Images of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin...

"Such things weren"t even made in Soviet times," the committee source said.

His remark ended a heated public debate, sparked by an initiative by Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov to decorate the capital with posters of Stalin for Victory Day. The plan provoked anger from human right activists, who said they would launch protests if the plan went ahead.

Stalin has not been present in Moscow"s Victory Day decorations since the Soviet era, but his name still provokes controversy in Russia.

Between the 1930s and 1950s millions of people were executed on false charges of espionage, sabotage and anti-Soviet propaganda or died of starvation, disease or exposure in labor camps.

According to official statistics, 52 million people were convicted on political charges during Stalin"s regime and 6 million were expelled from cities without proper trials.

However, many people believe it was Stalin"s leadership that pulled the Soviet Union through its darkest hour and

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