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Stalin honoured with flowers and songs in Georgia
By Margarita Antidze
GORI, Georgia, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Hundreds of Georgians loyal to the memory of Soviet leader Josef Stalin marched through his home town of Gori on Friday, carrying flowers and tattered portraits to mark the 122nd anniversary of his birth.
A group of mainly elderly supporters gathered outside the museum dedicated to the Georgian-born dictator, before taking wreathes to a giant bronze statue of Stalin -- one of the few left standing after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
War veterans laden with medals sang songs and recited poems in honour of the Communist leader who sent millions to their deaths in Siberian labour camps during the political purges of the 1930s.
Stalin, who ruled the Soviet Union from Lenin's death in 1924 to his own death in 1953, was born Josef Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili in the small town of Gori, about 60 km (40 miles) from the Georgian capital Tbilisi, on December 21, 1879.
Despite the horrors of Stalin's regime, denounced in 1956 by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, some die-hard Communists remain nostalgic for his iron rule, and credit him with defeating Nazi Germany in World War II.
"We died in the war for him and his name was the last word we said," 89-year-old war veteran Georgy Malazonia said.
Children wearing red scarves reminiscent of the Komsomol Communist youth league were given a day off school to attend the traditional ceremony.
While the personality cult surrounding Stalin evaporated in most of Georgia and other Soviet republics after his death, Gori remains firm in its support of its most famous son.
Panteleimon Giorgadze, the leader of Georgia's small Communist Party, used the anniversary to accuse President Eduard Shevardnadze's government of turning Georgia into a beggar.
"We will call you to go to Tbilisi soon, and with the population of Tbilisi, we will take power into our own hands," Giorgadze told the crowd.
Small and mountainous Georgia was spoilt by generous subsidies from Moscow during the Soviet period and life for many has deteriorated since independence in 1991.
Daily power cuts throughout the winter months make life miserable for most Georgians, while the elderly say they can barely afford to eat on pensions of just 14 lari ($7) per month.
Vakhtang Goguadze, leader of the left-wing Patriotic Union, said Georgia should restore its good relations with Russia, adding the country should join its northern neighbour.
"It's our destiny to be with Russia," he said.
In Moscow, supporters of the Russian Communist party laid wreathes by Stalin's grave in the Kremlin wall.
"Against the background of the ignorance and vulgarity that is overwhelming our country, against the background of the mediocrity that is looting and destroying a 1,000-year-old power, the historical figure of Stalin seems even more significant," Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying.
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