Stalin still commands Russia's respect

Communist supporters marked the birthday of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin at his grave in Moscow on Dec. 21. (Alexander Zemlianichenko/Associated Press)

MOSCOW - Soviet dictator Josef Stalin was voted Russia's third most popular historical figure in a nationwide poll that ended yesterday, despite the famine and purges that marked his rule.

The "Name of Russia" contest run by Rossiya state television channel over more than six months closed last night with a final vote via the Internet and mobile phones. It drew more than 50 million votes in a nation of 143 million.

Millions of Soviet citizens perished from famine during forced collectivization, were executed as "enemies of the people," or died in Gulag hard labor camps during Stalin's rule, which lasted for almost 30 years until his death in 1953.

"We now have to think very seriously why the nation chooses to put Josef Vissarionovich Stalin in third place," prominent actor and film director Nikita Mikhalkov, one of the contest's judges, said after the results of the vote flashed on a screen.

At the top of the list was 13th century prince Alexander Nevsky, who defeated German invaders, followed by Pyotr Stolypin, a prime minister in the early 20th century known for agrarian reforms and a clampdown on leftist revolutionaries.

REUTERS