Two anti-communist activists have been detained in Moscow after they tried to disrupt the commemoration of Joseph Stalin's death at his tomb in Red Square by shouting insults and throwing flowers at his bust.

The incident occurred during an annual event dubbed ‘Two carnations for comrade Stalin’, staged by Russia's communists to commemorate the late leader of the Soviet Union. The communists and their sympathizers bring flowers to Stalin's tomb at Red Square on March 5 – the day he died in 1953.

Several hundred people showed up to commemorate the Soviet leader, yet their ranks were infiltrated by several anti-communists. One of the activists was filmed throwing flowers at Stalin's bust, blasting him as “woman and child slayer” and wishing him to “burn in hell.” The activist was promptly apprehended by the communists and handed over to the police.

The two detained persons turned out to be affiliated with a group dubbed ‘Decommunization’, which advocates a blanket ban on communist symbols in politics, condemnation of the Soviet “totalitarian regime,” destruction of Soviet-era monuments and so on. The two have been already released, yet they face charges of causing petty disturbance during a mass gathering.

Even 66 years after his death, Stalin remains a highly controversial figure of Russian history. While anti-communists describe him as “butcherer” behind mass-repressions, the pro-Stalin crowd lauds his role in defeating Nazism and building strong industry in the country. Despite the repeated attempts to remove his tomb from Red Square, it remains in place – while Stalin himself gets repeatedly named among the most prominent Russian politicians of all time in various polls.

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