Aknauta
03-06-2003, 01:06 PM
Moscow Times
Wednesday, Mar. 5, 2003. Page 1
An Unflinching Look at Stalin 50 Years Later
By Andrei Zolotov Jr. and Kevin O'Flynn
Staff Writers
Igor Tabakov / MT
As Chopin's funeral march slowly plays, Josef Stalin's red coffin is carried by Soviet leaders from a gun carriage to a podium in front of Lenin's mausoleum on Red Square. Nikita Khrushchev, Georgy Malenkov and Lavrenty Beria begin their eulogies. People watch with trepidation.
This is not 50 years ago but today in the State Archive Service's exhibition hall, where a color video continually shows Stalin's funeral. The military cap that was placed atop Stalin's coffin is on display right in front of the television set, offering a tangible connection to one of the most memorable and pivotal events in Russia's tragic 20th-century history.
While every Russian older than 50 will have his or her story to tell about March 5, 1953, the exhibit "1953. Between the Past and the Future" gives a meticulous account of the entire decade -- from the Soviet Union's 1949 nuclear test and the infamous doctors' plot on the eve of Stalin's death to the medical records of his last hours, his funeral and the following de-Stalinization period. On display are recently declassified documents and personal items such as Stalin's pipe, boots, marshal's tunic and radio set.
Link (http://www.themoscowtimes.c om/stories/2003/03/05/003.html)
Wednesday, Mar. 5, 2003. Page 1
An Unflinching Look at Stalin 50 Years Later
By Andrei Zolotov Jr. and Kevin O'Flynn
Staff Writers
Igor Tabakov / MT
As Chopin's funeral march slowly plays, Josef Stalin's red coffin is carried by Soviet leaders from a gun carriage to a podium in front of Lenin's mausoleum on Red Square. Nikita Khrushchev, Georgy Malenkov and Lavrenty Beria begin their eulogies. People watch with trepidation.
This is not 50 years ago but today in the State Archive Service's exhibition hall, where a color video continually shows Stalin's funeral. The military cap that was placed atop Stalin's coffin is on display right in front of the television set, offering a tangible connection to one of the most memorable and pivotal events in Russia's tragic 20th-century history.
While every Russian older than 50 will have his or her story to tell about March 5, 1953, the exhibit "1953. Between the Past and the Future" gives a meticulous account of the entire decade -- from the Soviet Union's 1949 nuclear test and the infamous doctors' plot on the eve of Stalin's death to the medical records of his last hours, his funeral and the following de-Stalinization period. On display are recently declassified documents and personal items such as Stalin's pipe, boots, marshal's tunic and radio set.
Link (http://www.themoscowtimes.c om/stories/2003/03/05/003.html)