Hell No, We Want Joe!

TATYANA MAKEYEVA / AFP-GETTY IMAGES

WW II vets and communists denounce the Russian government before Moscow's V-E day celebration

Is Joseph Stalin coming back in style? Members of Russia's political élite certainly seem to miss him. Their views received striking expression in a 3,000-word article in the Russian Defense Ministry daily, Krasnaya Zvezda.

The author, Marshal Dmitri Yazov, a former Defense Minister who was one of the leaders of the botched 1991 coup against ex-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, describes the former Soviet dictator not only as "the greatest military leader of all ages and peoples" but as an inspiration for today's Russia. Yazov's article glossed over Stalin's errors — "even geniuses make mistakes" — and did not...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!