Using Stalin’s name was a recipe for disaster (Picture: Getty Images / Alamy/ MylesGoode)

It’s a well known fact that pizza’s great.

But Joseph Stalin? Not so much, with his reign noted for the oppression, deaths and starvation of millions of Russians.

So it’s hardly surprising that people weren’t just mystified, but extremely pissed off, when Papa John’s in Russia decided ‘Joseph Stalin’ would make a great code for a pizza discount.

Ilya Klishin, editor-in-chief at TV channel Rain, was one of the first to point out how insensitive it was on Facebook.


Пиццерия Папа Джонс ввела промокод ИОСИФСТАЛИН. Дарит за имя диктатора гавайскую пиццу или пепперони. Серьезно. Я не… Posted by Ilya Klishin on Saturday, January 16, 2016

Klishin wrote: ‘Papa John’s Pizza has introduced a Josef Stalin promotion code. Enter the name of the dictator and get a Hawaiian or pepperoni pizza.’



He added that his great-grandfather was one of the many repressed by Stalin.

Many people have taken to Twitter to voice their anger with the pizza chain.

#PapaJohns launches Stalin promo code, because nothing makes people hungry for pizza like a man who starved millions pic.twitter.com/NNzacwZd4I — Novorossiya PR (@Novorossiya_PR) January 17, 2016

Do not use the @PapaJohns Stalin discount code, the pizza guy will execute you in front of your family and they won't even get any pizza — Alexander Yakovenko (@AmbYakovenkoNot) January 16, 2016

And while some take a more measured view..

This #PapaJohns Stalin thing was completely tone deaf, but hardly a reason to boycott the place. https://t.co/6wKicq1w0m — Danielle Ryan (@DanielleRyanJ) January 16, 2016

Most are extremely pissed off.

.@PapaJohns Hitler had few rivals for the title of world's most brutal tyrant. Joseph Stalin was one of them. Inappropriate discount code — Clark Whitney (@Mr_Bundesliga) January 16, 2016

Papa John’s has issued an apology.

Сеть пиццерий «Папа Джонс» приносит свои искренние извинения каждому, чьи чувства оскорбил промо-код «иосифсталин»,… Posted by Papa John's Pizza on Saturday, January 16, 2016

On their Facebook page, they wrote: ‘We apologise to everyone whom we – albeit unconsciously – offended.’

And added that they always try to be ‘apolitical’ and hadn’t directly named the discount after Stalin.

It was actually a part of a promotional tie-in with the computer game World of Tanks.

A 1940s Soviet tank was named after the USSR leader, and the tank is featured in the game. For some reason, someone at Papa John’s thought this was the tank for the discount code.

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