Art Daily Newsletter
 A notebook cover depicts Soviet dictator Josef Stalin in the "Great Russian" series. AP Photo. By: Nataliya Vasilyeva, Associated Press MOSCOW (AP).- School notebooks with a portrait of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin on the cover have been causing a controversy in Russia since they went on sale this week. While human rights activists and historians have warned that the notebooks wrongly instill a positive image of Stalin in children's minds, eager customers have been snapping them up in Moscow bookstores. In response to numerous pleas to take action, Education Minister Andrei Fursenko said that he disapproves of the notebooks, but has no legal way to stop their publication or sale. Stalin, who ruled the Soviet Union from 1922 to 1953, is a controversial figure in Russia today. Although he was responsible for the deaths of millions of his own citizens, Stalin is still highly regarded for having led the Soviet Union to victory in World War II and ... More |