MOSCOW: Marshal Josef Stalin is 70 today [Dec 21]. His people’s main Birthday gift to him is a promise to break output records. Trainloads of presents ranging from motor cars to silk stockings have been rumbling through East Europe to the Kremlin for days. A million portraits of Stalin have been issued, half a million copies of his biography printed, and two million celebration placards distributed throughout Moscow and Russia’s towns and villages. Last night, the Supreme Soviet announced it had awarded Stalin Russia’s first decoration — the Order of Lenin. Radio and newspapers have been singing Stalin’s praises.

Russian mountaineers have placed bronze busts of Stalin on 38 highest peaks in Central Asia, including the highest Stalin Peak 24,890 feet. The Moscow Radio announced last night that five to ten World Peace Prizes will be awarded each year on Marshal Stalin’s birthday. The prizes will be offered to citizens of all countries irrespective of political, religious or racial distinctions. They will consist of a diploma of the International Stalin Prize, [a] gold medal with a picture of Stalin and a cash award of 100,000 roubles.

Published in Dawn, December 22nd, 2024