- Title: Communists in Russia and Georgia mark 140th birthday of Joseph Stalin
- Date: 21st December 2019
- Summary: MOSCOW, RUSSIA (DECEMBER 21, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF STALIN SUPPORTERS GATHERED NEAR KREMLIN, HOLDING FLAGS STALIN SUPPORTERS MARCHING, CARRYING FLAGS AND STALIN'S PORTRAITS STALIN'S PORTRAIT AND FLAGS WAVING VARIOUS OF PEOPLE, INCLUDING LEADER OF RUSSIAN COMMUNIST PARTY GENNADIY ZYUGANOV, LAYING FLOWERS AT STALIN'S MONUMENT STALIN PORTRAIT / RED FLAGS AND KREMLIN IN BACKGROUND RED FLAGS WAVING (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) STALIN SUPPORTER, PAVEL (NO LAST NAME GIVEN), SAYING: "Stalin is our great past. He is also a dream of our great future, that we will build, despite all these Putins and Medvedevs and other traitors of our Motherland." VARIOUS OF STALIN SUPPORTER, ALEXANDER, HOLDING FLOWERS AND STALIN PORTRAIT (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) STALIN SUPPORTER, ALEXANDER (NO LAST NAME GIVEN), SAYING: "For me, as for all the working people, Stalin is a symbol of social justice. Stalin is free education, free medicine, free housing. He is the representative of people's social system." VARIOUS OF STALIN SUPPORTERS STANDING NEAR WORDS MADE OF FLOWERS READING (Russian): "STALIN 140" (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) STALIN SUPPORTER, YURI SEREDA, SAYING: "Judging when there is nobody to reply is classic. People always blame those who is not with us anymore, that is how things are. However, there is a result - we still live of Stalin's heritage, still use it." GORI, GEORGIA (DECEMBER 21, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF STALIN'S SUPPORTERS MARCHING, CARRYING RED FLAGS AND STALIN'S PORTRAITS MAN SPEAKING THROUGH LOUDSPEAKER SUPPORTERS MARCHING SUPPORTERS CARRYING LARGE STALIN'S PORTRAIT STALIN'S HOME MUSEUM SIGN VARIOUS OF PEOPLE STANDING NEAR BANNER READING (Georgian and Russian): "GLORY TO GREAT STALIN!" VARIOUS OF SUPPORTERS AT RALLY (SOUNDBITE) (Georgian) STALIN SUPPORTER, REVAZ DARSAVELIDZE, SAYING: "One cannot put out the sunlight, just like the ideas of socialism. One cannot put out the ideas of Stalin. Stalin saved all the humanity from fascist slavery." VARIOUS OF SUPPORTERS AT RALLY
- Embargoed: 4th January 2020 12:56
- Keywords: Joseph Stalin Soviet Soviet leader Stalin birth anniversary communist party
- Location: MOSCOW, RUSSIA / GORI, GEORGIA
- City: MOSCOW, RUSSIA / GORI, GEORGIA
- Country: Russia
- Topics: Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001BAX4LRT
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Hundreds of people gathered on Saturday (December 21) on Moscow's Red Square and in the Georgian town of Gori to commemorate the 140th anniversary of Joseph Stalin's birth.
People brought flowers, Soviet flags and large portraits as they paid tribute Stalin, who was the leader of the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953.
Stalin is largely reviled in Georgia, which regained its independence during the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. Over the years, his memorials have been dismantled, most recently in 2010 when authorities removed a statue of the dictator from Gori's central square.
But a group of mainly elderly supporters still revere the Soviet leader.
Although Stalin's rule was marked by mass repression, labour camps and famine, he is hailed as a hero by supporters across the former Soviet Union who say the country could not have defeated Nazi Germany or become a superpower without his leadership.
Support for Stalin has risen in Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 gutted the social safety net, damaged national pride and left many Russians longing for the perceived order and stability of the Communist era.
(Production: Alexander Reshetnikov, David Chkhikvishvili, Tatyana Makeeva, Dmitry Turlyun) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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