic leadership and collective forms of economy. The economic liberalization of the Leninist NEP phase was, however, failed because they had been built on principles to " Western". In an article dated June 24, 1931 Duranty described the kulaks, the opponents of the Soviet forced collectivization as " almost privileged class," which had been formed by "mistake" of Lenin. Duranty showed understanding for the destruction of this class, whose numbers he figured with about 5 million. Stalin he likened to the biblical prophet Samuel, but also with the Asian conqueror Tamerlane.

The detection of the famine in Ukraine ( today usually called Holodomor ) by Gareth Jones and Malcolm Muggeridge disagreed Duranty with an article from the March 31, 1933 (the Russians Hungry, But Not Starving ). Duranty opinions later led to a (still ongoing ) debate whether he had deliberately lied and if he subsequently the Pulitzer Prize should be revoked.