Red carnations are placed under the bronze busts of Soviet military commanders Josef Stalin and Alexander Vasilyevsky, which were recently unveiled to mark the 80th anniversary of the Red Army鈥檚 defeat of Nazi Germany鈥檚 troops in the Battle of Stalingrad that became the deadliest and one of the most decisive fightings during World War Two, at a panorama museum in Volgograd, Russia, February 3, 2023. REUTERS/Kirill Braga
MOSCOW/GORI, Georgia 鈥� On the eve of the 70th anniversary of Josef Stalin鈥檚 death, attitudes to the Soviet Union鈥檚 wartime leader remain mixed in the nations he once ruled with an iron fist.
During three decades of dictatorial rule, Stalin oversaw rapid industrialization and victory over the Nazis but also the deaths of millions in purges, Gulag labor camps, and famine.
With Russia embroiled in conflict again in Ukraine, in what the Kremlin says is a fresh existential battle for national survival, memories of the Soviet dictator loom large.
READ: February 24, 2022: the day Russia invaded Ukraine
鈥淔irstly, thank you for the victory (in World War Two),鈥� said 21-year-old Madina in a typically mixed view of Stalin鈥檚 legacy among people on the streets of Moscow.
鈥淪econdly, he is a negative person for me because there were a lot of deaths. A lot of executions, shootings, expulsions, arts were banned, etc. So it鈥檚 impossible to have a clear position one way or the other,鈥� she added, declining to give her second name.
Stalin died on March 5, 1953, aged 74.
Though public commemorations remain largely taboo and streets no longer bear his name, his reputation has in recent years undergone something of a renaissance.
Polls in 2021 by Russia鈥檚 Levada Centre, for example, showed 45% expressing 鈥渞espect鈥� for Stalin while 48% backed installing monuments to him.
鈥淲hy should I have a bad attitude towards him?鈥� said Moscow resident Andrei, 31, praising Stalin as a strong unifying personality whose war victory should be lauded.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who casts himself as an heir to the tsars of the past, has offered a measured assessment of Stalin, praising his war leadership while condemning his domestic policies as 鈥渢otalitarian.鈥�
Since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, the Kremlin 鈥� which says it is fighting Ukrainian 鈥淣eo-Nazis鈥� 鈥� has sought to claim Stalin鈥檚 wartime mantle, portraying its campaign as putting an end to unfinished business from World War Two.
Born in Georgia
In February, Putin visited Volgograd 鈥� which was briefly renamed Stalingrad 鈥� to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the battle that was a turning point in the war.
鈥淯nfortunately we see that the ideology of Nazism in its modern form and manifestation again directly threatens the security of our country,鈥� he said.
People visit the museum of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin in his hometown of Gori, Georgia, on March 1, 2023. REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze
Ukraine says Putin is showing the same 鈥済enocidal鈥� brutality as Stalin.
In Stalin鈥檚 hometown of Gori in Georgia, many share positive appraisals of the Soviet leader even though their nation has broken with Russia and support for Ukraine is widespread.
鈥淭he majority in Gori value Stalin, of course. As a historical figure, as a great man and a person who ruled with an iron fist,鈥� said resident Jakob Kikriashvili, 48.
鈥淏ut the attitude towards him is changing. The younger generation is more aggressive towards him.鈥�
Born Ioseb Dzhugashvili to a humble family in 1878, the young Stalin spent his childhood in Gori, before studying in the nearby Georgian capital Tbilisi. Today, Gori鈥檚 Stalin museum, located on the town鈥檚 Stalin Avenue, is the town鈥檚 most famous tourist attraction, drawing visitors from across the world.
In 2010, the Georgian government ordered the town鈥檚 Stalin statue removed, saying he did not deserve it.
Tsotne Gogiashvili, a Gori resident in his early twenties, said that while older people in the town still 鈥渨orship鈥� Stalin, younger generations have changed their mind: 鈥淭he majority of the young people do not like him, and I think that鈥檚 good.鈥�
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