As far as 20th century tyrants go, Joseph Stalin earned his place to be ranked near the top of the pile.
Tens of millions died at his hands, and while he made the Soviet Union a superpower and helped defeat the Nazis during World War II, it’s really hard to ignore or rationalize his crimes.
As more and more evidence emerged over the decades the world came to see the real cost of Stalin’s rule: forced deportations, gulags, the Holodomor famine in Ukraine. In essence – suffering on an industrial scale.
And yet, in some corners of the world—especially in his homeland—Stalin’s shadow still lingers, his statues still sell and his memory evokes positive emotions among many.
Stalin was born Joseph Dzhugashvili, an ethnic Georgian, who would become the leader of a world empire centered in Moscow.
Imran Garda heads to Georgia, where he meets Irakli Khvadagiani, a researcher at the Soviet Past Research Lab in Tbilisi, and asks: Why does the cult of Stalin still survive, and who’s keeping it alive?
Then, in Stalin’s hometown of Gori, Imran joins Zhana Odiashvili, founder of the Gori Free Walking Tour, who leads him through the highs and lows of Stalin’s legacy. Zhana speaks about the scars left by Stalin’s rule, the lingering effects of the country’s 2008 war with Russia and her own complicated feelings toward the man her town can’t seem to forget.
00:00 Imran and Irakli visit a flea market
01:18 What is this episode about?
02:15 Getting to know Irakli Khvadagiani
03:03 Is the cult of Stalin still alive in Georgia?
04:03 Stalin’s legacy: then and now
06:03 How do Stalin supporters justify his crimes?
07:28 Does being pro-Stalin mean being pro-Russian?
09:21 “The Secret Christian”
10:47 Visiting the Stalin Museum in Gori
11:07 Meet Zhana Odiashvili
11:14 Inside the Great Patriotic War Museum
12:36 Why Zhana became a tour guide
13:51 Reflections on the 2008 Georgian–Russian War
14:39 Stalin: hero or tyrant?
16:42 What does Stalin symbolize in 2025?
17:04 The statue that was removed from the square
18:35 Where is the statue now?
19:00 Visiting the cemetery with Zhana
19:53 Facing the fallen statue
21:09 How do Georgians react to the statue today?
22:04 Will Georgia ever forget Stalin?
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