“Even now you can hear people say that what happened to the many victims was justified by certain higher government aims,” said a sombre-faced Mr Medvedev.

“[But] nothing can be placed higher than the value of human life. There can be no justification for the repressions.”…

Manuals for teachers stress Stalin’s role as an effective manager, a Soviet-era manual lavishing praise on Stalin was recently restored in the Moscow metro, and a nationwide popularity contest last year crowned Stalin as Russia’s third greatest historical figure. Earlier this month, Josef Stalin’s grandson even managed to get a Moscow court to hear a surreal and ultimately unsuccessful case that tried to whitewash his infamous relative’s image.