In front of Stalin's grave, the homage of those nostalgic for the USSR
In front of Stalin's grave on March 5, 2021 in Moscow.
© R. Shikhatova / RFI
Text by: Daniel Vallot Follow
3 min
He is responsible for the death and deportation of several tens of millions of people, and yet Stalin continues to be admired in Russia by part of the population.
People nostalgic for the Soviet era thus come to flower her tomb on Red Square every year, on the anniversary of her death on March 5, 1953… and more and more of them are doing so.
Publicity
Read more
From our correspondent in Moscow,
Viktor Pavlovich was 16 in 1953 when Stalin died… and every year he comes here, to Red Square, to lay flowers in front of his bust.
Not to mention its flag of the Soviet Union with, in gold letters on a red background, the names of the 15 republics that made up the USSR.
“Thanks to Stalin,
” he said, “
we became the second world power, behind the United States… In his time, there was order and work, and everyone had a home… Stalin was a leader. exemplary!
"
In front of the wall of the Kremlin a long queue has formed.
Irina is waiting to be able to access the tomb in her turn.
This retired engineer admires Stalin for his “
decisive
”
role
during World War II
:
“
In November 1941, the Germans were at the gates of Moscow.
But he remained there, at his post, and people regained confidence… He believed in victory and without him the USSR would not have been able to defeat the Nazis
”.
But, when one evokes the gulag, the deportations, and the millions of victims provoked by the Communist dictator, faces are closed.
Tatiana Rakoutina, member of the Communist Party of Russia, admits "
some excesses
", but she nevertheless justifies the repression exercised by Stalin
:
"The country was being built and unfortunately there were many enemies, many people who did not want the new system….
The red terror echoed the white terror, and for me it was a historical necessity… ”
The image of Stalin, glorified by the authorities, has grown steadily in Russia in recent years.
According to a survey by the Levada Institute published in 2019, more than 70% of the Russian population believe that Stalin played a positive role in the country's history.
They were half as numerous in the early 2000s.
70% of Russians consider the role played by Stalin in the country's history positive.
© R. Shikhatova / RFI
Newsletter
Receive all international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_FR
Russia
History