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A scandal regarding an icon depicting Stalin in Tbilis’s main cathedral brought into spotlight efforts by pro-Russians and Russian propaganda to revive the cult of the former dictator. Following protests against the icon, the ruling Georgian Dream, which claims to be committed to Euro-Atlantic integration, unveiled Russian-inspired plans to criminalize religious insults.
The story of Stalin’s meeting with Matrona is an element of Russian propaganda
The icon, named “Blessed Matrona blesses Joseph Stalin” depicts former Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin together with the Russian saint Matrona of Moscow. It was discovered in Tbilisi’s landmark Cathedral of the Holy Trinity (Sameba) on Orthodox Christmas Eve by historian Giorgi Kandelaki, who studies the issues of the revival of Stalinism in the “Laboratory for the Study of the Soviet Past” (SovLab).
“The icon depicting Joseph Stalin, the initiator of the destruction of Georgian independence and the creator of the Soviet totalitarian system, is located in the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity. Another success for the Russian information war machine” Kandelaki wrote on January 7.
According to the historian, the plot of the image itself is based on the false KGB story that Stalin was a deeply religious man and represents a specific element of the Russian narrative.
The icon describes the meeting of the bloody dictator with the holy Matrona of Moscow, which allegedly took place during the Second World War, when the Germans were approaching Moscow. Allegedly, the saint blessed him as commander-in-chief before an important battle.
However, experts say that this story is a myth about Stalin, which was invented by the KGB and has not been confirmed. Such legends became especially popular in the 90s, with the emergence of a movement asking for the canonization of Stalin by the Russian Church. Independent Russian theologians and historians also say that this icon is part of the propaganda of the Kremlin and the Russian Orthodox Church.
In addition, it later turned out that the icon was presented to the Georgian cathedral by the leaders of the pro-Russian political force, the Alliance of Patriots of Georgia. It is worth noting that before the parliamentary elections in November 2020, it was the only parliamentary party in the country advocating the immediate start of a direct dialogue with Moscow. Its representatives visited Moscow several times, where they held meetings with Russian colleagues.
The leaders of the Alliance of Patriots, Irma Inavshili and David-Tarkhan Mouravi, called the excitement around the icon a “festival of darkness”. They claim that historically the meeting of Saint Matrona with the Soviet dictator really took place, and this is allegedly confirmed by a number of documents and described in the official biography of Matrona.
The icon was rejected even by the Russain Orthodox Church; the Georgian pro-Russian far-right and the judiciary moved to protect it
The icon with Stalin has a scandalous history. It was commissioned in 2008 by Russian abbot Evfstrafiy Zharkov, and when it was displayed in one of the St. Petersburg churches in November of that year, it caused uproar. Many in the Russian Orthodox Church objected to the depiction of Stalin on the icon, and eventually the icon had to be removed from the St. Petersburg church. At the same time, the Russian diocese made an official statement that the saint never met Stalin, and it was all a legend.
When the icon emerged in Georgia’s main cathedral, many saw it as a blasphemy and an insult to both believers and those whose relatives suffered during Stalin's repressions. Civil activist Nata Peradze protested by dousing the icon with blue paint.
“After the collapse of the USSR, monuments to Stalin began to be demolished everywhere, and his cult began to collapse. Now they are trying to revive it again. I absolutely don’t care what happens in the church, it’s not a subject of my interest. But this act was a continuation of the fight against the cult. We cannot calmly look at how some are now trying to re-popularize this tyrant,” Peradze said.
After this incident, which the Georgian Orthodox Church described as an “act of vandalism,” the Patriarchate turned to the donors of the icon, that is, the pro-Russian Alliance of Patriots party, with a request to make changes to the image or entrust this task to representatives of the Georgian Orthodox Church.
“Since the meeting of Joseph Stalin with Saint Matrona, due to insufficient evidence, is not included in the canonical text of her life, and is not recognized by the Russian Church, which canonized her and conducted a special study on this issue, it is necessary to change the mentioned episode and take into account other details related to the canonicity of the iconography,” said the statement of the Patriarchate.
After Nata Peradze doused the icon with paint, the activist was subjected to threats from representatives of the radical pro-Russian Alt-Info movement. Participants in this movement are known for periodically organizing nationalist and homophobic actions and pogroms.
Alt-info organized a protest in front of Nata Peradze’s house. Far-right activists insulted the woman and even tried to enter her house and harm her, so police had to step in. Due to the incessant threats, Peradze was even forced to temporarily move from her home and ask the state for protection.
In turn, the radicals called on the authorities to punish the activist for insulting the feelings of believers. As a result, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia opened a case against Peradze under Article 166 of the Code of Administrative Offences, which implies petty hooliganism.
On February 2, the Tbilisi City Court sentenced Nata Peradze to administrative arrest for five days.
“A Georgian patriot should be proud that Stalin was a Georgian”
The debates and controversies surrounding the icon, according to civil activists, point to a disturbing trend to rehabilitate Stalin in his home country of Georgia. It is worth noting that in recent years such a trend has been observed in Russia as well, where the Soviet dictator is glorified against the background of an increasing militarization of the country.
Sovlab’s Giorgi Kandelaki considers it extremely alarming that Stalin is still quite popular in Georgia, and recently this trend has only been growing:
“A clear rejection of [Stalin] never happened, which is not only paradoxical, but also tragic. It is tragic, because Stalin himself was the initiator of the death, so to speak, of independent, democratic, European Georgia. But now there is a certain surge in its popularity and this surge is an indicator of the success of propaganda. Propaganda works very methodically, long-term, and successfully. This, of course, is further facilitated by the ambivalence of the current Georgian Dream government towards the Soviet past as such. And as a result of this, we have, for example, according to our calculations, 12 new statues of Stalin, which were installed in Georgia after the Georgian Dream came to power. This is a lot - 12 statues. And these statues reflect a certain trend in our society.”
According to Kandelaki, amid the euphoria over Georgia being granted candidate status for membership in the European Union, few people pay attention to the very alarming figures in public opinion polls.
In 2021, the Caucasus Research Resources Center (CRRC) conducted a survey of 3,024 Georgians. 66% of respondents fully or partially share the opinion that “a Georgian patriot should be proud that Stalin was a Georgian.” 16% were neutral, and 28% completely or partially rejected this opinion. More than 60% share the opinion that Stalin's rule "had both positive and negative sides." Only 9% rejected this opinion. 52% of respondents admit that
“Stalin was a tyrant responsible for the deaths of millions of people,” 2/3 believe that “Stalin was a wise leader who determined the strengthening and prosperity of the Soviet Union.”
Georgiy Kandelaki notes that, oddly enough, it is the Georgian Dream government that plays an important role in the popularization of Stalin.
“We have received candidate status, more than 80% support the European Union, but if you look deeper, some very dangerous trends are occurring in our society behind this euphoria. And in this context, Stalin is not just some interesting historical figure who becomes popular. [He] is instrumentalized by propaganda as a theme, as a figure, as a tool that influences not the past, but the future,” Kandelaki notes.
The ruling Georgian Dream claims that the attack on Stalin is an attack on the Church and wants to make it a criminal offence
The ruling Georgian Dream party did not react when the Stalin icon was displayed in the Holy Trinity Cathedral. However, after the icon was doused with paint, government officials called the incident an “anti-Christian, anti-Church and provocative act.” Soon, members of the ruling majority took matters to Parliament.
Representatives of pro-Russian and conservative movements have been demanding the introduction of criminal liability for insulting the feelings of believers for several years. The authorities do not rule out introducing criminal liability, not for insulting the feelings, but for the desecration of religious buildings and objects, regardless of their religious affiliation, according to Georgian Dream official Anri Okhanashvili, who pointed out that similar provisions have been put in place in a number of EU countries.
Bills on insulting the feelings of believers have been put forth previously – the latest by the Alliance of Patriots party, which proposed introducing criminal penalties for insulting religious feelings – but the initiatives never made it past the relevant parliamentary committees.
The situation is different now, as the Georgian Dream has the ability to turn the bill into law. The party is also trying to spin the whole scandal regarding Stalin’s icon into a narrative targeting the opposition.
Party leader Irakli Kobakhidze said that the “radical” opposition is trying to undermine the influence of the Church in Georgia and weaken the state as a whole:
“If you want to weaken the country as a whole, you have to attack its core institutions - those are the institutions of government.
All this time, these people - including within our country - the radical opposition have been attacking state institutions: especially law enforcement agencies, the police, in the first place.
The second direction is the Church, which is one of the main pillars of the identity of our country. If you undermine the strength of the church, you automatically undermine the strength of the country,” Kobakhidze believes.
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