Originally Posted by
Spartacus the Irish
Soviet War crimes were not prosecuted because she was an ally. She was an ally obviously through circumstance, but also, because she was the lesser of two evils (compared to Nazi Germany). It would be rather 'bad form' for the Americans and British to try Russian units and commanders at Nuremburg as well as the Germans.
It's not my personal opinion, of course, but that is the reason why Russian war crimes, of which there were an abundance, have been 'swept under the rug', so to speak - especially compared with Nazi Germany. Gulags and PoW camps could be said to be comparable (on some levels) to the concentration camps of Germany.
And the Allies always have the excuse of retaliation - Germany started the war. Germany began the terror bombing of civilians. Germany began the genocide of Slavs, Jews, and mass murder of civilians in Europe. The 'ye shall reap what ye shall sow' is a simple, yet terribly convincing argument, as is the argument that all of the atrocities and crimes that the Allies committed - rounding-up Japanese-Americans following Pearl Harbour, imprisoning German families in England - were for 'the greater good' of defeating Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. Double Standards are everywhere, especially in the Second World War - but the fact remains that this was, and is as close, perhaps, to Total War, as humanity will ever acheive. Civilians were actively targetted during this war. Entire economies and industries mobilised towards the destruction of other nations, and even entire races. Liberal Democracies, even Dictatorships, were forced (in my opinion), into breaking 'the rules of war' in order to acheive victory against such forces.
As for Soviet War crimes, I can't particularly comment on much, if any detail; but the West seems to believe that, if not completely ignored, such crimes can, and have been, overlooked, in order to defeat the 'greater evil' of Nazi Germany.