The Different Perspectives of Stalin's Leadership

In class, we have often discussed how although we in the United States condemn Stalin as a cruel  tyrant, there are those in Russia who praise him for his leadership. The current President of Russia,   Dmitry Medvedev, condemns Stalin's reign, while the current Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin praises Stalin. It is fascinating that a country who lived through the horror of this mans dictatorship can have split views on how to characterize it. Most people condemn the regime because of the level of violence and human death. Stalin's regime killed around 20 million people, through purges, famine, and forced labor camps. However, there are those who praise the regime because of the industrialization that took place, and because of the vast and great territory the Soviet Union controlled. Apparently there are those who felt Stalin brought Russian together as a nation, and they felt powerful. Putin gives credit to Stalin for creating a super power and defeating Hitler in World War II.  In any case, his decision to side with the allies was by no means a moral one. Stalin was an anti-Semite himself, and often denounced Jews as pro-Western and anti-communism. There are those who argue that siding against the Nazis is to his credit, but does it really justify the amount of deaths he caused?
     One explanation for this continued belief in the greatness of Stalin could be the amount of propaganda people lived with. It consumed their whole lives, and they were constantly being educated about the greatness of this man. The official views on him have fluctuated greatly, even to this day. The Khrushchev regime denounced Stalin, but 10 years later Brezhnev was praising him again. However, there are those who lived through the horror and have nothing but disgust for Stalin. How can their peers, who lived through the same terror, not share the same view?