More than 1,000 people gathered on Moscow's Red Square on March 5 for the 70th anniversary of the death of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, whose divisive legacy looms over the Ukraine conflict. Kyiv says the offensive is driven by Stalin-era imperialistic tendencies, while the heightened repression of critics inside Russia is reminiscent of Soviet methods. People waving communist flags or holding portraits of the late ruler waited in a long line to lay flowers on his grave near the Kremlin wall, with one pensioner saying, "People would be happy if we had a leader like him again."
Muscovites Mark 70th Anniversary Of Stalin's Death
Communist Party supporters line up to place flowers at Stalin's grave near the Kremlin Wall to mark the 70th anniversary of his death in Red Square in Moscow on March 5.