Simon Sebag Montefiore, is an English historian, journalist and a writer. He is known worldwide as an expert on Russian history. His works, Young Stalin and Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar, are considered objective writings about the leader of the Soviet Union. His book, Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar, received the defunct History book of the year award at the 2004 book publishing industry British Book Awards. “A man of great charm, convivial, entertaining, humorous, with an excellent singing voice, an enthusiastic movie buff, an intellectual who read 500 pages a day – this unexpected image of Stalin, more like the baby-kissing Uncle Joe of wartime propaganda films, is part of the vision this astonishing book provides. In a sense, this is the first real biography of Stalin.” - This is how History Today describes Montefiore’s bestseller.

The purpose of the historian’s visit to Georgia after he began to work on his book was to study archived documents about Stalin. “Stalin was one of the greatest titans – from the world’s creation until the present day. He was a modern king (or ‘Tsar’ in Russian), who besides the Soviet Empire created Russia itself and modern atomic power as well,” Montefiore wrote two years after his arrival in his book that ended up becoming bestseller. In particular, the British journalist became interested in Joseph Stalin due to his achievements as mentioned above. Montefiore argues that Stalin was a person graced with unique talent, yet he does not close his eyes to his dictatorship. “Yes, he was a tyrant, though it is fact,” Montefiore claims, “That without this tyrant we would not have defeated Hitler. Stalin was cruel, Uncompromising and unforgivable.”

Stalin is popular still today, not only in the post-Soviet countries but also throughout entire world as well. “His popularity is natural because he won the war. As for why he is beloved most of all in Russia, the answer is quite simple: The Russian Empire expanded to such an extent during his rule that it surpassed any single king’s reign. People always appreciate such facts,” Mr. Montefiore argues.

Yet he, unlike many authors on Stalin, neither forgets or tries to mask the other side of the great dictator – that of the cruel despot: “He caused far more human suffering and hunger than any other ruler in the history – than even, for instance, Hitler. Yes, he was triumphant, but at the expense of what? One has to ponder whether It was possible to achieve so much without such cruelty.”

When speaking about Georgia, he does not conceal his feelings that this country has stirred within him:

“I love everything here. You have inc¬redibly beautiful women that you can not take your eyes off. They possess natural beauty that is very impressive. Your cuisine is a real work of art that can make anyone quit his or her diet. Most importantly, you have an incredible history and historical sites. I can boldly say that Georgia is one of my favorite places in the entire world.”

Author: Lado Gogoladze