You’d be forgiven for feeling somewhat confused about the Kremlin’s official stance on the use of Stalin’s images in the Victory Day festivities: there seems to have been a degree of flip-slopping about the Soviet dictator’s visual presence.  In an interview, highlights of which are published here,  President Medvedev has condemned Stalin’s crimes, perhaps in response to calls from activists to clarify his position, but also rather conveniently downplayed Uncle Joe’s importance, focusing the rhetoric of victory upon the Russian people:

“There are absolutely obvious things – the Great Patriotic War was won by our people, neither Stalin nor even the generals did anything as important as they did. Yes, their role was, of course, very serious, but at the same time, the people won the war at the cost of great efforts, at the cost of a great many lives,” he said in the interview, which was broadcast on state television.