[mazabotman]

As to the first part of John Litster's post, it is the case that icons showing the life of St Matrona do include a scene showing Stalin visiting her. This is nothing unusual. There is one such icon in our parish church of St Nicholas in Moscow. This obviously in no way is to be read as a favourable comment on Stalin, and in our Moscow parish church we have several icons of Tsar-Martyr Nicholas. Victims of Stalin were shot in the very church yard at St Nicholas' church. It is an enigma that Stalin visited St Matrona, as it is that he followed completely the advice of Metropolitan Elias of Lebanon, and that he apparently made his confession four times in his final years. An icon of Stalin is, of course, an abomination. It should also be borne in mind that the English-language newspaper 'Moscow Times' is not sympathetic to Russia, her Church or her people and tends to echo American-style anti-Russian sentiments. It is typical that this newspaper takes something unremarkable and seeks to create some unfavourable sensation out of it. This can be seen also in the right-wing English press. Thus, some time ago, the 'Daily Telegraph' carried an article called, 'Killer icon', referring to the icon of Christ by St Andrei Rublev. The article claimed that some people were affected by viewing this icon and that some had died after viewing it. The article included a supposed interview with a curator in the Hermitage at St Petersburg where, the article said, the icon was displayed. In fact, this icon has always hung in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. Western and western-leaning media are not to be trusted in their coverage of anything to do with Russia.