Recently Icons were found in some obscure Russian churches depicting an image of Josef Stalin. The Russian Orthodox Church hadn’t approved of such activity but officially has done nothing to stop it.
Icon image of Stalin as saint
Icon image of Stalin as saint
Icon image of Stalin as saint
Finally last week such icons were for the first time used in a big official ceremony, widely covered by the Russian media.
The Prokhorovka Field National War Memorial was established by the Presidential Decree of April 26, 1995. It was given the status of a Federal State Institution of Culture.
Here is a cover image and a quote from the web site of the Memorial:
Prokhorovka Field National War Memorial
“July 12 1943, the fiercest tank battle was held in the history of warfare, involving approximately 1500 Soviet and German armored vehicles. It was a turning point in the battle of Kursk, which, in turn, determined the future course of the Second World War. During the battle, numerous cases of true heroism by our soldiers made victory possible.
“In the legendary Prokhorovka Field a belfry was built as well as a temple in the name of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, the walls of which bear the names of 7382 soldiers killed in this bloody battle. A nursing home for war veterans, two orphanages and a cultural and historical center were also built here.”
Close up of Prokhorovka Field National War Memorial
Last week a ceremony took place in the Prokhorovka Field National War Memorial, established in 1999 by the national-conservative Union of Writers of Russia, the Government of the Belgorod region, and both the Dioceses of Belgorod and Stary Oskol. The awarding of the literary prize “Prokhorovka field” took place.
The ceremony featured an icon with the image of Joseph Stalin. Supreme Commander Stalin is depicted surrounded by the famous Russian WWII generals under the image of the Virgin Mary surrounded with saints, who seem to bless the Leader and his warriors.
Members of Izborsk club carrying Stalin icon
The icon was made by order of Izborsk club, the nationalist organization, chaired by Prokhanov, the popular and most powerful writer today in Russia. This organization includes most of the representatives of the ultraconservative wing of Vladimir Putin ideologists, among them – the chairman of the movement “Antimaydan”, historian Nikolai Starikov, and former professor of the Moscow State University Alexander Dugin, who is the ideologist behind the concept of “Eurasianism”.
One of the photos of the ceremony shows the icon carried by a tank, a symbol of the today’s return of the ghost of Josef Stalin into Russian politics.
Tank carrying Stalin icon
