Dr. Asatar Bair is an Associate Professor of Economics at Riverside City College. A self-identified communist, Dr. Bair frequently praises dictators like Stalin and Mao.

In a thread on Twitter, Dr. Bair extols Joseph Stalin as “one of the great leaders of the 20th century.” While acknowledging he was, “not a saint,” he describes the Soviet Dictator as a “revolutionary” and a, “great contributor to Marxist theory.”

People say I ‘idolize’ Stalin. Not true, I hold a fair and balanced view. The man was neither savior nor saint, but he was, at once, a very successful revolutionary, a great contributor to Marxist theory, and said to be a great listener and collaborator during discussions

— Dr. Asatar Bair (@asatarbair) June 27, 2021

Joseph Stalin ruled the Soviet Union from 1929 to 1953. His authoritarian reign led to the deaths of 20-40 million people through execution, starvation, and deportation. Political dissidents, academics, artists, and even members of the Communist Party were the targets of mass arrests and forced disappearances.

Dr. Bair’s Twitter account further hosts praise for the USSR, Communism, and even denials of the Uyghur genocide.

My new friends, I defend Stalin because of the results achieved by Soviet socialism for the masses of ordinary working people, including a massive increase in life expectancy (one of history’s most rapid in fact), dramatic decreases in infant mortality, and improved health

— Dr. Asatar Bair (@asatarbair) June 28, 2021

I share this not to brag, but just to show that communism is the dream of a better life that will not die, and we all instinctively know that capitalism is a brutal, bankrupt system, even if we don’t know all the details of what happened in the USSR

— Dr. Asatar Bair (@asatarbair) June 28, 2021

As one of the world’s foremost purveyors of propaganda, the NY Times would certainly know it when it sees it, eh? The evidence for a ‘Uyghur genocide’ is completely lacking https://t.co/urBYluYJVy

— Dr. Asatar Bair (@asatarbair) June 23, 2021

Dr. Bair has also tweeted his support for the Chinese communist dictator Mao Zedong, describing him as “one of the greatest revolutionary leaders of all time.”

I’m a huge fan of Mao lol. One of the greatest revolutionary leaders of all time

— Dr. Asatar Bair (@asatarbair) June 23, 2021

Mao Zedong—who chaired the Chinese Communist Party from 1935 until his death in 1976—is widely considered one of the deadliest heads of state in history. An estimated 65 million Chinese perished from his regime. Mao’s campaign known as the “Great Leap Forward” caused an estimated 40 million to die from starvation and exhaustion in labor camps alone.

Despite his human rights atrocities, Dr. Bair praises Mao’s policies in lectures hosted on his Youtube page. In a video titled “Economic History and Development of Maoist China,” Dr. Bair lauds the Great Leap Forward as a “great economic feat.” He claims that Mao’s policies actually improved the quality of life in China. At one point, he makes the extraordinary claim that no evidence exists to implicate Mao in the death of millions.

Dr. Bair’s Youtube page hosts additional lectures in which he further defends Stalin and the Soviet Union. In a video titled “Introduction to Political Economy: Economic History of the USSR”, Dr. Bair claims that socialism in the USSR improved the quality of life “in every way imaginable.”

At one point, he claims the Soviets never had to rely on slave labor to achieve this–which Bair accuses other free-market, Western nations of doing.

Despite Dr. Bair’s claim, forced labor was integral to the existence of the Soviet Union. At one point, as much as 15 percent of the Soviet population was imprisoned in “gulags” and branded as “class enemies.” Prisoners were exploited as slave labor and were often worked to death in sub-zero, in-humane conditions. In one of the most notorious cases, tens of thousands died building the White-Sea Canal—in the middle of the Russian winter—only for it to be largely impassable.

The Professor Watchlist Team reached out to Bair for comment but has not received a reply by the time of publication.

Students and Parents may contact Riverside City College at (951) 222-8000.

Updated – August 16, 2021